BT Partnership with SOS Children

In May 2013, BT and SOS Children UK came together in a brand new partnership to deliver high-quality broadband to families in 20 of our Children's Villages across 12 African countries.

BT and SOS Children's Villages have a history of collaboration, with BT joining with our German wing SOS Kinderdorf to provide computer skills training to children in Germany.

Connecting Africa

Even before its official launch in May 2013, Connecting Africa had rolled out high-speed broadband internet to two Children's Villages in the Gambia. By October 2013, we aim to connect a further 18 Villages in eleven other African countries.

Connecting Africa will directly reach 5,000 people. But we believe that the project has the capacity to touch the lives of 700,000. With Connecting Africa, children will enjoy a better learning experience in school and a stronger link to the global community. Beyond this, it will also help SOS Children as a charity deliver better care to families and children, enabling efficient coordination and communication within the Village and the very best of healthcare and support to families from the local community.

How does Connecting Africa work?

• Connecting Africa makes use of existing infrastructure to deliver broadband internet to 20 SOS Children's Villages in 12 African countries.
• BT engineers are currently training SOS Children's IT support teams to maintain and operate the new systems. This means any technical glitches can be dealt with locally, helping communities achieve self-sufficiency.
• BT is committed to providing three years of connectivity. Broadband is delivered via the BT global satellite network and run from the Herefordshire village of Madley in the UK.
• Broadband will be provided to SOS Children's Villages in Malawi, Mali, Kenya, the Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, DR Congo, Benin, Burundi and Swaziland, as well as the Central African Republic and Zambia subject to review.
  

The benefits in a nutshell

• Access to broadband will enable children to take advantage of e-learning courses developed by SOS Children and our partners.
• Children will be able to explore the internet safely thanks to web-filtering software provided by BT.
• Broadband will enable SOS Children to run its operations more efficiently and provide better support to children in our care.
• Internet access will also boost our fundraising potential by allowing us to share photos and videos with our supporters.

SOS Children and BT agree that communication is a powerful tool that can change people's lives. This exciting partnership will enable SOS Children to build on the fantastic opportunities it offers children across Africa.

Many children rely on SOS Children to provide them with the love and care they need to grow into healthy, independent young people with a bright future ahead of them. Your support can help us continue caring for children in Africa who need need a family and a mother's love. By choosing to sponsor a child or donate to SOS Children, you can change a child's life in less than a minute.

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