This archive report was first published on 15 June 2020.
On June 15, 2020, Equity Group Foundation and the Mastercard Foundation announced a partnership to support over 14,600 students in the Wings to Fly and Elimu scholarship programs.
As part of the initiative, secondary school scholars have been provided with solar-powered devices to access their lessons, which are being aired on government-owned radio and TV stations.
Each of the 13,800 secondary school students and 800 alumni of the Wings to Fly scholarship program currently in Technical and Vocational Education and Training will receive a monthly stipend of Sh3,000 for three months to enable them to access essential food and personal items.
Academic institutions across the country were closed in March to combat the coronavirus, with the government moving the delivery of the curriculum to broadcast channels and digital platforms.
Beryl Sheryl Owambo, a Form Four Wings to Fly Scholar from Migori, expressed her gratitude for the solar lamps, saying, “I am really grateful for the solar lamps that you bought for us. It really inspired me during this period when we really needed to be at school.”
Dr. James Mwangi, Managing Director and CEO of Equity Group Holdings, and Executive Chairman of EGF, stated, “We wanted the Scholars to have an equal opportunity through continued access to their class lessons during this difficult stay-at-home period. With many of them coming from financially challenged backgrounds, access to a radio for purposes of following the classroom lessons was going to be a big challenge.”
He added, “Additionally, with the majority of the Scholars not having access to electricity, we opted for solar-powered gadgets. We believe that the Scholars are now well-equipped to keep up to date with their lessons.”
The device contains a radio, a mobile charging unit for cell phones, and a lamp that can allow studying after dusk. The program is estimated to reach 70,000 learners with the curriculum as well as COVID-19 public health messages and advisories.
Daniel Hailu, Regional Head, Eastern, and Southern Africa at the Mastercard Foundation, emphasized, “Advancing equitable and inclusive access to education remains a top priority for the Foundation. The impact of COVID-19 requires us to be intentional about how we ensure the pandemic doesn’t exacerbate existing gaps in education.”
