The Last Two Weeks

So let me tell you about my little project. For the last two weeks I've been running a computer training in my town. I got a grant from Peace Corps funds to fund the project. Basically it was a training for just about anyone to teach them the basics of computers and the Internet. Here's an excerpt from the Grant proposal:

While there are currently two Cyber Cafes, they are underutilized by the population. This became clearer when both Cybers lowered their prices when Fasonet/ONATEL (the national service provider) lowered its rates and saw no increase in customers. Despite a more affordable price, connecting to the Internet was left to tourists and business travelers from the capital. This is mainly due to a lack in the understanding of what Information Technology (IT) is and how it can be used for work and everyday living. If there was a greater understanding of the possibilities and applications of the Internet there would surely be an increase in use.

So yeah I was "on a mission" to show people why the Internet is cool, useful, and convenient. It turned out to be a really good idea and was a really successful project in my opinion. There were people who had never sat in front of a computer before and they learned how to create a Yahoo mail account read and write emails and all that. What's really funny (and calls for alot of patience) is seeing someone who has never used a mouse before try to manipulate it on the screen. They do all sorts of funny things with the mouse like lifting it up, shaking it, and and clicking the body of it instead of the buttons. But anyways it was funny seeing the progression. People went from asking what is the internet, to being addicted to it. They even came near to fighting over who got which computer (once they realized which ones were fast). You might be asking yourself why would I need to do a project to do something as simple as teach internet. Well, the cost of internet is nothing like the 19.95/month of the US. For a 24/7 56K connection it cost about $1000 dollars a month (no I didn't accidently type too many zeros). So obviously people who live on about a dollar a day can't exactly afford to surf the net. And those who do have a bit of money don't see the benefit to spending money on it. So anyways I got money for a half of months worth of internet teamed up with a Cyber Cafe and did the training. The best part now that it is all said and done is there are about 50 people in my town now addicted to the internet. That makes the project a double success. One it brought new knowledge to the population and two it created a client base for the Internet Cafes in Dori. Also now that people rooted in the community know how to "naviguer" they can teach other people as well creating a nice wave. In any case I've got my "high" for a couple of weeks.....