Nkonya Ahenkro was selected as the location for the 7th Yamoransa Model for Sustainable Development ICT Center in collaboration with the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC). GIFEC was already working to install ICT Centers in the Biakoye district due to the minimal access to ICT resources throughout the district. Nkonya Ahenkro, however, was a major town in the district that had been overlooked.
As a consequence it became the logical location for Lab 7. As usual, the Yamoransa Model technical partner, TECHAiDE conducted a needs assessment in July of 2020 and met with the District Coordinating Director, Mr. Akpene Amakwata, the District Director of Education, Madam Roselyn Kafui, Ofori, and the GIFEC Zonal Manager for the Oti Region of Ghana.
After reviewing two possible locations, the team selected the Nkonya R/C Junior High School as the most feasible, though the building would need some renovations. The facility was large enough to hold two ICT Labs equipped with EDULab, a Makerspace and a Conference Room. The building is centrally located and easily accessible to 31 schools with a total of 3,267 students.
The community was enthusiastic about the lab and completely remodeled the building to the specifications provided by TECHAiDE to accommodate two 28 station EDULab Gold systems that are wirelessly connected to ASANKA devices. They are loaded with the TECHAiDE Educational Bundle, which is designed to promote STEM learning.
The Makerspace consists of Augmented/Virtual Reality, 3D printing and Robotics equipment. The conference room includes the TECHAiDE Multimedia Teaching Tool, including a projector, screen and wireless connections. The Center has also been equipped with solar panels so that the students will experience no disruptions in the event of a power failure.
The Center was officially dedicated on November 19th, 2020 in a ceremony with Nanai Otoker Kwame Tegyi II, Paramount Chief of the Nkonya Traditional Area, the Honorable Comfort Attah, Deputy Chief Executive of Biakoye, Dr. Debora Rose, President of the Helping Africa Foundation, Mr. Japhet Aryiku, Executive Director of the Helping Africa Foundation, and Mr. Kafui Prebbie, CEO of TECHAiDE.
Other Lab Projects
