Computer Literacy Program
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CHALLENGE
Most of the people living in the 22STARS communities have no access to a computer, since computers are very expensive and also most houses would not provide secure electricity and storing places for computers. The teenagers and wom(en), who like to use a computer often need to walk long distances to town to access an internet café. And even then, they most of the time lack the basic computer knowledge skills. As Computer Literacy is not part of the school program, most kids will only learn about computers at a very late age. ICT can provide unlimited opportunities for economic development and social engagement through new innovative thinking and tools. In today's information age, it is critical to be computer literate.
SOLUTION
We took it upon ourselves to fill the gaps in knowledge provided by the public school system to enable our kids to receive a more holistic education. When the Covid Lockdown started in 2020, and long-distance schooling became the only way for our children to receive an education, the importance of having computers and computer knowledge became even more clear to us. For this reason, back in June 2020 we set up our Computer program and also installed solar panels to make sure we would have electricity for the computer classes. We have now 31 laptops available for the children (16 Kampala and 15 in Jinja) and started with basic computer training. We plan to give also advanced courses to students so that they can have better career perspectives, but for now all laptops are occupied for the beginner training. Our computer trainings are 8 to 12 hours a week over a period of 4 months. One group consist of 24 students in Kampala and 30 students in Jinja.After every 4 months, kids do their exams and graduate and then a new group comes in. Hence we will have per year 90 children in Jinja and 72 children in Kampala graduating. When the laptops are not used for classes, the children come to our office to practice and learn with them.
GOAL
We have a dream of making every sponsored 22STARS child proficient in using computers and survive in today’s digital world. We are strongly advocating the building of knowledge societies where the power of information and communication helps people access the knowledge, they need to improve their lives and achieve their full potential. To pay our computer teachers in both Kampala and Jinja and print the exercise materials, we need each month €350,- which is €4.200,- a year. With extra donations we would love to add more laptops to our program, which cost around €375,- per laptop with all accessories.
