About Bibliothèque Numérique Lokole O Méga

Bibliothèque numérique Lokole 0 Méga is a project of Ascoderu to bring affordable digital educational materials and email communications to rural communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo DRC.

The Bibliothèque numérique Lokole 0 Méga enables everyone to access sustainable web and email applications by pooling people resources and sharing the cost of bandwidth.

The name of "Lokole" refers to the slit drum that traditionally was used for long-distance communication in some areas of the Congo DRC.

Training session on the use of Box Lokole Numérique.

Why Bibliothèque numérique Lokole 0 Méga?

Worldwide there is an evident that digital divide disables most people to access affordable services and technology. For instance, in the DRC more than 76 millions of the people are still unconnected to the Internet (Africa Internet User Stats and 2021 Population by Country (internetworldstats.com) . In the DRC the price of 1GB of data is $1.00 for 48 hrs (Vodacom), almost as much as the average daily income $1.10 (World Bank). With our own developed special server called Box Lokole Numérique used in our Bibliothèque Numérique Lokole 0 Méga library, the cost can be as low as $3 per person/month.

Box Lokole Numerique

Today, the access to internet and the digital world are considered the key factors in the promotion of sustainable development. For instance, by enabling people to connect to the digital world at our Bibliothèque numérique Lokole 0 Méga with Ascoderu, enhances and promotes the UN Sustainable Development Goals 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructures. While providing sustainable access to digital systems, Ascoderu also enables people to build more resilient and sustainable cities (UN SDG 11).

The Lokole portable devices are being used and demoed in several places in Kinshasa, in the Congo DRC as street digital libraries.

Only one goal

The long-term goal is to disseminate education via a digital library using our LOKOLE system throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The immediate goal is to setup a place where local people in Kinshasa, DRC can access a very affordable (ex. $3/person/month) digital library to study using the stored training and educational videos on the LOKOLE system. Once the Digital Library has 300 members it will become self-sufficient including a salary for the teacher.

We need initial seed funding to pay rent, purchase equipment and pay the initial wages of the Digital Librarian/teacher for 6 months.

Budget:

1. Operation Costs
- Facility rental ($100/mo)                              $ 600
- Utilities cost ($50/mo)                                  $ 300
- Library supervisor ($300/mo)                      $1800
- Technical support ($20/mo)                    $ 120
- Municipal Taxes ($100/mo)                         $ 600

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Operation Total ($570/mo) $3420 (for 6 months)

2- Library Equipment

- 11 x tables and chairs $ 220

- 11 x chairs $ 440

- 11 x Android tablets $2200

- 11 x headphones wireless bluetooth $ 220

- 2 x Box Lokole (one is a spare) $ 800

- 1 x Large screen (for group presentations) $ 120

- 1 x solar panel charger $ 370

- 1 x Solar battery 12v 100W $ 370

-1 x Inverter 12Vdc - 220Vac 1000W $ 200

- 1 x Solar panel voltage regulator 12V 30A $ 40

- 3 x Extension cord 6 power outlet $ 36

- 1 x Fan (to make the room comfortable) $ 50

- 1 x Installation and Miscellaneous $ 934

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Total Library Equipment US$6000

TOTAL AMOUNT TO RAISE US$ 9420

Roadmap:

Stage 1:

- Secure a room to rent to setup the Digital Library by the end of February
- Purchase equipment for the Digital Library (see Budget above for details)

Stage 2:

- Train library staff
- Advertise the Digital Library

Stage 3:

- Start teaching (the Digital Library will be able to support up to 300 "students" per term)

Your support matters

We are a handful of people volunteering to achieve "BIBLIOTHEQUE NUMEIQUE LOKOLE 0 MEGA ". We're grateful for all donations and any amount. If you can support our project in any way, please get in touch at info@ascoderu.com

Your donation helps us to reduce the existing digital divide and gives hope to many people who otherwise would not be able to experience the digital world.

Thank you,

Ascoderu Team.

“The capacity to receive, download and share information through electronic networks, the freedom to communicate freely across national boundaries -- these must become realities for all people.”

-

Kofi Annan