Computer related skills are valued as special and important skills in the 21st century. Therefore, every youth, regardless of which part of the world they come from should learn more concerning computers. But in Africa’s sub-Saharan region over the past few years, it hasn’t been an ordinary thing for both young and adults to interact with the computers, apart from their phones.
According to Statista.com, in 2015 only 16 % of sub-Saharan Africans had access to Internet penetration. These low numbers render most of us (people living in sub-Saharan Africa) uninformed and separated from the other parts of the world. But there is hope that by 2020 the value of internet penetration in sub-Saharan Africa will increase to 20.6 percent — a good thing!
With the promise in the increase in numbers — which is actually evident, there is a need to train young people in the sub-Saharan region on how to use the new technology of IT to visualize, analyze and interpret data which will help Africa and the world as a whole to grow and develop. We’ll need to start at a very basic level but definitely, we’ll arrive at the peak.
That’s why at ROCK we are training our students how to use the Internet to boost their school performance by carrying out online research. Furthermore, we train them on how to use the machines and the Internet for self-development and management. Over the past few weeks after our students took the long holiday break from school we’ve introduced computer sessions to teach them about the future — Internet is believed to change how everything (literally everything) will be done in the coming years. We’re also teaching them about online safety and discipline.
Our students find it interesting to interact with computers. They are always curious to learn more concerning computers — typing, graphic designing, online searching, and making presentations (even though the presentations goes nowhere). One thing that made me happy almost a week ago was that our grade 11 students organized for themselves a challenge of coming up with a logo for our organization and wow! Most of the designs were great. The GREAT designs gave me a flashback: The healthy competitions I used to have with Robert Ouma (My long-term friend and a former ROCK student); chess competitions, UNO, typing, graphic design among others.
Our students are self-driven, passionate and, enthusiastic about computers. And this makes them achieve more in whatever they do concerning computers; be it hardware or software research.
We’ll continue with the computer lessons, feeding our younger generation with the necessary skills they need to have in the 21st century. We’ll progress to complicated steps such as collaborative projects, simple programming, advanced search among other areas.
The computer training at ROCK didn’t start on this holiday. The history of ROCK kids’ interaction with computers can be traced back in 2013 when the two global nomads and my long-term teachers/trainers Jay Larson and Mick Larson set up a computer laboratory at ROCK’s centre before moving on to start Tunapanda Institute to spread their knowledge and passion about computers. Actually, that’s the first time I put my fingers on a computer keyboard! — the object I nowadays love interacting with. By being taught by Jay Larson and Mick Larson about computers, I’m now coaching and training younger ROCK kids on the same. I can’t hesitate to say that I’m really proud of teaching ROCK kids about computers.
Much love, respect, and appreciation to the Tunapanda Institute co-founders Jay Larson and Mick Larson for setting up our computer lab.