UPINGTON COUNTS ON EVOTEL!
Evotel is not just a service provider in Upington but a glimpse of hope to the future!
Placed some 800 kms away from the bright Johannesburg, Upington people rely heavily on government jobs, agriculture and tourism, but either than that, the community feels lost, as they are kicked just about 400kms away from Northern Cape’s capital, Kimberley.
Alcohol and drugs seem to be the only means of entertainment, with kids young as 14 in Grade 7 justifying why they’re addicted to weed, a green substance they say makes them “meditate and happy” and helps them forget about their life of poverty.
Internet connection seem to them like a distance development and only good for people in big cities like Johannesburg and Cape Town – but not under the watch of Evotel’s scouts who identified the area as worthy of being serviced with the fastest speed internet connection ever.
INTERNET SEEMED LIKE A DISTANT IDEA!
The financially crippled community on the banks of the Orange River, Northern Cape, is now basking in the glory of high speed internet connection.
Evotel is the leading internet connector in Upington where neighbouring plot lands have little to no coverage to the network, and now many look at the scorching hot township for connecting with the world, a service that could transform their lives for good.
This brings about a bit of hope and tourist destinations can flourish with visitors not scared of having no access to the internet.
Well, it’s not all doom and gloom in Upington, with posh suburbs surrounding the densely poor township, and the “haves” are positioned next to city, a locality where the residents live a comfortable and luxurious lifestyle`, and the “have-nots” stay in the dry land in the western side of the Oranje City.
BETWEEN ‘HAVES’AND ‘HAVE-NOTS’
Mostly dominated by Afrikaans and Xhosa languages, one is greeted by youth roaming around the streets when entering Upington, an indication that 50% of the middle aged groups are unemployed and seeking serious help, and alcohol business is thriving with every street having a tavern of their own.
Evotel employs over 30 youth from the area, with some local business people offering contracts to install and maintain our fibre infrastructure, and this has brought about a huge change to their lives, as the poverty keeps getting worse daily.
Contractors are also mandated to employ locals, a move appreciated by government, that is not coping in employing everyone.
Seeing an Evotel branded car passing-by, most community members won’t stop short of pulling it over requesting jobs, a true action that people want to work and not just loaf around, it was not out of their own doing, but circumstances have led to them being frustrated out in the cold.
A visit to community public schools was an eye opener at the manner in which learners are interested in the technology world, but unfortunately schools are not equipped with computer labs, and their curriculum does not include anything 4IR or AI.
AN EYE OPENER IN SCHOOLS!
Franciscus Intermediate School and I/S Oranje Oewer, both in Keimoes Road Progress are being renovated with the hope of erecting labs that are going to cater for technology and prepare learners for the evolution of internet, which used to be dominated by Wi-Fi and LTE, but now fibre seem to be the future.
Lionel Josephs, Oranje Oewer principal, heaped praise at Evotel for considering his school with free internet connection, which he said came just in time when they were renovating the school structure.
“At times you’d feel left out in the cold, but again you will have understand the separation between Gauteng and Northern Cape provinces,” he said.
“It seems we are too far from the development nodes and everything is happening in the big cities in Gauteng. Honestly, we cannot compete with those schools, but we are trying very hard wherever we can to improve. At the moment we cannot cope with how things are happening,
“If only we can achieve all our goals to have a stable and reliable internet connection, it will do wonders to improve the quality of our learner’s education. We are being advised by the Department of Education to include technology teachers on our role, but we worry that they will not have access to the tools of trade. It’s one thing having a gadget, but another to have the ability to use its functions to add value. Access to a reliable internet connection is great news for us.”
Andries Esau, the deputy at Franciscus, raised concerns about the standard of education Northern Cape learners, in view of what other provinces are delivering to their students.
MEASURING THE STANDARD OF EDUCATION!
“In the not-so-distant future, students from densely remote areas of South Africa will end up struggling to compete against it’s peers in the big cities of Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Bloemfontein because of technology divide. Let’s be honest, you cannot do anything for the future without technology. Evotel has come like manna from heaven, and their contribution to our schools and community at large will in no time yield results,” said Esau in his office.
Even the Rosedale Police Station is operating without any internet connection, and law officers will have to find for their own connection.
However, questions raised by Evotel to the leadership at the SAPS station about the drug issues in the community, they said they’re trying hard to clamp it down, but they don’t seem to be winning the growing trend.
An officer who spoke to Evotel said: “Crime in this area is far lesser than any other townships in South Africa because we work hard to arrest the situation.”
And indeed, crime in Upington is very minimal with substance abuse being the major concern.
