Computer technology for developing areas: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 07:15, 8 July 2019

Revision as of 08:45, 31 July 2019

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South Africa has one of the largest and most successful introductions of computers to the residents in Africa with the Smart Cape Access Project initiated in 2000 in Cape Town winning the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Access to Learning Award in 2003 (Valentine, 2004. The project piloted 36 computers in six public libraries in disadvantages areas of Cape Town in 2002 with four computers designated for public use for each library. Libraries had the important structure with security, electricity and telephone connections, and known access by the public. Cape Town City Council sought information from librarians to build their project realizing that free Internet access was critical to the projects success including training, a user guide, help desk support and feedback loop. They anticipated that Internet access would "create much-needed jobs for citizens, but ... it can empower people to market themselves, start their own businesses, or gain access to useful information".<ref name=valentine>{{cite journal|last=Valentine|first=S.|title=E-powering the people: South Africa's Smart Cape Access Project|journal=Council on Library and Information Resources|date=March 2004}}</ref> Funding for the project relied on donations and partnerships from private organizations with extensive volunteer help in accessing open-source software that is available from licensed vendors or free on the Internet. While the project has been plagued by slow Internet speeds, long lines of waiting users, hacking and budgets, the demand for more computers remains high. Residents have used Internet access to build their own businesses using Smart Cape for administration, to obtain jobs sometimes over seas, to create some unsanctioned small-scale ventures such as paying an educated user to write one's resume,to write letters, e-mail, play games, complete homework and do research, and to obtain information such as BMW advertisements among other uses. Older people, unemployed youth and school children have been the most prevalent users of the Internet with 79 percent being men.

With the first phase of the project completed in 2005 and the second phase consisting of monitoring and evaluation of pilot sites just completed in 2007, the roll out of the final phase of the project is underway.<ref name=tshabalala>{{cite web|last=Tshabalala|first=R.|title=Cape Access Project|url=http://capegateway.gov|accessdate=2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801112832/http://capegateway.gov/#|archive-date=2013-08-01|dead-url=yes|df=}}</ref> Over one hundred thousand people have made use of the Smart Cape Access Project computers' free access since 2002 (Brown, 2007) which is about one fifth increase in overall access to the Internet for the 3.2 million population of Cape Town increasing total access to 17 percent of the residents in 2008 (Mokgata, 2008). However, the project continues to be plagued by budget issues leading to questions about long-term sustainability because of its heavy reliance on donations and volunteers. The project reports did not address the maintenance of the computers or the network which could also be a rather large expenditure. Of further concern is the lack of use by women and girls, which culturally presents a hierarchy problem because men are the public face, and another topic to consider in the future.

====Africa and other less successful projects====

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Freeplay Foundation has attempted to address the issue of electricity by first developing battery powered lights for rural areas of Africa piloting a project also in Kenya in 2008."The World Bank estimates that more than 500 million people in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to electricity supplies that could be used to light their homes" or power computers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wind-up lights for African homes|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk|accessdate=2017-12-04}}</ref> Freeplay has also provided a distribution system through women that will provide income in selling, repair and maintenance for customers and is prototyping in Kenya early in 2008. While purchasing the lights may pose a sustainability issue, such inventions could be hopefully tapped for future powering of computers in Africa.

An example of further difficulties surrounding introducing computers in Africa is found in the study of Mozambique one of the poorest nations of the world with 60 percent of its population below the poverty line.<ref>{{cite web|title=The impact of the Internet on developing countries|url=http://cse.stanford.edu/cs201/projects-00-01/third-world/Mozambique-overview|accessdate=2008}}{{dead link|date=December 2017}}</ref> Despite their poverty, Mozambicans view their education and access to the Internet as only second to obtaining enough food to eat. This is shown in statistics that identify the increase in computers per hundred inhabitants from .08 to 1.6 in just two years between 1996 and 1998. However, in non urban areas where better off residents might make 40 to 60 US dollars a month, access to the Internet could eat up half of their income so community-owned settings have been instituted with some unknown success. Other pilot programs are also proliferating across the country with unknown results at this time. This lack of data regarding the overall implementation of computers in Mozambique highlights the sustainability issue of computers in Africa as does the following example in Cameroon.

Cameroon was the recipient of the School of Engineering and Applied Science communication technology through a student volunteer organization. Computers were obtained, shipped, refurbished and integrated with teaching computer skills to residents. A recipient was the Presbyterian Teachers Training College which interacts with primary and secondary schools. However, no maintenance or support procedures and facilities were available as part of this effort and information on the continued value of the project are unavailable.<ref name=Yoon>{{cite web|last=Yoon|first=H.|title=In Cameroon, computer skills put to use|url=http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com|accessdate=5 December 2008}}</ref> Similarly but on a larger scale, Computer Aid, a British charity, has shipped over 30,000 PCs to 87 developing companies and is currently shipping at a rate of 1,000 a month. While it refurbishes donated computers before shipping, it appears to have not follow up to the placement of computers. However, Rwanda seems to be eager to have these computers and is providing a government sponsored Information and Communication Technology policy with access to computers through schools, community and health projects.<ref name=coates>{{cite web|last=Coates|first=R.|title=Computer aid to triple PC delivery in Rwanda|url=http://management.silicon.com/itdirector|access-date=2013-05-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091018081335/http://management.silicon.com/itdirector/|archive-date=2009-10-18|dead-url=yes|df=}}</ref>