DND technician boosts education in the Democratic Republic of Congo

April 26, 2022 - Royal Canadian Navy

By Peter Mallett

A 63-year-old employee with Fleet Maintenance Facility (FMF) Cape Breton in Esquimalt, B.C., is establishing a digital library to boost education in his homeland, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Electronics technician Nzolantima Swasisa has invented a tiny black box, called a Lokole, that can provide web and email access in a 25-metre radius for up to 100 users. He is using his invention to establish the digital library in the DRC’s capital city, Kinshasa. It will house books, desks and android tablets for users to access the Internet.

“I am reaching out to any individual or organization that supports education for vulnerable populations for help,” he says. “Donations of computer tablets and the services of software engineers would also be greatly welcomed.”

Access to information and digital educational materials through the Internet or offline is needed in the DRC, says Mr. Swasisa. With a population of approximately 90 million, less than 18 per cent have Internet access. The primary reason for this, he says, is cost. Most Congolese people live on less than $2 per day; one gigabyte of data costs $1 and is limited to 48 hours, he says.

Electronics technician Nzolantima Swasisa has invented a tiny black box, called a Lokole, that can provide web and email access in a 25-metre radius for up to 100 users.
Caption

Electronics technician Nzolantima Swasisa has invented a tiny black box, called a Lokole, that can provide web and email access in a 25-metre radius for up to 100 users. He is using his invention to establish the digital library in the DRC’s capital city, Kinshasa.

“It is easy to see they cannot afford this, so the only solution is to use offline applications. This where a digital library fits in.”

His digital library will be called Bibliothèque Lokole Numérique Zéro Méga, a nod to his invention. The name Lokole is derived from the name of a traditional Congolese drum that was used to communicate between villages.

While developing his invention, he received technical assistance from Microsoft software engineer Clemens Wolf, who was so enthused by Mr. Swasisa’s project that he got the attention of company executives who provided access to a professional, high-volume cloud server for Lokole.

Then his co-workers at FMF Cape Breton, Shawn Bathgate, Gerald Risma and Joel Pineau, helped him create a physical case to house the tiny digital server. In 2017 Forbes Magazine named Swasisa a finalist for the Innovation Africa Awards.

A fundraising campaign will be used to stock the library with the entire curriculum taught in DRC schools from kindergarten to Grade 12. Adults and children can use the offline materials to advance their education in math, geography, science, history, physics, French and English.

The initial goal is to have 11 desks and chairs equipped with headphones and android tablets in a building powered by solar energy and its own Wi-Fi to access online educational materials. Guiding the users will be a paid librarian.

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