Am currently undergoing a 3 week training program of which 26 women including myself from different areas in Papua New Guinea, mainly very rural areas of Papua New Guinea reside. We have amongst us, one participant who can not read or write in English but was selected and recommended by the Donor sponsor company itself for her great achievement in her community. The 24 other women are leaders in their areas seeking opportunities to empower their women community. Many of these 24 women do not use the Internet and being able to teach them basic internet skills would be a great opportunity
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Tari, Hela Province
Describe the specific population with whom you will be working.
These network of women are leaders of their voluntary organisations and lead a greater population of women in their membership and communities. Most look for opportunities of life skills development in floriculture, bakery, agriculture, handicrafts to assist them in sustaining a living for themselves and their family. Many of these women are in rural areas of Papua New Guinea where there is limited access by road, minimal or very little basic Government Services. With the rolling out of mobile company, Digicel PNG to rural areas of PNG, it has given them access to mobile phones but do not use to its full extent – They have minimal to zero access to computers and the internet. I would like to be able to these women leaders and their organisations basic internet and mobile skills.
Who else will be on your team to help implement the project?
Carole Cholai – https://www.facebook.com/carole.nialel (me)
The GWIM59 Women Network https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152281939552243.1073741827.89941867242&type=1
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
If given the opportunity to teach them of the internet, the other content I am looking at is promoting their empowerment activities that they do in their communities. These are silent achievers, where even the local media do not report on any of their success. The Global Women In Management Program sponsored by ExxonMobil and facilitated by CEDPA gives us the opportunity to network. I would love to share and promote the work they do online through Facebook, Youtube. These women are talented and many of their quality products – crafts, clothing are not being marketed and promoted. This will allow great awareness for the work they do in their communities and link them to many more opportunities the online world has to offer – economically and socially.
What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?
Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established or plan to establish that will contribute to the success of the project.
Through the GWIM CEDPA (https://www.facebook.com/pages/CEDPA-The-Centre-for-Development-and-Population-Activities/89941867242?fref=ts ) Training, this has prompted for partnerships and networking, of which some of the ladies have shown interest in Basic Internet/Computing training be conducted in their areas.
How many participants do you think will be trained in your project?
From the other 25 participants of GWIM59, 5 have confirmed and shown interest – each serve a network of over 50 women. From these, we may be looking at over 250 women , even more being trained through this project.
Describe which technologies, tools, and media you will focus on when training participants.
I have a degree in Computer Science graduating at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology and have over 9 years professional experience as an IT professional. I am very interested in ICT for Development in empowering people in up skilling in Basic Computing and Internet Skills and also use of Mobile Technology (smart phones and others)
I enjoy teaching computing skills and have conducted a number of training sessions for new users to computers and internet. Patience, apart from technical skills, is the greatest attribute that one needs to be able to run a successful training.
Describe the facilities where you will hold the workshops.
Open Room – 10 computers (laptops) or may use N-Computing Terminals, using USB modems or share internet through USB modem most likely.
No air condition and may use Diesel Gensat for computers if electricity is not provided.
What is your current relationship with the community with whom you plan to work? What makes you the most appropriate individual or organization to implement this project?
As mentioned above, through our network through the GWIM59 Program, we are now fellow alumni of the GWIM network and networks will branch out to other alumnis also. We being the 59th Alumni group. Being the only technical person with experience and having conducted brief training sessions with the women during the course of our program, has proven a good relationship and will be able to communicate well with all.
What specific challenges do you expect to face when planning and implementing your project?
Logistics and transport costs as the areas are in very remote areas, and getting to the locations may mean passing rivers, walking tracks to get to the locations.
Some of the areas are also known for tribal fights but the women leaders in the area also play an important role in keeping peace in the communities and have a strong network on the ground.
How will you measure and evaluate the project’s impact, specifically: your primary participants, the wider regional community, or the global digital community?
To be able to see a woman send email from her own email account, or use her mobile phone to subscribe to data plan and use for email and social media purposes would be a great achievement.
To be able to share their stories online and get feedback and links to support groups, donors or interested people to their stories and products would also be a great achievement.
If your project were to be selected as a Rising Voices grantee, what would be the general timeline of project activities in 2014?
June 2014 :Contact and set up schedule for training for GWIM 59 participants based in the Highlands Region Papua New Guinea
July 2014 : Conduct Basic Internet Training Session in Highlands Region
5day – 10 participants
Document (video) 8 economic empowerment opportunities and stories in the area
Profile of 8 Women in the community
September 2014: Conduct Basic Internet Training Session in Kutubu Area
Document (video) 8 economic empowerment opportunities and stories in the area
Profile of 8 Women in the community
Detail a specific budget of up to $2,500 USD for operating costs.
Video Camera – $500.00
Digital Camera – $400.00
Internet Access (Digicel Credits) – $100.00
Travel Fare – RAB-GKA $800
External Hard Disk 1TB – $100.oo00
Printing Materials – $400.00
Flashdrives 2GB – $200.00
Besides the microgrant funding, what other support can Rising Voices provide for your project to ensure its success?
Hela Women's Association – Accommodation/meals and on-road Transport Costs
Kutubu Women's Council – Accommodation/meals and on-road Transport
Contact name
Carole Cholai
Organization
Computers And Internet Technology Services