By Buhle Mbambo-Thata | Director, Resource Development, AfLIA
In 2018, a global report found that over 4 billion people around the world are now using the internet. The latest data also shows that nearly a quarter of a billion new users came online for the first time in 2017. Africa has seen the fastest growth rates, with the number of internet users across the continent rising over 20% year on year. However, many people, particularly in rural and urban poor communities, are getting left behind.
Shanitha, a librarian at the Bessie Head Library in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, saw that many members of her community not only lacked online access, but the skills to navigate the digital world. She knew that for the scholars, workers, entrepreneurs, or retirees of her community, digital literacy would be the answer to helping them become more productive members of society. As Shanitha worked for the municipality’s main public library, she realized she could help empower surrounding poor communities to thrive in the digital world. She was a participant of AfLIA’s International Network of Emerging Library Innovators Sub-Saharan Africa (INELI-SSAf) program. In it she sharpened her skills in community needs analysis! She ably created a service that offered underprivileged communities with access to digital training.
The program, in collaboration with the library’s Internet Café staff, offers training in basic computer skills in Microsoft Office, email correspondence, and writing resumes. Library users even learned how to design business cards and fliers. Thanks to the digital training, community members were able to find markets for their crops and products, gain access to government programs, search for jobs, learn new skills online, research important health issues, and even stay in touch with distant families and friends. The training has even allowed professionals to improve their work, such as educators who now use Microsoft Excel to compute and organize their students’ grades.
Shanitha’s program has been so successful that it has captured the interest of local ward councillors, NGOs, and teachers who are willing to support her initiative. Since its launch, the library has helped train 400 people to easily access information to improve their lives and adapt to the changing world.
Thank you for contributions that make it possible for Shanita to change lives!
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