Internet Access and Computer Literacy for Youth

Dear Friends,

Thanks to you, Shauri Yako Community Youth Support Centre (SYSC) is delighted to have raised $370 dollars towards our goal of bringing internet connectivity and computer training to slum youth in Nyeri, Kenya. 

We are combining this with funding received through our parent project on Global Giving (vocational skills training) to purchase internet services for five months ($320).  We will dedicate $60 (total) to provide a small stipend to a computer skills trainer. And we will continue to save funding toward the purchase of another computer ($630) so that more youth within our community will be able to benefit.

This may not seem like much, but it presents a really exciting opportunity for us. Internet connectivity is cost prohibitive for slum youth and SYSC, as a very small charity, and youth have little to no access to computers.

Our centre already provides a respite to youth from slum street life and a place to access social and economic development support. By bringing adding computers, internet connectivity and basic training, we will be able to offer youth access to critical tools for learning and development. Showing youth how to use spreadsheet software to keep records, for example, means those that pursue self-employment can use basic accounting tools to strengthen their business.

Youth will also be able to use the internet for self-directed learning, essential given that so many here must give up school for the workplace at a young age. And they will be able to see for themselves how technology – particularly social media - is changing the way societies and businesses behave and interact with one another. They will have access to networks, employers, tools and – perhaps most importantly – ideas from which they are currently barred due to their economic class.

We want you to know that, through this project, you are directly improving the lives of youth in one of Kenya’s worst slums. You are also helping achieve the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals, which recognize the essential role information and communication technology plays in poverty reduction.

We are deeply grateful for your support. It makes an enormous difference in what we can achieve. If you have ideas for us, or would be interested in volunteering with us, please hit reply. We’d love to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Joe Mwai