China helps connect African villages to the world 中国助力非洲乡村与世界接轨

迟琳

Hehrt curiously watches workers install （安装） a satellite TV at the hospital in which he works. He rushes to the TV and changes channels after its been installed， and becomes very excited when there is a kung fu movie. “I used to watch Jackie Chans and Jet Lis kung fu movies，” he said.

It was in June 2019 when Chinas technical team came to doctor Hehrts hospital in Olasiti， a small village in Kenya， to help set up a satellite TV signal. Prior to that， the hospital had neither a signal nor a television， and sometimes patients would get bored and impatient after waiting to see a doctor for hours while doing nothing， Hehrt recalled.

“Now its great that patients can watch TV when they are waiting，” Hehrt said. “And I can watch my favorite football games after work，” he added.

Including Olasiti， China has planned to provide more than 10，000 African villages with digital satellite TV services， helping many in Africa， especially those in rural areas， to broaden their horizons and narrow the digital divide.

Named “Access to Satellite TV for 10，000 African Villages” （or “Wan Cun Tong” in Chinese）， the project had been successfully completed in 20 recipient countries in Africa as of August 2021， benefiting more than 6.5 million people in 8，612 villages. Similar to Chinas many other aid projects in Africa， Wan Cun Tong helps promote the development of Africas less?developed regions and connect local people to the world.