Bringing computer access, skills to rural Uganda

Bringing computer access, skills to rural Uganda

By BAMUTURAKI MUSNGUZI

AS SHE BROWSES THE INTE-rnet at the Nabweru Community Multimedia Centre (CMC) computer lab, Lovincer Nabanja recounts how the facilityhas enabled her acquire computer and business skills, leading to better management of her restaurant.

"I used to make a daily profit of Ush5,000 ($2.8) compared to the Ush25,000 ($14) I earn today, of which I save Ushs10,000 ($5.7)," she said.

Another beneficiary, Suleiman Senyonga, owner of Senyonga, Sendegeya and Sons Metal Works, says the centre has enabled him acquire computer skills and improve his business management skills. It is at the centre that he came up with the idea of forming the 230-member Katwe Small Scale Industrial Development Association (Kassid) in 2005.

"Before I joined Kassid, I would make a profit of Ushs1 million ($571) every six months but now I take home Ush5 million ($2,857) within the same period."

Nabanja and Senyonga are among those who have benefited from the Nabweru CMC, which offers computer training, e-mail and Internet services, scanning, photocopying and typesetting among other services. It also operates a community radio (Nabweru 102.5 Tiger FM).

There are about 30 CMCs operating in 16 countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. The CMC project, a component of the African Information Society Initiative and the UN System Wide Special Initiative on Africa, has pilot projects in six districts in Uganda: Nakaseke, Wakiso, Mpigi, Kabale, Kibaale and Apac.

In remote regions, users of information and communication technologies (ICT) connect with the rest of the world through CMCs, a Unesco programme that seeks to bridge the digital divide, giving isolated communities in the developing world access to ICT.

The CMCs integrate community radio stations with the Internet, printers, faxes, and photo equipment. The integration of the radio with telecentre activities has overcome social, cultural and distance barriers encountered by some members of the community, especially women and the illiterate.

A key activity of the CMC is "radio-browsing," which allows listeners to become long-distance cybernauts as the programme hosts experts who talk on a wide variety of topics.

Complementary technologies such as radio and the Internet set CMCs apart from traditional communications projects.

Radio is used to broaden the choice of ICT options and to complement those available at the telecentre, as well as enhance collaboration and networking for increased information sharing and dissemination.

Besides phone-ins, e-mails and letters, community participation is encouraged through involvement in programming and production.

Radio is also meant to introduce new learning techniques, information sharing and link diverse communities.

The CMCs are regularly turned into virtual offices for seeking jobs or checking the price of agricultural goods in town, which encourages the creation of locally relevant content.

THE GOAL IS TO GRADUALLY accumulate knowledge that is relevant to the community. To that end, the computer programme eNRICH is used. This allows users to set up their own gateway websites easily and quickly. They can then go directly to the Internet sites that best serve their needs or interests.

Illiterate people also come to the CMCs where instructors help them browse the web. As for the semi-literate, they learn to spot certain reference points as they browse.

CMCs have also helped communities take more interest in governance to a point where women are now taking up more active roles in the management of their communities.

The CMC approach seeks to foster universal access to information and communication. This combines the power of new ICTs which provide open access to knowledge and information in the cyberspace, and traditional communication technologies, to bridge barriers that hinder some groups from participation in the information society and ultimately in the development process.

For example, since 2003, Nabweru CMC has tracked ITC integration into community programmes. Consequently several development organisations, at low cost, have reached a wide range of community poor with development programmes such as providing electronic delivery of agricultural information to rural communities, empowerment of women and providing a platform for children's voices against injustice. It has also captured and documented indigenous knowledge with financial support from various development agencies.

A report by Unesco and International Development Research Centre says that most CMCs have to face stiff competition in providing services similar to institutions with modern and advanced equipment. Equally, CMCs lack the required skills to generate content that address community development needs.