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JOHANNESBURG: Moss Marakalala was 11 when he first used a laptop at an after-school programme in Johannesburg, sparking an interest in technology that inspired him to provide young people like himself from South African townships with digital education.
Today, the 21-year-old runs a production company with his brother and tutors students from townships - deprived, urban areas formed under the apartheid government for people of colour - to become more tech-savvy and enhance their job prospects.
\"I feel like tutoring helps me open up a world for others, because IT can create opportunities,\" Marakalala said in Johannesburg at the office of Tomorrow Trust, the charity that introduced him to technology and where he now teaches others.
With apps that help detect breast cancer or facilitate business for informal traders, entrepreneurs and charities are striving to ensure the poorest are connected in a country marked by severe power cuts and extreme inequality.
The so-called \"digital divide<\/a>\" - the gap between those who have access to technology and the internet<\/a> and those who do not - is of rising concern to tech experts in African nations, which have some of the world's lowest internet connectivity rates
This divide is particularly stark in South African townships, which are typically underdeveloped and neglected areas with high rates of poverty, unemployment and crime.
For many of the country's poorest citizens, internet access is still a luxury, said Johan Steyn, chair of the artificial intelligence<\/a> and robotics interest group at the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa.
\"We should utilise smart technology platforms to help others achieve a better life, however technology is not the answer by itself,\" he said, adding that the government and public also need to address wider social issues such as hunger and crime.
TECH EDUCATION<\/strong>
The South African Tomorrow Trust charity provides orphans and vulnerable children with educational and psychosocial support, as well as feeding programmes.
In 2019, the charity decided it also had to include digital education.
\"It's only fair that every person in this country has got a fair chance at success, right? Because it would be such an injustice if somebody was not exposed to knowing the basics of computers,\" said Taryn Rae, its chief executive officer.
The charity has trained at least 350 students from townships on computer basics, from creating an email address and using the video call platform Zoom to coding and robotics training.
The rollout of its tech programme was perfectly timed.
When the country imposed a COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, hundreds of students were able to keep learning remotely using laptops and data packages supplied by the charity.
\"We saw students connecting and helping one another out with tech learning online, it was awesome to see,\" said Marakalala, who hails from the Thembisa township near Johannesburg.
About half of these students are now considering jobs in the IT sector<\/a>, according to Rae.
\"Before, everyone said they wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer. But now they are thinking about the tech industry<\/a> so we are equipping them for jobs of the future,\" she said.
INFORMAL ECONOMY<\/strong>
While the Tomorrow Trust looks to increase digital literacy<\/a>, other organisations are striving to improve internet access.
The non-profit Project Isizwe aims to bring affordable public WiFi<\/a> internet to poor communities across South Africa, including townships, and has reached more than 1.8 million people since 2013.
In partnership with funders, private companies and the government, Project Isizwe builds WiFi zones with hardware that connects directly to internet service providers<\/a> (ISPs), bypassing costly internet infrastructure.
Local government and donors sponsor the infrastructure and data costs, allowing \"WiFi entrepreneurs\" from low-income areas to sell affordable WiFi and make a profit on each sale.
Tech entrepreneur Brian Makwaiba said he believed bringing internet access and digital opportunities into townships will help create jobs in a nation where about one in three are unemployed. In 2017, Makwaiba founded the Vuleka app, which aggregates orders from informal business owners to place bulk orders from manufacturers at reduced costs, and then distribute the products - such as soaps, sugar and rice - directly to the vendors.
About 6,000 traders place 50 daily orders on average through the Vuleka app and it helps them build a credit score in order to eventually take out bank loans.
\"Informal business owners can't be left behind,\" said Makwaiba. \"If we don't digitise this space, we risk not being able to sustain our economy.\"
HOLISTIC SOLUTIONS<\/strong>
Tech experts say that as well as townships, South Africa's rural areas risk missing out on technological advancements.
Pretoria-based radiographer Kathryn Malherbe saw this firsthand when breast cancer patients from rural or poor areas arrived for treatment when it was too late to help them, spurring her to invent a mobile app called Breast AI.
The app uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to compare breast scans - sent to a laptop, computer, tablet or smartphone from a wireless ultrasound probe - to thousands of other scans to detect any abnormalities.
These scans are then sent on to the nearest hospital or clinic where patients can receive treatment.
The company is now in talks with major healthcare firms to roll out the software nationwide and hopes to use the algorithm to help with other health issues such as wound treatment.
The app could help the one in 26 South African women who are at risk of developing breast cancer, but tech solutions need to be backed up by education, said Malherbe, who also runs a charity that teaches people about cancer diagnosis and care.
In a country with an array of human rights issues from high crime rates to gender-based violence, tech education and access are sometimes viewed as less urgent matters to address, said Rae of the Tomorrow Trust. But she says this should not be the case.
\"Everyone deserves access to what tech has the potential to solve,\" said Rae.
