The Acronis Cyber Foundation recently completed the construction of a computer classroom in the Terrat Secondary School, about 80km from the city of Arusha, Tanzania. This new classroom will enable computer literacy and STEM classes for students in the region, and marks the beginning of Phase 2 in the Acronis Cyber Foundation’s Schools Initiative, empowering children in underserved communities and building the skills they’ll need to excel in the modern world.
With support from the local community, construction of the new classroom began in December 2020. Once the overall structure was assembled, TANESCO – Tanzania’s state energy agency – helped connect the school to the public power grid. Walls were cleaned and freshly painted, new tables and chairs were brought in, and 15 desktop computers were installed.
Like many villages in Tanzania, there is not yet internet access in Terrat. Still, these computers will help students to gain a solid footing in STEM, acquire basic computing skills, and learn to use the most common applications – setting them up for success and preparing them for continuous learning in the digital space. Given the rapidly evolving cyberthreat landscape, the school will have access to top-notch cyber protection with free premium licenses for Acronis True Image 2021. Later this year, Acronis will be donating additional educational resources on topics including computer literacy and cybersecurity.
“[This classroom is] a dream come true,” said Julius R. Maplan, Headmaster at the Terrat Secondary School. “We expect a lot of changes from the students, from the administration, even the society that surrounds us, because we expect to learn very new things with the help of computers.”
Construction of this classroom became possible with the help of the ECLAT Foundation and assistance from Entrepreneurs for Knowledge, a nonprofit co-founded by Acronis CEO Serguei Beloussov. The project was a joint venture between the Acronis Cyber Foundation and its partner, BUSYMOUSE Business Systems GmbH.
“We are very thankful to the Acronis Cyber Foundation and partners in Germany for making this classroom possible,” said Bakiri Angalia, Project Manager at the ECLAT foundation. “We really appreciate the initiative; it will make a big change for the community. We are sure it will change the way we understand and see things. It will give a chance to students to open up the world.”
“We at BUSYMOUSE are proud to do something good far away from home with the help of the Acronis Cyber Foundation,” said Jan Schmidt, Marketing Director at BUSYMOUSE. “As IT service providers, it’s especially important to us to bring digital education opportunities to future generations.”
