The wonders of modern technology.

Glimpses of Africa 4 The wonders of modern technology!

The internet. It is our lifeline here to the rest of the world. It is part of life in western countries. Here it is still a dream for most people. Electricity isn’t even available to many of the areas of Mbeya – the city in Tanzania in which we are staying. In the rural areas it is hardly even thought about. This morning ladies came to the college to get water from the supplies here. Filling up their large buckets and carrying them away on their heads. What percentage of this city has running water I am unsure.
So is it any wonder that the young adults, most of them in their mid-twenties or over, who come to this college are starting from scratch with computers and have never sent an e-mail in their lives. What a privilege Shukrani college has to offer students experience in important skills for the business world of today.
But we see the struggle of students trying to master skills in IT when they have never touched a computer until their adult years. They can’t go home or back to their rooms and practice as most could never think of affording such equipment. But these are intelligent capable adults and young adults who are pursuing an education that will give them better opportunities in life.
As Graham struggles to teach an accounting package to these students on computers that are old by our standards and as we give them the opportunity to send some emails on a very slow Tanzanian internet, we are encourages that they are learning and be exposed to things which we in the ‘west’ take for granted.There are a couple of students who have good computer and IT experience and some who have exposed themselves to the very slow internet cafes that you can find in this part of Tanzania.