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南非在乡镇科技企业家解决数字鸿沟
“我觉得家教帮助我打开一个世界对于其他人来说,因为它可以创造机会,”Marakalala说明天在办公室在约翰内斯堡的信任,慈善机构,将他介绍给技术,现在他教别人。
约翰内斯堡:苔藓Marakalala 11岁时第一次使用笔记本电脑在约翰内斯堡的一个课外项目,引发技术感兴趣,启发他为年轻人喜欢自己从南非城镇提供数字教育。
今天,这位21岁的经营着一家生产公司和他的兄弟和导师的学生从乡镇到贫困,城市地区形成种族隔离政府对人们的色彩——更加精通技术,提高他们的就业前景。
“我觉得家教帮助我打开一个世界对于其他人来说,因为它可以创造机会,”Marakalala说明天在办公室在约翰内斯堡的信任,慈善机构,将他介绍给技术,现在他教别人。
与应用程序帮助检测乳腺癌或促进业务对非正式的交易员而言,企业家和慈善机构正努力确保最贫困的连接在一个国家的严重的停电和极端不平等。
所谓的“数字鸿沟”——那些获得技术和之间的差距互联网和那些不上升的关注科技专家在非洲国家中,有一些世界的互联网连接率最低
这在南非城镇划分尤为明显,这是典型的欠发达和被忽视的地区高贫困率、失业和犯罪。
对许多国家的最贫穷的公民,互联网接入仍然是一个奢侈品,主席约翰Steyn说人工智能和机器人研究所的利益集团信息技术专业人士南非。
“我们应该利用智能技术平台帮助他人实现更好的生活,但是技术不是答案本身,”他说,并补充说,政府和公众也需要解决更广泛的社会问题,如饥饿和犯罪。
科技教育
南非明天信任慈善机构为孤儿和弱势儿童提供教育和心理支持,以及饲养项目。
2019年,该慈善机构决定它还必须包括数字教育。
“这很公平,每个人在这个国家有一个公平的机会成功,对吗?因为这是这样一个不公如果有人没有接触了解电脑的基本知识,“Taryn Rae其首席执行官表示。
慈善机构培训了至少350名学生从乡镇计算机基础知识,从创建一个电子邮件地址和使用视频通话平台放大编码和机器人技术培训。
其科技计划的推出是恰逢其时。
当一个国家实施了COVID-19封锁2020年3月,数百名学生能够不断学习使用笔记本电脑和数据远程包提供的慈善机构。
“我们看到学生连接和互相帮助与技术学习在网上,那真是太棒了,”Marakalala说,来自Thembisa乡约翰内斯堡附近的人。
大约一半的这些学生正在考虑工作IT行业,根据雷。
“之前,每个人都说他们想成为一名医生或律师。但现在他们思考科技行业我们为未来的工作,”她说。
非正规经济
虽然明天是增加信任数字素养,其他组织正在努力改善互联网接入。
非营利项目Isizwe旨在将负担得起的无线网络互联网在南非贫困社区,包括城镇,已经达到了自2013年以来,超过180万人。
与投资者合作,私营企业和政府、项目Isizwe构建无线区域直接与硬件连接互联网服务提供商(isp),绕过昂贵的互联网基础设施。
当地政府和捐助者资助基础设施和成本数据,允许“WiFi企业家”从低收入地区出售廉价无线网络在每一笔销售和盈利。
Brian Makwaiba科技企业家表示,他认为互联网接入和数字机会带进乡镇将帮助创造就业机会的国家,大约三分之一的失业。Makwaiba Vuleka应用成立,2017年,聚集来自非正式企业主那里大量订购的订单从制造商降低成本,然后分发产品,如肥皂、糖和大米——直接供应商。
平均约50 6000交易员每日订单通过Vuleka应用,它可以帮助他们建立一个信用评分为了最终拿出银行贷款。
“非正式企业主不能留下,”Makwaiba说。“如果我们不数字化这个空间,我们风险无法维持我们的经济。”
整体解决方案
技术专家称,以及乡、南非的农村地区风险错过技术进步。
Pretoria-based放射线技师凯瑟琳Malherbe亲眼看到这个从农村或贫困地区乳腺癌患者到达时治疗太晚来帮助他们时,刺激她发明了一种手机应用程序称为乳房AI。
利用人工智能和机器学习这个软件比较乳房扫描发送到一台笔记本电脑,电脑,平板电脑或智能手机无线超声波探测器——成千上万的扫描,以发现任何异常。
这些扫描然后发送到最近的医院或诊所,患者可以接受治疗。
公司目前与重大医疗公司推出全国软件,希望使用该算法来帮助与其他健康问题,如伤口治疗。
这个应用程序可以帮助在26日南非女性患乳腺癌的风险,但是技术解决方案需要支持教育、Malherbe说,他还经营着一家慈善机构,教导人们对癌症诊断和治疗。
在一个数组的国家人权问题的基于性别的暴力犯罪率高,科技教育和访问有时被视为不紧急重要的地址,明天Rae表示信任。但是她说不应该这样。
“每个人都应该使用什么技术有潜力解决,”雷说。
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