Telecentre

Telecentre: A “public place of access to the Internet and other digital technologies that help promote personal and social development” (www.telecentre.org).

Throughout Africa, Asia, and South America, telecentres serve as places for teaching, business development, business services, and internet hubs. Some specifically promote services for women. Some provide services for small-holding farmers. Others serve as clearinghouses for health care information. In every case, a telecentre is about leveraging ICT (information, communication, and technology) for the benefit of the community.

Thanks to a generous grant from Elmbrook Church (Brookfield, WI), Congo Initiative is in the process of researching local needs and telecentre models in preparation for developing a business plan. The goal is to establish an income-generating telecentre that also serves as a business incubator for UCBC graduates. The telecentre “will leverage graduates’ expertise and appropriate information, communication, and technology (ICT) services of UCBC and the Center for Professional Development and Vocational Training to benefit the community.” It will also “facilitate expansion of UCBC’s Economics Department to include entrepeneurship and business development education” (Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Telecentre: Proposal, November, 2011).

At their core, telecentres serve the community and support community development initiatives. In addition to serving the community, we are looking to develop a telecentre that will provide employment for UCBC graduates or serve as a business incubator specifically for them. The telecentre will also be a vehicle to support some of CI-UCBC's own ICT needs here on campus. This could include supporting robust internet services or provide printing services (a desperate need, as 3 desktop printers are the tired workhorses for a faculty/staff of over 40 and a student body of 450+).

L-R: Wilfred, Victor, Guy

So, for the past 4 months, the team of Wilfred Mushagalusa (UCBC Applied Sciences teacher), Guy Komanda (UCBC Economics teacher), Victor Bangewa (UCBC IT Manager), and me have been reading, researching, and learning together. We’ve relied on information and contacts we’ve made through the Telecentre Foundation. These individuals have been very helpful. For example, Amparo Preethika M. De Asis, Capacity Building Manager of the Telecentre.org Foundation, put us in touch with telecentre experts in Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, and Rwanda. Ampy is in the Philippines. Rita Mijumbi Epodoi, from Uganda, has offered training assistance and advised on telecentres to visit in Uganda. Dean Mulozi, Regional Facilitator of the Southern Africa Telecentre Network (SATNET), has forwarded telecentre management training modules. Dean is in Zambia.  The Community Telecentre Cookbook for Africa: Recipes for Self-Sustainability (UNESCO, 2001) has provided a helpful framework for our work.

It’s great fun to work with Wilfred, Guy, and Victor. Even though each of these men has been on staff at UCBC for a year or less, each one has a deep commitment to CI and UCBC.

If passion had only one face, it would be Victor. Victor began at UCBC as a student 3 years ago. Eager to develop his IT skills, he made the difficult decision to move to Uganda for additional training. He returned to UCBC last year to assume responsibility for the computer network and labs, and gave up the potential to establish a successful business in Goma, the provincial capital 300 kms (and a long day's drive) to the south of Beni. Wilfred turned down a lucrative job offer in Kinshasa to teach at UCBC. As he tells it, it took 3 months of prayer to discern what God would have him do. Guy served as a temporary teacher at UCBC for more than a year before we were able to offer him a permanent position.

L-R: Victor, me, Guy, Wilfred

We are learning together, learning how to work together across our cultural experiences and styles and navigating the challenges of language. I’m the deficient one, of course, with an insufficient French vocabulary. Thankfully, Wilfred and Victor are fluent English speakers and Guy has solid competency in English. Wilfred and Victor have IT knowledge, of course, and some exposure to telecentres. Guy brings business planning and development knowledge. I have been reading about telecentres for a couple of years, but have never visited one. And, of course, Guy, Victor, and Wilfred understand the community context here in Beni.

There are two major activities on the immediate horizon. One is to visit well-established and successful telecentres in Rwanda and Uganda. The opportunity to see telecentres in action and talk to the managers will assist in our planning. The second activity is to have a series of public meetings here in Beni to determine the nature of the telecentre. The meetings are a combination data gathering, marketing, and relationship-building.