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ISIKWENU OGHENEFEGO's Blog
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CLCWA ICT BASICS TRAINING AT ASABA
Related to country: Nigeria

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

The importance of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in present day Nigeria and even the world at large cannot be over emphasized. As part of the Creating Local Connections West Africa (CLCWA) project in Nigeria, a Training of Trainers workshop was held at calabar in February this year; after which participants were expected to carryout training programs in their various location.
It is as a result of this expectation that I, Isikwenu Oghenefego carried out a training on ICT basics for 30 young secondary school girls in Asaba.

Location of project: Asaba Girls Grammar School (AGGS), Asaba.
Dates of training: 29th of February, 7th and 13th of March, 2008.
Duration: Each training day had three hours.
The project:
Time was not spent on mobilization and awareness because I already had an ongoing project which had the training of participants on ICT basics as one of its components, so, I incorporated the CLCWA project into my ongoing project.
I want to state categorically that it was the best thing that happened to participants during the school’s second term period. All the necessary introductory formalities were conducted, like the filling of the application forms by interested participants and scouting for available resources within our immediate environment.

The first breakthrough we had was the provision of a resource person (facilitator) for the introduction to the computer basics which was the first day’s component, by a computer business center in Asaba. This really reduced the responsibilities on me as the lead trainer, so I was able to concentrate on other issues. The venue for the first two days was provided by the school while we used a cybercafé for the last day’s training, which had a more practical component.
The participants went through all the training sessions very excitedly since it was the first time they were having an opportunity to use a computer.
Apart from the classes they had, a simplified handout that covered the major topics and issues about the computer, internet and the TIG website. On a general note, the training was a huge success but not without challenges.

On the last day of the training we had a full representation of the CLCWA project team in Delta State in the person of Mr. Timothy Ogene, state coordinator and Mr. Ogaga Maxwell, deputy coordinator. After the keynote addresses by Mr. James Omokiti, a representative of the British Council Youth works project and Mr. Timothy Ogene; participants were set for the business of the day.
We started with a recap of previous lessons before proceeding to the internet where we concentrated on opening of emails, sending and reading messages after which all participants logged on to the TIG website.
It was a very tedious exercise for the trainers because we had cases of technical hitches and slow pace of comprehension by students. Mr. Ogaga Maxwell took charge of the sessions for the day and was assisted by Mr. Timothy Ogene. Miss. Isikwenu Oghenefego was every where, but concentrated more on logistics and participants/trainers welfare. The training ended at about 5.00pm with presentation of certificates to participants by Mr. Ogaga Maxwell after which light refreshment was taken.

The next day which was 14th March, 2008, we formerly closed the project in the host school, with the principal Mrs. Mathy Osaji thanking CLCWA for choosing her school for such a program and empowering young girls on basic ICT skills; she also presented some certificates on the assembly ground after which a group photograph was taken with participants, principal and some members of staff.

Challenges:
The challenges faced were quite minute but very significant which needed urgent responses to save each situation. The major challenge was the late arrival of funds from the supporting organization. Another challenge was the duration outlined for the course; it was too short for students who were learning about the computer for the first time. While the other issue had to do with the change in academic calendar as a result of public holidays; this made us make emergency readjustments.

Results:
At the end of this program, 28 students successfully completed the training and were given certificates out of the 30 students that applied for the program. They all have functional email addresses and are TIG members. This has increased the number of computer literate students in AGGS by 28. It was a successful project.

Recommendation/Conclusion:
The CLCWA project is the best for our time and should be implemented in every secondary school if possible. We recommend that more days be allocated to ICT basics for better understanding for new students of the computer. The participants are happy, they promise to use the newly acquired skills productively after the program. The project has also increased awareness of stakeholders on the importance of ICT in development of every sector.
Appreciation
We want to begin by thanking the National Coordinator, CLCWA in Nigeria, Mr. Jerry Nwigwe for his commitment to bridging the digital divide. The TIG-CLCWA team is not left out, you will not believe the positive impact you have made in the life of 28 girls-thanks a million.
We want to thank the state coordinator and his deputy for their help and assistance on the project. The volunteers of Inspiro Communications and Media were wonderful, thank you.

We want to specially appreciate the Principal and staff of Asaba Girls Grammar School for their cooperation and absolute trust and belief in the project.
The management and staff of Merit computer technology, thanks for your subsidy and technical assistance.

Together we believe we can make this world a better place.

Isikwenu Oghenefego.
Project Manger, Asaba.


March 24, 2008 | 6:30 AM Comments  0 comments

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