Huawei Kenya’s DigiTruck has marked its 1-year anniversary of training more than 1,500 youth across 13 locations in 8 counties. The announcement was made as 100 students graduated from the DigiTruck’s latest training of 100 students in Nyeri County.
DigiTruck is a solar-powered mobile classroom equipped with internet and smart devices. It is supported by various partners including the National Youth Council, UNESCO, GSMA, and Safaricom. The program contributes to the government’s Ajira initiative by enabling youth in rural areas to get the digital skills they need to thrive in society.
The recent batch of 100 students successfully completed a four-week training where they gathered various skills including; digital skills, entrepreneurship, marketing, among others.
The graduation was attended by Joe Mucheru – Cabinet Secretary ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs, Mutahi Kahiga – Governor Nyeri County, Fiona Pan – Deputy CEO, Huawei Kenya, Kanini Kega – Kieni constituency MP, Julius Korir – Principal Secretary for Youth Affairs and Roy Sasaka – CEO of National Youth Council.
Public-private partnerships have played a key role in bridging the digital divide, hence reducing the barriers of participation and entry for marginalized communities. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the inequalities in our country with regard to technology and digital accessibility, especially with the need to work remotely and access education online.
“We are thankful to the partners we have; CFSK and Huawei, helping us bring connectivity across the country even to our youth,” said CS Joe Mucheru. He proceeded to thank Huawei and the National Youth Council for making sure the youth in Nyeri County and across Kenya received digital skills training.
Dr.Julius Korir, Principle Secretary, Youth Affairs said that the government joined hands with Huawei to work together on the DigiTruck.
Fiona Pan, reiterated that ICT is critical and the fastest growing part of the economy and provision of technology on its own is not enough if people don’t know how to use it.
The graduates also learnt about e-waste and online safety. The DigiTruck program is one aspect of Huawei’s digital skills trainings that include other programs for training youth at Universities and TVETs nationwide.