Hi Joan and Neetu,

Joan, you really struck a nerve there. I have been working on the issue since 2010 and have run into walls repeatedly. I am from Pakistan originally, and we have power cuts for up to 18 or 20 hours every day. The government is not promoting use of solar power nor looking in to providing any incentives for switching to alternative energy sources.

I started a technology centre in a very remote desert area (thanks to Systers PIO award) and the girls travelled to the centre from miles for the lessons and would sometimes wait a few hours before returning to their homes. They would have wasted half their day, mane even bus fare and all in vain. The  situation was not so bad previously but because the power issue got worse and worse, we were running out of luck about what to do. Now the centre is used is a private lesson facility almost, if someone wants a lesson or guidance about writing a job application, and there is power, they are accommodated. If not, they go back without gaining anything. In short, it is serving for the individual needs of some women but regular group lessons have been a nightmare.

Neetu, we were also facing similar social and cultural barriers of girls not coming out of their homes, so we decided to make it a women only centre. We had a very good respond, partly because it was a group of young women who asked us to start such a facility. We got a managing board and a steering committee for the centre in no time!

I agree that connecting the needs of the women to the technology is very important. You cannot just start a centre somewhere and hope for women to walk unto it. It will only be a success if a genuine need for such a facility has been identified. If the need is not there, there will be no interest from the community.

I hope to hear more on this topic especially where electric power issue is concerned as I am planning to keep on with my mission of connecting women from rural areas through modern information and communication technologies.

Kind regards,
Iffat

On Apr 15, 2013, at 17:39 , neetu jain <nutshi@gmail.com> wrote:

> I have been very interested in knowing more about how technology can help
> rural remote areas.
>
> I would love to know more about your findings.
>
> Here are my 2 cents ( having good amount of exposure to remote villages In
> Rajasthan, India)
>
> 1) the best means of information dissemination in rural villages is  face
> to face. They have ample gatherings .. and any information that is useful (
> financially, physically e.t.c) spreads pretty fast ( even the gossips and
> non-useful info does ..but we are not considering that here) ...free food
> gatherings, awareness camps should be a hit..for spreading good information
>
> 2) There is lot of resistance for girls to get out of home .. in general in
> these places because of patriarchal system ..But if there is a safe secure
> ways to make a decent earning .. often that resistance can be fought over
>
> 3) Safety of girls is the topmost priority .. if that in any ways is
> questionable ( like long travel, no support from the mail society e..tc)
> then no matter how good the initiative it is .. it will fail
>
> 4) Cellphones ( in India as well as in Africa) ..are invading even the
> rural sectors .. because if their usefulness .. they have transformed the
> way business happens atleast in villages known to me ( because hoarding is
> a major occupation there )
>
> 5) To involve girls .. we need to combine the "cultural part" with
> 'technology part".. to be well received .. Like traditional things that
> girls can do at home .. sewing, making other craft stuff e.t.c .. are
> vastly accepted in rural places .. as things to do for girls .. if somehow
> using digital world into these hobbies and often occupations .. can be
> incorporated then i think it would be a good hit .. for ex .. a  "sewing
> machine database" of a village ..somebody helps them checkout , maintain
> the database  e.t.c , getting deisgns from internet , selling online e.t.c
> e.t.c  are few things that come to my mind ..on how their interests can eb
> blended with technology to get better results
>
>
> 6) There was a computer donated by bill gates foundation in my village .. i
> found out when i was there 10 years back .. It was in a cow shed --it had
> internet :) slow but still worked ..i was abel to chat with my fiance in
> Stanford from that cowshed -internet  thanks to gated foundation . But it
> made me feel very sad .. on how technology goes waste ..when there is not
> enough effort spent in incorporating it into people's lives
>
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Apr 15, 2013 at 10:23 AM, African PRIDE Centre <
> africanpridecentre@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Any ideas on how we can transform rural folk, especially women and young
>> girls using ICT? Remember that grassroots lack power connections!
>>
>> Joan
>>
>>
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