STORY: Huawei's mobile training hub bridges digital gap in rural Uganda to improve livelihoods
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 30, 2024
DATELINE: Feb. 9, 2024
LENGTH: 0:02:32
LOCATION: Kampala
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Sandra Apio
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): SANDRA APIO, Farmer
3. various of interior of Huawei's DigiTruck
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): HENRY KUNYINGA, Lead instructor of DigiTruck
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): ROBERT OTUKE, Student of DigiTruck
6. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): JESSICA ALUPO, Uganda's Vice President

STORYLINE:

Although internet penetration is relatively low in rural Uganda, young farmers are benefiting from a mobile training hub provided by Chinese technology company Huawei and gaining skills in using the internet to research ways to improve their yields and market their produce.
   
Sandra Apio, 28, a farmer in the Katakwi District of eastern Uganda, was glad that she could access the market for her three-acre (about 1.21 hectares) cassava plantation online, or at least know the market prices before selling to potential buyers.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): SANDRA APIO, Farmer
"For us, from here we access the internet when you go to a nearby town, that's how we access the internet. But from the villages here we don't have power. There is no way you can access the internet, no boosters in the village. Even if you are using these touch phones, these small phones here, getting network is very hard, communicating to far people, you can not, because of that."

Apio is one of more than 1,000 young people who recently completed a three-month digital training program provided by Huawei DigiTruck.
   
The DigiTruck, a truck-transformed computer classroom, travels from one region to another, where instructors train people in e-commerce and online research. It is part of Huawei's TECH4ALL initiative to promote digital inclusion and sustainability globally.
   
Youth, women, and small and medium business owners in rural Uganda are now equipped with digital skills to improve their livelihoods.
   
SOUNDBITE 2 (English): HENRY KUNYINGA, Lead instructor of DigiTruck
"Most of them, just like I said, they have never touched the computers. So we had to go back and redesign the content such that it fits within their frame. For instance, we have to take them through understanding the keyboard, after understanding the keyboard then within the shortest time that is available, we try to see how best you can try to impact and change their lives."

Data from Uganda's Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social Development show that more than 2,900 Ugandans have benefited from the DigiTruck project since it was launched in March 2023.
   
Some young people, like Apio, have begun using the skills they have learned to improve their lives.
   
Robert Otuke, 28, is a small business owner who used the skills acquired from the DigiTruck training to improve his bookshop business.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): ROBERT OTUKE, Student of DigiTruck
"Initially, we never had internet business in our bookshop. But when I got to know about internet usage, it can give you money the other way around, so we had to buy a simple WiFi gadget. That thing helped us to commercialize internet usage in our bookshop."

He said this move has expanded his income generation and has improved his livelihood.
   
Ugandan Vice President Jessica Alupo, who was the chief guest at the graduation ceremony, urged the graduates to use the skills they have acquired as an added advantage and engage in income-generating activities.
   
Alupo commended Huawei for empowering her country's youth and entrepreneurs and for boosting employment, among other things. She said the government will involve more telecommunications companies to expand the provision of internet services to remote areas.
   
SOUNDBITE 4 (English): JESSICA ALUPO, Uganda's Vice President
"Use the ICT knowledge you have acquired to make a difference in your lives. And there are so many ways of making a difference in your life. And there are two ways, you can make a positive difference and you can also make a negative difference. So, I would like to specifically say that make a positive difference in your life, and when you make a positive difference in your life you become a mentor and you become an example in your community."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Kampala.
(XHTV)