Rural communities in Kenya significantly benefit from network towers near them, opposing them to communication access that could change revolutionize their daily life activities. Ngurunit, a village at the border of Marsabit and Samburu counties, is testament to this statement after its residents started accessing network coverage on August 30th, after Safaricom set up a tower on a hill in the village.
Local businesses in the area are already noticing changes in how they do business. Lilian Nalilian Lekadaa, a manager at the Ngurunit Basket Weavers, a group of her 289 basket weavers who sell nomadic baskets, says network connectivity made doing businesses easy for the women. Before August 30th, the organization had to wait for a written order physically delivered from Maralal or Nairobi now receive their orders via WhatsApp, and are taking advantage of real-time communication to connect to countrywide and international markets.
“Previously, we would have to wait for a written order to make baskets or communicate through Laura Lemunyete who would travel from Maralal or Nairobi to inform us of an [basket] order to process. We now communicate with her directly, and access order details and monitor progress in real-time. The network connectivity is also helping women in other businesses in the area like honey and ” says Lilian.
Pastoralists in the area use the network connectivity to connect with potential customers, negotiate prices of livestock and make decisions on dates and market locations for exchange. Further, they also share information on sick animals, allowing them to benefit from veterinary services sooner, saving the lives of their animals. Michael Lakuraki, the Chairman of the community water project, says network coverage is helping pastoralists coordinate efforts to track lost animals.
The telco which turns 20 years this month built a 2G/3g cell tower in Ngurunit to connect the pastoralist village to network connectivity. The tower transmits microwaves from another 2G/3G tower in Lonjorin. Engineer Haron Cheruiyot, the engineer behind constructing the mast, says that locals sometimes paid up to Ksh 10,000 to travel to Korr, the nearest town, via motorbike to make important phone calls.
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