Supporting small business development

Before the Ericsson partnership began in Mayange in September 2007, Jeanne D’Arc Mukamuligo, a member of the Imasirire (sunrise) basket weaving cooperative, had to travel 40 kilometers to Kigali just to order more material for her business. With the introduction of Internet into Mayange, Jeanne is now able to order materials online, obviating the need for time-consuming and costly travel.

Because of Internet access, Jeanne is also able to connect and share information with clients in the U.S. to whom she is exporting internationally. Her basket weaving business provides her and 200 other women in Mayange with additional income for their families and is helping to raise living standards in the community.

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Creating a global classroom

In Mayange, primary schools are overcrowded, with classes as big as 80 children. The teachers lack books, supplies, and training. The introduction of the Internet in schools is improving the quality of education students receive and opening them up to a whole new world of learning and instant access to information.

Mbabazi Arithul, a 12 year-old Mayange student, uses the Internet to help him with his homework and get answers quickly to problems. Mutoni Fnavie, a 14 year-old student, is eager to teach others how to use the Internet. He also hopes to one day afford an Internet connection so that his children can benefit from the Web as well.

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Community Health Workers improve health services

When the Millennium Villages project began in Rwanda in 2006, the Mayange Health Center was attempting to serve the local population despite having inadequate nursing staff and virtually no medicines or equipment, as well as no running water or electricity. At the time nearly one in five children died before age 5.

As part of Ericsson’s commitment to providing connectivity to the Millennium Village sites, it is supplying a number of mobile phones to Community Health Workers, members of the community who help deliver basic health services free of charge.

According to Dr. Joseph Nkurunzizai, the Health Coordinator for the project, the mobile phones are helping Community Health Workers keep track of all health-related problems in Mayange (a population of about 25,000 people). For example, in the event of an emergency, CHWs can send an SMS or place a call to the clinic to alert the health staff of an outbreak or other critical health problem.

All of this is helping to dramatically improve health service and delivery in Mayange.

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