From being totally clueless about computers to being an Intern Digital Trainer, Adior Ayen Bol offers living proof of benefits of fostering digital inclusion especially for women in marginalized communities.
After high school, Adior, a South Sudanese refugee who has lived in Kakuma Refugee camp since 2013, joined the Digital Inclusion Programme (DIP) at the Aruppe Learning Center.
By joining the post-high school education programme, Adior was going against the norm in her community, where there are limited options for women and girls.
“In my community, they believe women are not entitled to do what men do. But they have not realized that everyone can do anything. Even if they say this is meant for this person, anyone can do it. If you give it time, you can do it,” explains Adior.
After the six-month training, Adior was able to start earning from online work and assist her family with meeting its financial needs. Her success has inspired baby steps towards a shift in mindset amongst her South Sudanese community in Kakuma.
“I can proudly say it was good because some of my neighbors applied, and now they’re in this program and some are still waiting to join. They even come to the community, they approach me, they say, ‘Adior, how can I get this? I want this.’ And sometimes also, I teach them the skills that I have learned. I find time, and then I teach them,” says Adior.
Access to the internet and the digital world is an essential tool for refugees as they seek to rebuild their lives.
The Aruppe Learning Centre is an educational oasis in the desert of Kakuma. It is named after Father Pedro Arrupe SJ, a key Jesuit who believed that education should aim “to form men-and-women-for-others”.
Run by the Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS), the Digital Inclusion Programme offers digital and business skills training alongside job placement support for refugees in Kakuma and vulnerable individuals in the host Turkana community.
The first cohort was made up solely of 30 women. Starting with the second cohort, the refugee and host communities requested for inclusion of men. Now of the 60 students, 45 are women and 15 are men. The third cohort, which attracted almost 1,000 applicants, started in early 2025.
For Antony Kamau, the progamme’s lead trainer, witnessing the transformation in his students is a source of immense joy.
“There is a student who came during the interviews, and when we were doing the written test, because we were giving them the laptops to operate and to do the test, they couldn’t use it. They were even calling us to type their names for them. Now that student is already applying for jobs online. It gives me joy to see that you are improving someone’s life digitally.”
In addition to the digital inclusion programme, the Aruppe Learning Centre in Kakuma also offers a degree program in partnership with Southern New Hampshire University plus an Early Childhood Development Education diploma.
In 2019, Nick Read, the former CEO of Vodafone Group, visited Kakuma together with UNHCR, Safaricom Foundation and the Vodafone Foundation to meet some refugee students and teachers benefitting from the Instant Network Schools.
