IT Department Update

By James Chalo

During this hard time of COVID-19, the IT department in Kenya has come up with ways of supporting our students. We have decided to allow students to access the computer lab two days a week on staggered schedules to maintain social distancing. In addition, the team is supporting students in the following ways:

• We are printing school assignments and class review notes for Grades 4 through 8 for primary students and Forms 1 through 4 for secondary students and they come to the office to pick them up. We also send notes and instructions through WhatsApp to reduce the number of times students must come to the office. 
• Supporting post-secondary students as they have been busy doing research on their career courses and preparing for scholarship interviews.
• We are facilitating virtual interviews between post-secondary students and the Scholarship Committee as they request support for their post-secondary education programs.
• Students who are doing online classes via Zoom have been given internet access in the computer lab.
• We are facilitating student/sponsor email communication by allowing students to come to the lab and reply to emails.
• We are posting news, study materials, and tips for keeping safe frequently on our website and social media.

In total, we receive 10 to 35 students every week and all have to be scheduled by their case managers for specific appointment times. We only allow 7 students per session and each student spends not more than one hour in the lab depending on what he or she came to do. The IT department, in collaboration with other departments, will continue supporting the students while observing all safety guidelines.