Introducing technology to rural areas can be difficult. But networking and sharing ideas has provided solutions for one village in western Kenya, where a group of women is now learning how to use a computer. The next step is to learn about web 2.0.
The arrival of the internet in the village, in the words of one rural women's group leader, was like 'bringing the people out of the darkness into blinding light'. In the land of the Bukusu people in western Kenya - where there are no paved roads, no running water, and no electricity - the Voices of Africa project is testing some of the latest technologies.
Located in the tiny village of Lwanda, in Bungoma district, is the Mbambe Rural Resource Management Programme, known simply as Mbambe. In 2005, with the help of several local NGOs, Mbambe purchased a 65 watt solar panel system and a refurbished computer. The idea was to train farmers to use an online integrated pest management tool, the Online Information Services for Non-chemical Pest Management in the Tropics (OISAT). While the Mbambe programme did achieve some of its objectives, and the farmers did learn something, ultimately the technology failed. The solar panels produced too little power, so that the power-hungry computer could only be used for about an hour each day, rendering the project futile. Mbambe programme director Celestine Simiyu therefore had to seek partners outside the village to find technical solutions to the problem of how to power new technologies without access to electricity.
Celestine's idea was to build two telecentres in the west and south of Bungoma district, each with 10 computers where villagers would be able to access educational resources. He then wrote a funding proposal, which passed through many hands before it reached the desk of Crystal Watley, who was conducting a study on sustainable information and communications technologies (ICTs) applicable to rural Kenya. Crystal, an American graduate student from Tulane University, was in the process of drafting her own proposal to pilot a host of cutting-edge technologies in a Kenyan village. The two proposals complemented one another perfectly.
In June 2007, Crystal and Celestine met to assess the situation in Lwanda village. Over the next two months, they and Collins Mubendo, a native Bukusu researcher at Moi University in Eldoret, combined their knowledge and decided to focus on the most disadvantaged community members: the women. Through conversations with the women they came to realize the extent of their marginalization. Again and again, they said they felt ignored by the world. NGOs had promised to help but seldom delivered results. The government appeared to care little about their welfare, and researchers frequently came and asked questions without giving anything in return. It was clear that providing an outlet for the women to express themselves would be a necessary component of the project.
Using the UN Millennium Development Goals as an outline, the team then began to develop a new plan for the telecentres and the Voices of Africa project began, with several objectives, including reducing child mortality, malnutrition and poverty, and increasing agricultural crop yields in an environmentally sustainable manner. To see what was already being done elsewhere, the team also travelled to Nkonkonjeru, just over the border in Uganda, to investigate was being done elsewhere. There, two ultra-low-power Inveneo computers were installed at a rural community-based organization similar to Mbambe. From this experience the team decided to use one of these computers to begin a pilot project in the village.
Voices of Africa hopes that the Mbambe programme will become a model for other villages by showing how to give women the skills to create their own development process through a variety of educational tools. It is critical to the villagers that they share their lives with the world. This project is about sharing rather than giving technical advice. It is about sharing cultures, experiences, and our humanity. It is our vision to see projects like this all across Africa. Now is the time for true grassroots sustainable community development, African style
For more information, visit: www.voicesofafrica.org