Speedcast has a long history of providing humanitarian aid and NGO connectivity solutions. Recently, the company partnered with the non-profit organization Willka Yachay to provide connectivity to the Q’eros tribe in the Andes Mountains of Peru. The Q’eros are some of the last living descendents of Incan tribes, and they live a difficult, isolated life without access to modern education, health and technology services. In 2010, an American student named Hannah Rae Porst traveled to Peru and spent time living with the Q’eros for a university project. Some time after leaving the mountain community, she founded the Willka Yachay non-profit organization to give back to those who had accepted her and taught her so much during her time in Peru. Willka Yachay raised funds to build and launch a school for the Q’eros, and Hannah moved to Peru to oversee the project. The organization also founded Kidnected World, an NGO dedicated to bringing interactive education to indigenous civilizations throughout South America and Africa.

Speedcast became Kidnected World’s primary partner on the project, providing communications services and advice on solutions needed to best serve such remote communities. The company also donated a year of connectivity service for the charity and deployed Speedcast field engineers to conduct antenna systems installations in the Q’eros community. Thanks to Speedcast’s efforts, quality of life has improved dramatically for the Q’eros in only a few short years. The community is now connected virtually to the rest of the world, allowing students to access virtual learning via video sessions with teachers across the world. When community members fall ill, they can now access online medical information and resources to better treat ailments. Some Q’eros have begun selling traditional hand-woven textiles online, bringing new economic strength to the community and a piece of their unique culture to the rest of Peru. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Speedcast’s robust connectivity services allowed the Q’eros to remain isolated from the disease in their community while still interacting with the rest of the world online and maintaining access to services that have changed their lives so powerfully for the better.

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