Read iT Mobile Library & E-Learning Application

Read iT is a platform established to enhance, support and increase interest in education among children in Malawi aged between 7-17 years old. Its aim is to provide solutions to help them stay and excel in schools to ensure capacity and capability enrichment in preparation for their future career prospects.

Malawi is one of the world’s least developed countries located in the Southern part of Africa. Current GDP per Capita is at $300 with a majority of Malawians surviving on less than a Dollar a day. The country population is at 16 million with 70% living in Rural areas. The tough economic situation has heavily affected the Education sector with public schools operating under huge pressure with insufficient class rooms and inadequate resources. Out of the Children that enroll in School for primary education, only 12% finish secondary education. 

The gap between the Rich and Poor in the country is so huge such that the education system favors the rich. This means that less privileged children are disadvantaged right from the start. Due to poverty, most parents are unable to provide education resources to their children and as a result many children are less motivated to stay in School. Early school dropouts, substance abuse, early pregnancies, early marriages and HIV & AIDS infections amongst young Children is a common occurrence. This platform was therefore established as one way of bridging the gap so that no child drops out of school due to a lack of education resources. The project will establish a mobile Library and an e-learning platform to give all children access to reading resources. The Mobile Library will move around in schools to give students in these Schools an opportunity to borrow books on a weekly basis.  Selected schools will be given 2 hours where they will also have access to e-learning resources available on the Mobile Library. Through the e-learning platform, children all over the country will be able to access a mobile application where they will have access to e-books as well as educational games to complement their learning.

My visits in public schools propelled me to start this project after realizing how a lack of books contributes to School dropouts. Textbooks costs around $6 in the country and with the current economy, owning a book is impossible for most children in public Schools.

This program therefore addresses the problem by providing Children an opportunity to access books through the mobile Library or Application. I believe this solution will be greatly impactful as even those from underprivileged households will have access to reading materials and be exposed to Technology at an early age.

For this Initiative, partnerships with various stakeholders such as mobile phone providers for network access and subsidized rates; content providers for relevant education materials;  App developers for the e-learning solution and the Education Ministry are required.

Currently, 3 schools have been identified to pilot the project and plans are in place to start developing the Application.

We hope that the Solve community will assist us in meeting some of our requirements such as a mobile van and also to connect us with international partners that are willing to provide or fund the Malawi schools access to e-book resources.   

I believe that easy and free access to books is important to ensure that all children in the country are given an opportunity to learn.  Books play a significant role in children’s lives as they are packed with knowledge, insights and life lessons. Books expose us to new things and help us improve and expand our understanding.

The E-learning Application will positively impact the lives of all children in Malawi including the disadvantaged ones as exposure to it will open a whole new world of technology which we believe will give them the hunger to learn and strive for more.

Tracking of number of books borrowed

- 3000 Books borrowed each week

Tracked by number of hits on the application - 100,000 users accessing the Application every week

Number of Schools Participating - 30 Schools participating in the project in a period of 12 months

For Malawi, this e-learning platform and Mobile Library will be a first of its kind and since 38% of the population has access to mobile phones, we envision a successful take off.

Part of the funding that we hope to receive from Solve will go towards the purchase of e-readers which will be donated to schools in areas worst hit by poverty so that children there are also given the same opportunities. This project will complement the government efforts to keep children in school with hopes of reducing child illiteracy levels currently at 72%, higher than other low income countries.

I believe that easy and free access to books is important to ensure that all children in the country are given an opportunity to learn.  Books play a significant role in our life as they are packed with knowledge, insights and life lessons. Books expose us to new things and help us improve and expand an understanding of things. The Mobile Library and E-learning platform will benefit local children, their parents and teachers as will be available at no cost. Even though the Mobile Library will be available to limited schools, the e-learning Application will be available to all kids. 

During the Pilot phase, demos will be arranged in schools across the country where school representatives will be trained on how to use the Application. In turn they will train fellow students. Through partnerships with Phone Operators, access to the e-learning materials on the Application will be at subsidized internet rates to ensure affordability for all children including those that are less privileged.

The Mobile Library will be made available to selected schools in the city. Children will be required to register through their schools. Three Schools have been selected to pilot the Project to ensure a smooth rollout. 

The target market for this project is very big such that  to roll it out at once requires huge finances which our Organization cannot afford currently.

This however does not discourage us, so far we have purchased over 3000 books which will sustain us during our pilot phase.

The Organization has also saved USD 10,000 which will go towards the purchase of the van expected to be turned into our first mobile Library.

To ensure sustainability for growth purposes, the organization plans to sell the technology to private schools and use the proceeds to fund more vans in future.

The major challenge we are envisioning is availability of e-learning materials for our Application. With Solve’s help, we are hoping for linkages with partners with the capacity to donate to us the required materials such as extra vans and books as well as funds for the access of e-books and educational games for the Application.

This is a lot to ask but any help from Solve will be life changing.

As a child growing up in Malawi, I am a living example of how books can transform a life. Through books I had a glimpse of how much more there was out there, from books was born my hunger of wanting more out of life than what was available to me. I was not satisfied until I obtained that MBA that I previously only read about, from a University in the UK. I trust that through Solve, I will be able to give the same opportunities to many children in Malawi regardless of their social status, thereby transforming many lives. 

Currently we have partnered with 3 public schools that we are using to pilot this, and Mhub (specialists in tech solutions),  we have also reached out to two main mobile phone operators in the country for free sim provisioning and subsidized data rates.

Currently this Solution is a first of its kind in the country, we do not have any competitors.