North West Goes Digital

Health and Education are vital to a community’s development and growth. Samsung’s digital villages are changing lives around the country.

The official opening ceremony of the Lesego Digital Village in Ratlou, 70km north-west of Mahikeng in North West Province was attended by more than 1,000 members of the community and 250 VIP guests on Friday, 8th December 2017. The area is remote and health services are inaccessible for most of the 2,000 residents, most of whom live in abject poverty.

To bring hope and make a positive impact on the lives of residents, The Lesego Digital Village facilities deliver primary health care to the community. The clinic comprises of three consulting rooms, which offer mother and child health-care services, ultra-sound scanner, blood analysis, immunisation and vaccination services, an X-ray department with a Samsung digital X-ray machine for general radiology services, reception area, dispensary, ablution facilities, kitchenette, outside waiting area, guardhouse, and a hybrid solar power plant.

Additionally, a smart classroom is kitted out with 40 tablets, an interactive e-board and printer. This is where classes will be streamed for community health worker training. A learning centre is also in development at Kraaipan and Taletso FET College in Mahikeng has agreed to Partner with Samsung and the Ratlou Municipality to present accredited courses.

In the spirit of “skilling the youth for entrepreneurship and employability”, Samsung offered courses to two groups of 20 young women and men. The first group of 20 received training in cell phone repair and the second 20 were trained in electronic waste management, which includes recognising electronic waste and how to go about extracting and selling what is valuable.

Mr Sung Yoon, CEO of Samsung Electronics South Africa said in his opening speech: “At Samsung, we believe in creating innovative products and services that make a positive impact on people’s lives and I am confident this initiative will make a significant difference in this community.”

Over the past three years, Samsung has had the privilege of being involved in other projects in North West. These include two mobile clinics donated to the Department of Health; two Smart Classrooms – at Oukasie near Brits and one at Ga-Maubane, west of Sun City. Also at Ga-Moabane, Samsung established a solar-powered health centre and an Engineering Academy at Mogwase, which is just east of Sun City. The Engineering Academy specialises in skilling learners about refrigeration, air conditioning and electronics. Samsung has also donated air conditioners and domestic appliances to Thari Mmelegi Orphanage at Monakato, which houses more than 60 children.

The community members were deeply grateful for the Digital village and are looking forward to taking advantage of the life-enhancing facilities and technology.