Keeping Africa connected

With hundreds of refugee camps across the continent lacking connectivity, refugee communities risk being left out of Africa's digital future. There is a growing digital gap between urban areas and rural communities where refugee camps are often located, creating significant barriers to education, health care, and economic opportunities.

To address this disparity, researchers from the Upanzi Network at Carnegie Mellon University Africa in collaboration with CMU-Africa's Center for Inclusive Digital Transformation of Africa, World Vision Rwanda, and other partners, worked to deploy a low-cost connectivity infrastructure in Kiziba refugee camp in Rwanda. Powered by SLS Energy—a CMU-Africa startup—the network utilizes battery-powered Raspberry Pi mesh nodes and open-source technology to deploy the system on-site, which eliminates the need for traditionally expensive infrastructure like towers. These low resource devices can be powered with a laptop or even charged through a solar-powered system.

The community mesh networks also leverage local transportation to act as a data carrier, extending network coverage and promoting data exchange in different communities.

"My motivation for this project comes from growing up in a remote community in Sierra Leone," said Mohamed Fofanah, research associate at the Upanzi Network and lead on this research project. "If somebody wanted to send a message or make a call, they had to walk a mile up a hill just to get signal to communicate with their relatives in big towns or cities. I faced this problem firsthand, so this is what motivated me to work on this project and solve this problem."

It is difficult to deploy traditional connectivity methods in refugee camps in part because of their rural setting, which brings challenges of sparse populations, rugged terrain, and high costs associated with infrastructure. This limitation prompted researchers to deploy their custom mesh nodes—devices that work in conjunction with other nodes to provide seamless Wi-Fi coverage—as a way to increase digital inclusion.

To ensure the network was deployed at the most essential areas of the camp first, researchers decided to deploy the network in three specific clusters: the health center, the secondary school in combination with the community center, and the primary school. These areas were deemed key epicenters for internet connectivity because they provide essential services and act as large gathering spots.

Greater reliable connectivity means faster response to health alerts, sharing of hygiene protocols, and up-to-date learning materials both in and beyond the classroom. These updates previously spread through word of mouth or physical delivery, thereby leading to slower response times and increased health risks.

Prior to the network deployment, schools in Kiziba refugee camp had no way of tracking student attendance over time. Now, in addition to uploading lessons, teachers can track attendance and analyze dropout rates at the camp.

"We look forward to the impact that this project will have on the community that lives in the Kiziba refugee camp," said Assane Gueye, co-director of the Upanzi Network. "We are proud of the successful collaboration that led to this work. It was our partners across CMU-Africa and externally that made this possible."

With the network now up and running, the next step is to promote local ownership by training community members how to troubleshoot the network in the event of a malfunction. Additional network expansion throughout the Kiziba camp along with a second camp, the Mugombwa refugee settlement, are currently underway. Future phases plan to target modern agricultural practices, additional schools, and remote health centers.

With a projected impact of providing internet access to 10,000+ residents, researchers hope their network will boost digital literacy and stimulate local economic engagement within last-mile rural communities.

Other CMU-Africa collaborators on this project include Upanzi Network research associates Pacifique Izera Ifituburyo , Mohamed Alimamy Fofanah, and Egidius Mendel Bignon Sagbadja along with assistant teaching professor, Emmanuel Ndashimye.