Global NetworksLMI [Last Mile Initiative] Rwanda
Overview
Washington State University (WSU) Center to Bridge the Digital Divide (CBDD) is in the process of developing and piloting an interactive eLearning course to support Last Mile Initiative (LMI) participants who are leveraging their new connectivity into Internet-based businesses. The course will enable participants to upgrade their basic computer skills, learn more about maintaining their telecenter labs, and improve the business skills needed to make their new telecenters successful. A pilot program will be delivered to current LMI projects at coffee co-operatives in Rwanda with the idea of developing a replicable youth-focused program in ICT extension. Materials developed and Lessons Learned will be available to any LMI site.
Current News
A team of three Washington State University students have completed an amazing internship experience in Rwanda. Ashley Giesa of Engineers Without Borders, Kylan Robinson a Computer Engineering student, and Jutta Tobias a graduate student from the Psychology Department have shepherded a successful launch for a telecenter at the Maraba Coffee Cooperative.
The students have produced a report on their processes that you can download in a 940KB pdf. In addition, Kylan and Jutta both kept blogs of their experience including some very nice picture albums.
The Need
LMI connectivity promises to bring many improvements and opportunities to the lives of farmers who are members of Rwandan coffee co-operatives. Although some are near urban areas, many co-operatives are in remote regions of the country lacking electricity and basic services. Consequently, communication between members is primitive at best, frequently resulting in wasted time and crossed messages. In addition, as cooperatives succeed in marketing their product to the world, they are limited by existing communication tools. Internet access through LMI can change all of this for the better, but cooperatives need a plan to recover costs that may approach $200 USD a month, nearly a year's income for many Rwandans. Experiments in Rwanda with providing Internet access in remote regions have been very successful, prompting LMI sites to plan for telecenter businesses as a way to sustain their connectivity. In addition to providing a sustainable business model for co-operatives, telecenters and Internet Cafés have the potential to become powerful community centers in remote regions.
Co-operative employees and managers require training in order to make telecenter businesses successful. Many need assistance in basic computer use, they need to understand basic hardware maintenance, and they need assistance in using digital tools for business planning, communication and marketing. A stand-alone course covering these basic concepts is not sufficient in the early stages of introducing technology to the cooperatives. They will require learning experiences that are concrete, practical and contextualized within people's immediate needs. A transition program that couples eLearning with local coaching and mentorship is most likely to succeed.
Many of the challenges in Rwanda are similar to those faced by LMI sites all over the world. It is therefore important that materials developed and lessons learned in Rwanda be made available, in usable form, to all LMI sites in the future
Approach
In order to address the cooperatives' need for individual mentorship, WSU will supply three undergraduate or graduate students with expertise in technology and business. These students will provide six weeks of hands-on training and coaching at three cooperatives that will serve as pilot training centers for others. In addition to support from WSU students, the National University of Rwanda (NUR) and the Kigali Institute of Science Technology and Management (KIST) have service-learning programs for students who are interested in community driven projects. These students will collaborate with their American peers and provide sustainable support after the WSU students have returned home.
Lessons learned from the on-site experience will contribute additional content to an eLearning course that the CBDD will develop to support LMI entrepreneurs. The course will include an ICT component, a maintenance component, a small business management component and a community development component. The course will be hosted on KEWL Next Gen and will be available globally.