A Visit to Nairobi
In February, we travelled to Nairobi to support a number of Jangala deployments across Kenya. The trip focused on getting Big Box units into the hands of partners, strengthening relationships on the ground, and understanding how our technology is being used in different contexts.
While there, I distributed several Big Boxes to organisations across the country and met with partners working in a wide range of settings, from urban community projects to refugee camps. But one visit in particular stood out.
Project visit to Best ICT
The visit to Best ICT was the highlight of the trip. Best ICT is a learning centre set up by the Mojatu Foundation, a UK-based organisation, together with Youth Future Lab, the in-country team working alongside them. Youth Future Lab is a youth-led organisation with a strong team, supporting young people to develop and achieve their full potential through both online and locally delivered skills development and training programmes.
My day began with an Uber to Youth Future Lab’s Nairobi office, where I met the team. Fredrik, a Project Officer and our driver for the day, lives in the same building and invited me in for breakfast. We shared a simple but excellent meal of rice and beans with fresh avocado and mango from a local farm.
From there, Fredrik drove the team and me to the project site. The centre is located in a rural highland village around two hours north of Nairobi. The drive was beautiful and gave a real sense of the geography and remoteness of the area.
At the centre, I met Frank, who has worked with Mojatu for many years. He previously lived in the UK while working at their head office and is originally from the village. He showed me around the project, which includes a computer lab, a classroom, and a church space.
After introductions, I talked the team through the Big Box, how it works, and how it could best support the centre. They had previously relied on a MiFi device, but now have a Big Box, which I helped them to set up.
Their planned setup is to place the Big Box in the computer lab, with computers connected directly via Ethernet. They will also use one access point in a separate classroom and another outside the building to extend access to the wider community. The system made it straightforward to create a network across these different spaces, connect the computer lab, and manage usage in a way that helps preserve data while still providing a good experience for everyone.
The setup itself was quick, which gave us time to talk more about the centre and their plans for the future. The team shared their stories and the motivations behind setting up the centre, and why this work is so important to them.
Afterwards, I walked through the village with Frank and Alice. They showed me around and took me to Frank’s family home, where we shared a home-cooked lunch. It was a great opportunity to spend more time with the team and gain a deeper understanding of their work and daily life. Mojatu currently operates eight centres like this across Kenya, and there are clear opportunities for further collaboration.
Alongside the Mojatu visit, the trip included meeting other organisations and delivering Big Boxes directly to partners working on the ground. These conversations were just as important, helping us understand how our technology performs in different environments and where it can have the greatest impact.
Across the board, there is a growing demand for simple, reliable connectivity solutions that can be deployed quickly and adapted to local needs.
Trips like this are a reminder that the most important part of our work is not the technology itself, but what it enables. Access to the internet opens up opportunities to learn, connect, and build for the future.
We are excited to continue working with Mojatu, Youth Future Lab and our other partners across Kenya to expand that access even further.
