Build Computer Labs for Students in Tanzania

We are excited to report that the computer labs that AfricAid has installed in six secondary schools in the Arusha region of Tanzania are now being used by our Kisa Scholars to communicate with their sponsors in North America! As the Scholars -- girls in their last two years of high school who are enrolled in our leadership training and entrepreneurship program--- have become increasingly familiar with computer technology, they are now beginning to use  the computers for far more than just their school work. 

After researching the best way for Scholars and sponsors to communicate with each other, AfricAid has set up a private Facebook group that allows sponsors to learn about the general activities of the Kisa Scholars and their curriculum.  TheFacebook  group also enables private communications between Scholars and sponsors, within the parameters that have been set up by the mentors of the Scholars.  This will help the sponsors know that their Scholar is thriving and learning from being a member of the Kisa program.  At the same time, the Scholars are uplifted by the communications they receive from a caring person, school group, book club, etc., across the ocean.  In the face of the huge obstacles that challenge young women in Tanzania, it is a true morale-booster to know that someone, even thousands of miles away, is rooting for you to keep moving forward! 

The Facebook group will also allow the Scholars to take part in a communication/information exchange with their sponsors that uses the AfricAid curriculum that was developed in order to help our Tanzanian students and their sponsors learn more about life in Tanzania and North America, respectively.  Each month a particular question is discussed, such as who are the leaders of your community or what type media impacts you the most.  

We’re so proud of our Kisa Scholars and the progress that they are making with the help of the computer labs that our supporters are making possible!

These days, we walk into any elementary school or middle school or high school and computers are almost guaranteed to have some presence.  We grow up expecting to know how to operate a computer.  It is no longer a luxury, but almost a necessity.  However, this is not the global picture. 

In Tanzania, computer training / studies are not offered at all schools and often they are optional.  Therefore, it is only a rare few who grow up and learn how to access this digital world.  Computers can be used to expand our horizons and perspective beyond the four walls of the classroom.  They expand the meaning of learning and grant the users a global perspective.  Digital literacy is a crucial skill in the current job market and in order to be a competitive candidate these are necessary skills.  With this perspective, it is vital to be aware that not everyone has such access and availability to computers in this near digital age. 

Children in Tanzania lack many resources, including books and computers, but through this program established by AfricAid computer labs are granting access to this new world to those that are otherwise limited.  The labs we have introduced to Tanzania thsu far have been low-cost, low-energy NComputing Technology and we only hope to provide more!