Millandra Owusu, a first-year civil engineering student, felt a sense of relief from her academic burden when she received a brand-new laptop at the device presentation ceremony of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology’s (KNUST) Support One Needy Student with One Laptop (SONSOL) project.

In her first year of learning to become a structural engineer, Millandra said her life was a daily test of patience.

During group assignments, her contributions were limited as she struggled with a basic smartphone that could barely open large files, fonts were too small to read comfortably, and her phone’s storage filled up quickly.

After every lecture, her situation compelled her to delete previous slides from her phone just to make space for new ones.

“Personally, I enjoy research and wanted to contribute more to group assignments, but I just couldn’t. Sometimes I felt left behind. When you don’t have a laptop, you’re always behind, but that period is now over.

"Thank you, Telecel Foundation, this investment you’ve made in me will never go wasted,” Millandra said, clutching the fresh-in-box laptop firmly with both hands and beaming with a smile.

Millandra is one of 600 beneficiaries of the SONSOL initiative this year, introduced by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Akosua Dickson, to close the digital divide for the school’s financially disadvantaged.

In June, Telecel Ghana Foundation handed over 100 new laptops to the SONSOL Project as part of the telco’s annual Ashanti Month celebrations. The donation follows an earlier batch of 200 laptops delivered in 2021.

Speaking at the laptop presentation ceremony, Legal and External Affairs Director of Telecel Ghana, Augusta Andrews, said the SONSOL initiative is a shining example of what is possible when institutions prioritise inclusion and tackle the real needs of students.

“As someone passionate about youth empowerment and digital access, today’s event is meaningful. In this digital age, no student should be left behind because of financial barriers. These laptops will help bridge the digital divide and promote inclusive learning,” Augusta added.

Since its inception in 2020, SONSOL has distributed over 3,300 laptops to students from deprived backgrounds who struggle to access digital tools for virtual learning. The initiative was launched in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in education.

“We have had support from our collaborators and partners, and I want to appreciate them for making this initiative possible. The future belongs to graduates who can confidently navigate the digital space.

"The world today has little room for digital illiteracy, and at KNUST, we take this challenge very seriously,” Prof. Dickson said.

The SONSOL donation forms part of Telecel Ghana Foundation’s Connected Learning pillar, which is aimed at supporting Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education through training and tools to bridge the digital gap across the country.

For other students, the laptop opens a new world of possibilities for their future. Awal Osman, a petroleum engineering student who dreams of becoming a reservoir engineer, struggled to keep up with his studies because he didn’t have a laptop.

As the first in his family to ever step foot in a university, the Bechem native carried the weight of their hopes on his shoulders.

Awal said his grades started to suffer because he couldn’t borrow laptops from the university library for extended periods to help him meet all assignment deadlines.

“When I received the laptop, I was overjoyed. Now I can stay up as long as I want to learn. I am learning new programming languages and building my digital skills now. Considering my background, we could never afford it.

"This laptop is a big blessing. Anything I gain from it, I will never forget Telecel Foundation for helping me,” Awal said, with a cheerful voice.

Other organisations that supported SONSOL with laptop donations this year include Ecobank, SIC Insurance, CBG, Stanbic Bank and OmniBSIC Bank, among others.