Category Archives: Yennenga IT

Communication to the people

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25 years ago, it took at least two weeks to send a written document to Sweden from Burkina Faso. To send a message faster you had to use telex and such a message had to be brief because telex was an expensive way of communication. Today, from the local Yennenga Progress Centre in Nakamtenga on the countryside,

 

45 km from Ouagadougou, it takes, via internet, just some few seconds to send a message to  Sweden or to any corner of the World.

At the police offices in the small cities in Burkina, the officers are still knocking down their reports on old typewriters from the 60′s. It takes a lot of tip-ex to get the reports correct enough – I can promise.

At the municipal offices, which were established when the decentralisation took place in the country in 2006, the situation is not much better. Most of the offices have no computers nor Internet connections.

Access to computers and access to Internet connection is a must today to be able to give relevant services to the citizens also in Burkina Faso. A quick and effective communication is a basic prerequisite for development.

Some days ago was conducted a formal ceremony at the Plateau Central Region administration building in Ziniare. About 60 people, senior officials at the regional office, provincial administrators, a number of mayors, representatives from the police, traditional leaders, principals from secondary schools and members of AAEPC had gathered to officially receive about three hundred computers which, with funding from Yennenga Progress have been transported from Sandviken in Sweden to Ouagadougou.

Some students and teachers from Bessemergymnasiet in Sandviken have had as a project to collect computers and related equipment, emptying the computers on the content, pack them into containers then to be shipped to Burkina Faso.

The project is an initiative of AAEPC, which then were realized in collaboration between Yennenga Progress, Bessemerskolan and CIS.

The computers have now been loaded with software adequate for users here and will help to make communication in the 20 municipalities in the region better and faster. Twenty computers will be used by police agencies around the region. A few high schools will also be equipped so that they can start with computer training.

AAEPC, led by Charlemgane Kaboré, a very active and creative Yennenga Networker in Burkina Faso, is an organization, which among many activities give training of locally elected politicians and officials in 20 municipalities in the Plateau Central.

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The inside of a computer

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We are at the IT center in Nakamtenga, Burkina Faso, created by our Yennenga Networker Jean Ouoba. The working groups are deeply focused on their computers. They hardly notice that I start taking pictures of them! A week ago, a group from Bessemerskolan in Sandviken arrived. At home they study electricity and energy issues specializing in IT and energy technologies. Two topics of prime importance here, too!

They are two teachers: Kjell and Ingemar, and three students: Alexander, Gustav and Patrick. This is the second time their school has donated computers, now on their way here by boat. (We hope they get here before the group must return to Sweden!)

The Swedish group is giving classes in hardware, ie. the computing machine. The students will learn to install, be able to troubleshoot and repair. The idea is that students will install the new computers (on their way here), as a final test, before they get their diploma. After that they can go out into life with their new computer skills.

In the room there are 20 students from the area, including 6 girls.

The teacher Kjell cuddles when I enter the room: “When we say that it is time for a break, all the students throw themselves over the computers to practice what they just learned! Nobody leaves the room. The students are super motivated and talented! ”

This is one of many exciting projects in Nakamtenga, where young people go courses to broaden their opportunities for self-support and personal development. This center is called “Centre de L’Esprit Ouverte” which means “center of the open mind.” And it is exactly that we feel when we come into this room!

And this is not the only course our friends from Sandviken is giving while here. They are working in more villages and are making the most of their time here! They give tips of fun educational programs, to add to Jean Ouobas computer classes. They have brought movies that they show in the evenings in the computer room and they have even brought karaoke!

Many thanks to Kjell and Ingemar and their students for their commitment and for sharing their knowledge. And many thanks to Jean who organizes the course here in Nakamtenga, and thanks to all the students here in Nakamtenga who every day take big steps forward and who work hard to achieve results.

It is a pleasure to be here.

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Thank you Radiohjälpen for your support!

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Yesterday we received the good news that Radiohjälpen decided to support one of our many interesting projects! Yennenga IT!

A very inspiring man: Jean Ouba, made a big decision some months ago: To say no to a secure employment that would have given him a good salary every month. Instead he decided to start a project, that he really believes will change the world – and we believe so too!!

He has put up a computer hall, or you could call it a cybercafé. He is giving computer classes to small children, teenagers, analphabets and others. All this in a tiny little village in Burkina Faso, West Africa!

This opens the world! The project creates the necessary conditions for learning and good educational opportunities for children, but also for adolescents and adults! It is a way to make the countryside bloom and creates an opportunity to stay and not move to bigger cities. The access to Internet also contributes to fun and meaningful activities on free time!

With the help of online courses, we can continue to carry out further training of the teachers at the preschool of Nakamtenga, both in pedagogy, leadership and development of educational material. But Mr Ouba also finds online courses in various subjects for all ages. Long term, this contributes to enabling the wider lifelong learning that creates commitment and interest in community development and poverty reduction.

We hope that the Cyber café / computer room also will give the village’s young people a venue for dialogue and for growing. Long term, we hope to run an incubator of activities to create employment for these young people in the area.

The cybercafé is complemented by a service center with the possibility of copying, printing, etc, which is a sought-after business. It is far to the nearest possibility for such services, but necessary because of the country’s administrative system based on a big amount of paper, stamps and copies. By providing this service and charging a small fee for the courses, we aim to meet the costs of the resource center already within the coming year.

We are proud to say that Nakamtenga is developing and becoming a natural reference to rural development in the area – and to all of us!

Supporting initiatives of people like Jean Ouba – true Yennenga Networkers – is supporting a revolution of entrepreneurship, love and engagement that will change the world!

 

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