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 Issue 8: Fall 2004
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Women's Literacy and Technology in Vanga - A New World of Opportunities In a little village in Bandundu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Sunday evenings are full of activities at the Community Resource Learning Center. In the past the center housed a cafeteria, and a meeting place which the village used occasionally, such as when the women of Vanga would gather to conduct literacy classes on Tuesdays. In the summer of 2003, the Community Resource Learning Center was inaugurated (see previous article). Now, after receiving computer training and learning to search the web, the women are coming up with new ideas and supplementing their literacy training with efforts to find funding for additional income generating projects. For example, the women have decided to form a sewing group to start a micro- enterprise that will produce and sell clothes. It is so nice to see how we have come together, and are exchanging ideas, one woman said recently. It is also very nice to have a women teach us how to use technology, it has definitely empowered us and made us realize there are so many things out there we can learn. The Center is a pilot project sponsored by USAID, working in collaboration with both the Education Development Center (EDC) and the Academy for Educational Development (AED). The goal of the project is to improve the basic education of women and girls using technology. Initial Steps In the beginning the women were a little fearful of visiting the center. To make them comfortable, a special time was set aside for them to use the computer lab. Sunday night seemed to be the most appropriate time for the women in this particular community. The women usually did not have as many chores that night, and they would not be too tired since they do not usually go to the fields on Sunday. With this decision, Sunday became Womens Day at the center. When the Community Resource Learning Center was being planned, the women worried that they would no longer have a place to meet for their literacy classes. Displacing the womens literacy group could not have been furthest from the projects objectives. Indeed, when interviewing prospective staff for the center, the project staff made sure that the team of trainers to be hired included a qualified woman who was trusted by the women in the community and would ensure that the womens literacy needs were met. Local Champion Marie-Jeanne wa Musiti, a well-respected and capable single mother, is the trainer chosen to help the women in their literacy classes.  Marie-Jeannes first step was to teach the women the different parts of the computer and to introduce them to the Internet. She then taught them to use different search engines to research topics of interest to them, such as sewing tips and African recipes. Prior to the establishment of the Center, the literacy trainers had limited didactic materials and resources. As a result, retaining these busy mothers in literacy classes was a challenge. With the introduction of computers and access to the Internet, not only do the women keep coming to the Center to read and to use the computers as a research tool, but the new technology is helping the women discover the world beyond Vanga.Marie-Jeannes success as a trainer has been evident in the number of women visiting the center each Sunday night. Women from nearby villages have also started using the center, bringing the average literacy class attendance to fifty! Lessons Learned
EDC, under dot-EDU, was awarded the DR Congo ICTs and Education: Community Learning Centers and Complementary Instructional Strategies in September, 2002 for 12 months (Award No. 623-A-00-02- 00114-00 under the dot-EDU Leader Award No: GDG-A-00-01-00011-00). |
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