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Peter helps poor in Tanzania
Wednesday November 26th 2008. Posted: 08:00
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Peter Leonhardt (right) receives his award from FITCE Europe president Barry Reynolds
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BT’s Peter Leonhardt is making a real difference to the education of children in the poorest district of Tanzania following a recent visit he made there.
Peter, of BT Global Services technical support, is involved in a project that aims to work out the most appropriate technology for providing rural internet connectivity in the Serengeti district in the north of the country. Working with ICT for Rural Development (ICT4RD) - a Tanzanian-run project based at the Dar Es Salaam Institute of Technology - Peter has helped install wireless internet equipment in schools, hospitals and government offices. He said: “Moving forward, I am planning to create a website for the schools in Tanzania we connected to the internet, providing them with practical information on the best use of the web for education. “This will include an index of the best websites providing information on the subjects taught in the schools. This addresses the problem that is faced when this new technology is rolled out to schools which have no experience of the internet, and teachers and pupils need help in understanding how to make the best use of it. “To get the best content for this website, I am looking for help from schools and teachers in the UK and also anyone who is interested in this idea. If successful, I will look at expanding it for use across other schools in Tanzania and more countries in this position.” Following his Tanzania visit, Peter addressed the London congress of FITCE - the forum for European information communication technology (ICT) professionals - on the use of appropriate telecoms systems in schools in developing countries and won a €500 (£422) prize for presenting the best paper. He hopes to visit Tanzania again next year.
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Last updated:
08:56