The Problem
The ability to access information is crucial in enabling people to fight the causes of poverty; the rural poor in Uganda suffer directly from being disempowered through a lack of access to information leading to a lack of control over their own lives. The remote locations of target rural communities lead to isolation and exclusion from decision making processes and development initiatives. Many students from rural areas complete senior four (S4) with no basic knowledge in computers and with no library skills whatsover. Our research has also shown that ICT is seen by people in rural communities as a specialist endeavour, which can only be understood and accessed by educated people from urban areas
Aims
- To increase community knowledge and skills relating to ICT
- To build the community capacity to access and utilise ICT facilities
- To develop employment based skills
This project aims to build the capacity of local people to access and utilise ICT facilities through providing basic ICT courses at an extremely low cost to those with no current access to ICT education. The ICT department will provide two courses to people from rural communities - the first being a 'Basic ICT Skills' course and the second being an 'Internet Literacy' course. Courses will be taught in the local language by departmental staff and Ugandan volunteers within the ICT department at the AEC. The focus of the Internet Literacy course will be on learning how to access pertinent information through relevant websites (such as health, agriculture, pest control etc). Internet communication skills will be a priority together with an understanding of how computers impact on the lives of people across the world. The course is also designed to help the community master skills to allow them to be able to do simples things such as writing an application letter or a comprehensive Curriculum Vitae.
Volunteering Opportunities
If you have experience in teaching ICT to beginners or you are proficient in ICT and have an interest in this project please contact volunteering@softpowereducation.com for details on how to volunteer.