Communication | "Wancun Tong" opens a window for remote rural areas in Africa to see the world

2024-03-18

"Before that, our lives were limited to the present. The 'Wan Cun Tong' project allowed us to see the world outside the village. Nigerian Bako Ota recalled his excitement when the 'Wan Cun Tong' project arrived in his village of Hulumi seven years ago.". "That night, we were so happy that even if there was a sudden power outage, we had to turn on the generator just to watch TV programs." Ota was just one of the millions of beneficiaries of the "Ten Thousand Villages Connect" project in remote rural areas of Africa. In December 2015, in order to promote the construction of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Africa, the Chinese government proposed to focus on implementing the "Ten Major Cooperation Plans" with the African side. Among them, the "Wan Cun Tong" project aims to provide satellite digital TV signals to 10000 villages in Africa. As of December 2023, the "Ten Thousand Villages Connect" project of China's aid to Africa has successfully completed its construction work in 20 countries in Africa, covering 9512 villages and directly benefiting over 190000 households. Mozambique's President Nusi once stated at the handover ceremony of the "Ten Thousand Villages Connect" project that the project will help narrow the digital and information gap between urban and rural areas in Mozambique, as well as between the country and the world, and is of great significance for improving local livelihoods, promoting public education and social development. As the project implementer, Zhongqi Sida Era donated 2 sets of solar projection TV systems and 1 set of digital TV all-in-one system to the public areas of each assisted village. These devices have become important channels for villagers to obtain external information. "Through television, we can obtain information about modern agriculture, government projects, infectious disease prevention, and more. My favorite program is sports matches, and the clear television footage makes the matches look even more exciting," said Mulindahabi Augustin, a resident of the aid village in Rwanda. The 34th African Cup of Nations (AFC) was held in C ô te d'Ivoire in early 2024, Sida Times broadcasted all 52 matches of this year's African Cup and hired sports professionals to provide commentary in six local languages, including Swahili, Yoruba, and Hausa, receiving a warm welcome from fans. "Thank you to the Chinese company for connecting the satellite TV signal to our village. Now we can finally sit together with our whole family to watch the game!" said Abisa, a villager from Yau Village in Cote d'Ivoire. Ma Shaoyong, Overseas Public Relations Director of Sida Times Group, introduced that the TV penetration rate in many regions of Africa is relatively low. Before the company entered Africa, it had to pay high initial and monthly fees to watch digital TV. The initial installation fee was over $200, and the viewing fee was between $50 and $100 per month. Now the initial installation fee for the Sida Era set-top box is only about $10, and users only need to pay a monthly fee of $3 to $5 to watch nearly 30 digital TV channels such as news, sports, and movies. Digital TV is no longer a luxury exclusive to high-income families, but has entered countless ordinary African households. In order to ensure the sustainable operation of the "Wancun Tong" project and TV services, Sida Era has trained TV technicians in the assisted villages to participate in after-sales maintenance work. Nunes Guardaria, a 31 year old Mozambican, is one of the country's 2200 technicians. Guardaria stated that participating in the "Wancun Tong" project was the most meaningful experience of his career. I can help

Edit:Yi Jing    Responsible editor:Li Nian

Source:XinhuaNet

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