Students from 7 rural Secondary Schools in Tanzania's Iringa region have been trained in digital skills to unlock their digital potential, expand their knowledge, and give them the skills to find solutions to the many problems they face in their daily lives. With funding and support from the Michael Matthews Foundations (MMF), British & Foreign School Society (BFSS) and Serendipity, Lyra hosted a Tech Day event in Iringa town. The Tech Day event aimed to promote digital literacy and help secondary school students unlock their digital potential. Through interactive activities and educational tools, students learnt how to use digital technology to their advantage.
This unique and innovative competition was held on Saturday, March 11, 2023, and students had the opportunity to exhibit their projects in front of the judges in order to win the TechDay competition
Petronia - Lyra Digital Learning Coordinator
Speaking before the competition, Petronia Kimizye, Lyra Digital Learning Coordinator described the origins of the Lyra Digital Learning Programme which started in 2017 providing tablets and later in 2019 we began the installation of computer labs with offline learning materials in rural secondary schools.
Up to 2022 Lyra has installed 7 digital computer labs (including one solar powered lab) with offline learning materials in Nyang’oro Secondary School, Lundamatwe Secondary School, Lulanzi Secondary School, Maduma Secondary School, Ifwagi Secondary School, Ilambilole Secondary School and Mlowa Secodary School. The Tech Day provided opportunities for students from these schools to unleash their digital talents by showcasing different solutions to challenges they face in their community using technology.
During the event, 11 groups from 6 different rural secondary schools participated in a competition and presented their unique and innovative ideas, while students from six other schools observed and learnt. The innovations were computer programmes written to address and alleviate issues in the local community and included ideas like smart car security, help patient moisture sensor, student registration system, timber selling application, early marriage case reporting application, home security system , home smart light system, car Bluetooth controller, traffic light denser module system and liquid capacity measure.
Left: Judging Panel
Right: Listening feedback from Softcat team virtually.
The judges of the competition were a team from Softcat a leading global IT Company (who judged virtually), Mr Klas Wallin from Serendipity, Miriam Elisha, Executive Director of Unique School - an Inclusive Education Specialist and early childhood educator, Kenneth Komba, Iringa Education Officer, Lukelo William Mallumbo from Legacy Academy and Mr Muya Mafuru, a digital learning teacher from Lundamatwe Secondary School.
Judge Mr Klas Wallin from Serendipity said “Many of the students were just brilliant, I was actually really touched. They have really been thinking and with the motive of improving their own communities and their own neighborhood which was the target. I think they did very well!”
Students from Ilambilole Secondary School celebrating their victory after the event!
Many congratulations to the team of students from Ilambilole group one who won first prize for their amazing tech solution of a tool to measure liquid capacity as well as group one from Nyang’oro Secondary School who won the second place with their innovation of home smart light system and third place was group two from Ilambilole Secondary School with their innovation of traffic light denser module system.
The students who participated in the competition talked about how much they benefited from the training and thanked the organizers Lyra in Africa for bringing digital literacy to their schools.
“I am delighted since I have never had the opportunity to compete in a digital competition, and this is my first. I grew up hearing about competitions like this, and now being a participant is something I really appreciate. And imagine my delight and pride when my group won first place in this competition!
I used to aspire to be a doctor, but after joining digital learning, I've developed an entirely different viewpoint. I am fascinated by computers and technology. I aspire to be a great person in technology in the future. I am grateful to Lyra in Africa for supporting us in Digital learning. We wouldn't have got to where we are and learned so much about technology if it wasn't for Lyra.” Lyin Magesa Tech Day Partcicipant from Ilambilole Secondfary School.
Maria Lyimo - Education Officer and Administrative Assistant Secretary for Education, Iringa Region.
Maria Lyimo Iringa Education Officer and Administrative Assistant Secretary for Education, Iringa Region was our guest of honor during the Tech Day event. "I am truly grateful to Lyra for assisting our students through the different programmes you implement in the Iringa region," she added. Yet, as Lyra has paved the road, it is our responsibility to work hard in order to demonstrate change by performing well in school.
The Lyra Digital Learning Programme helps youth in rural communities gain access to digital literacy skills. Since 2017, Lyra has installed 7 computer labs with 136 desktop computers, provided 100+ tablets in secondary rural schools enabling over 4000 secondary students access to digital learning. To support more students gaining invaluable access to digital literacy skills kindly donate.www.lyrainafrica.org