Kyrgyzstan: On a mission to provide internet to the most remote schools
The post-pandemic world is digital.
According to Project Connect, a UNICEF-led initiative that maps school connectivity around the world, 1% of schools in Kyrgyzstan still don’t have access to the World Wide Web.
Many of these schools are in harder-to-reach areas, including Zardaly, an isolated village in the mountains of Southern Kyrgyzstan.
Zardaly is home to about 150 people who live without electricity, TV, radio, or internet. Located high in the mountains, Zardaly cannot even be reached by car. A rocky mountain trail is the only direct route to the village and donkeys are the most reliable form of transport.
The lack of connectivity in Zardaly also discourages tourists from visiting. Guesthouses are often vacant, and grandparents living in Zardaly rarely see their grandchildren, who prefer to stay connected to the internet. Internet access would also bring positive benefits to healthcare and emergency medicine, helping connect locals with vital medical assistance and schedule online video appointments for those living in very remote areas.
Nevertheless, the lack of connectivity has not stripped the residents of Zardaly of their creativity. In an effort to overcome the problem, several innovative ideas have been proposed.
One of which is the Internet in a Box initiative – a device that stores a vast digital library, including materials from the Khan Academy in Kyrgyz, as well as thousands of video and audio lessons, e-books, and Wikipedia pages in Kyrgyz, Russian, and English.
The Internet in a Box doesn’t only tackle the issue of connectivity, it is also helping to pass down Kyrgyzstani cultural heritage, providing people access to rare cartoons in Kyrgyz, many of which are hard to access.
Creative locals have also learned to protect their devices from the harsh weather conditions in the region by using a plastic bottle to shield the live wires.
Before the beginning of the pandemic, a team from the Kyrgyz Internet Society made a trip up to Zardaly by donkey to see how the Internet in a Box devices were working. To ensure the devices had enough power, the team brought a large solar panel which had to be transported by hand up the trail.
To connect the rest of the schools in Kyrgyzstan to the internet, Giga, a joint project by UNICEF and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in collaboration with the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, launched an open call for local service providers to provide internet access to the 13 of the hardest-to-reach schools in the country.
Although there were some initial setbacks in finding service providers, including issues related to the high cost of connecting such remote areas and the challenges of operating in the harsh winter conditions, the Giga initiative continued to explore new ways to connect the last 1% of schools in Kyrgyzstan to the internet.
In collaboration with the Internet Society Kyrgyzstan chapter, Giga is developing a playbook of connectivity solutions and business models to test and provide internet to schools in remote and mountainous regions across Kyrgyzstan. By combining UNICEF’s experience in education and procurement, ITU’s expertise in regulation and policy, and the private sector’s ability to scale up tech solutions, Giga, together with the Government of Kyrgyzstan aim to provide an affordable and sustainable internet connection for the remaining mountainous schools in Kyrgyzstan, extending the benefits of connectivity to the surrounding communities.
This piece was originally written by Lamia Farah and was adapted for the UNSDG site by the DCO editorial team.
To learn more about UN Country Team's work in Kyrgyzstan, visit: Kyrgyzstan.UN.org.
