Bringing the Internet to Ghana

Author : gloria bampo
Date added : 2001-04-15

Brief Project Background

I am not a technology expert,but through my involvement with the USAID-funded Community Learning Center (CLC) in Cape Coast, Ghana, where I work as the manager, I have come to appreciate the tremendous opportunities that the Internet offers for efficient, effective, and affordable research, as well as local, regional, and international communication. I now understand that not only can the Internet open up opportunities for individuals, but it can also enhance the development of a nation as a whole.
Several years ago, the Central Region Development Commission (CEDECOM) established a Community Learning Center (CLC) in Cape Coast, created along with two other CLCs in Accra and Kumasi with USAID’s financial support and technical, implementation, and administrative assistance from the Academy for Educational Development’s (AED’s) LearnLink project. Other groups helped as well, including the Leland Initiative and the Research Triangle Institute. The project was designed to provide IT access to people in Ghana who could not afford it on their own.

Before the CLC was set up in Cape Coast, very few people were aware of the potential and possibilities of computers and the Internet. Those who did had to travel all the way to Accra, the capital city of Ghana, to get access. However students from the University of Cape Coast who were especially interested made many trips. Early in 1998, the partners launched the CLC project with CEDECOM to support the dissemination of IT to the general public, especially those who otherwise would not be able to access such tools.

To publicize the Community Learning Center even before its physical set up, the host organisation, CEDECOM, put up a booth at a Trade and Investment exposition in Cape Coast, held from August 24 to September 5, 1998. The purpose of the booth was to introduce people in the municipality and its environs to the use and applications of computers and the Internet and to describe the services that the CLC would offer. A cross section of people visited the booth, and those from within and around Cape Coast became enthusiastic about the idea of being able to communicate with others far away and receive a reply almost immediately. Two journalists who were not very familiar with the Internet were thrilled to see stories they had mailed to their corporations posted on their company’s web sites the evening of the same day. Both the educated and uneducated, none of whom had used computers before, were amazed by what computers can do. With a few verbal tutorials, even the uneducated and illiterate were using the MS Paint programme to draw and play games.

Initially, the CLC was equipped with six multimedia networked stations, one laser Hewlett Packard black and white printer, one Proxy Server, one sixteen-port hub, and one white board. While it was very basic, it was enough. After operating for a year, the CLC had to purchase six more workstations to meet the ever-growing client demand.

Results

Now up and running, the CLC provides a variety of services, including training in various software applications, orientation to the Internet, desktop publishing, and email and Internet browsing services, as well as basic office services such as faxing and photocopying. Previously, these services were limited to few people in the university community and the rich who could make frequent trips to Accra. CLC has really added a valuable dimension to life in Cape Coast.

To encourage people to take advantage of the CLC’s services, the center undertook a series of outreach programs. One program, called the “open week,” demonstrated to the general public the power of the Internet and a variety of computer applications. To encourage participation, the CLC sent letters to organisations, educational institutions, churches, small-scale entrepreneurs, and other municipal groups inviting them to come and explore the CLC. Fliers and brochures were also sent out to well patronised shops and the three main tourist sites in Cape Coast and its environs.

The response was overwhelming, with virtually all of the people contacted accepting the invitation. During the week, computer stands were mounted to demonstrate Microsoft Office suite and other multimedia applications, and output from them were pasted at the stands for visitors’ perusal. People then were encouraged to use the mouse and the keyboard. A few daring individuals went beyond that by drawing with the MS Paint application and visiting and browsing specific web sites. Some of the people from churches traced the history of their church on the Internet and then, later, continued to frequent the CLC to use the Internet and CD-ROMs to see what else they could learn about their religious heritage. For most of the people visiting the booth, free email addresses were opened. As word spread about these activities, people came in subsequent days bringing with them email addresses of friends, family members, and colleagues throughout the world. They were thrilled when they received replies, often by the time they had finished visiting the other stands.

Following the “open week,” and due to demand from small-scale entrepreneurs, the CLC later held a series of workshops on the use of computers and the importance of the Internet for business. Because CEDECOM, the host organization, works to promote economic development in Ghana’s central region, this activity opened a new door of hope for those engaged in private sector work as communication between partners became cheaper and simple .
Yet another partnership developed with Atlantic FM, a local radio station. In return for on-air advertising of the CLC’s services, the radio station used the Internet to search for sports news. The CLC also is considering downloading needed health information to translate into our local dialect for airing on the radio.
During the first month of operation, the CLC allowed people to look for information and communicate with business partners and friends without charging them any fees. This drew in a lot of people who, after tasting how interesting it was to be on the net, did not mind paying a small fee to have access to such a wonderful tool.

CHALLENGES
The centre had a basic challenge of getting people either than students to use the Internet for communicating and also using the free resource of Information available on the net. However the Open Weeks helped a great deal in solving this problem. The CLC staff also noticed that most of the clients using the Internet were males. To encourage women to use the Internet and computers, a special fee was fixed for them. The Centre also intends to hold a Women’s Week to showcase interesting opportunities the net for women and then encourage them to use the Internet and the CD-ROMs the CLC has collected to help women obtain information beneficial for the personal and professional lives.
It was also observed that most of the youth who visited the centre used the net for pen pals, and a few for educative issues. As a result of this the CLC intend to form an Internet Youth Club to help them use the Internet more beneficially.
Another problem concerned the difficulty the CLC experienced in sustaining the initial interest and enthusiasm of the people who attended the Open Week and were eager to come back and use the Internet. Shortly after the Week, all the phone lines to Accra broke down, and access to our Internet Service Providers became impossible. For two long weeks, people climbed up our long flight of steps-the CLC is located on the top floor of a big building-only to hear that no connection was possible. People were disappointed about their inability to continue using their newly discovered treasure. Due to inconsistent telephone service, the CLC has had to live with this kind of situation since the project started. However interesting issues and news are often downloaded from the net and pasted on our giant notice board for clients. This usually partially soothes their disappointment
On other days, when the telephone lines are working, connectivity becomes a problem because of erratic and slow connections. Just as interests in the services are increasing, we are faced with the problems caused by limited bandwidth in the country.

Lessons

Our experience in Cape Coast indicates that men and youth seem to accept new technologies more easily and readily than women. While more bandwidth and more reliable and consistent connectivity will encourage a lot of people to use the Internet on a regular basis, women and older people need more encouragement and assistance. Moreover showing them interesting web sites seems to work well. Despite the problems, we also have come to realise that the training offered at the CLC motivates people to explore and learn a lot on the computer than it is formal schools. Furthermore ,we have also learnt that using the local dialect during training is another tool of getting the semi educated to use computers to perform certain excercises that they previously thought could not be possible.

Development Impacts

Interest in IT is growing in Ghana, and people continue to be enthusiastic about the communication and information gathering and dissemination possibilities that computers provide. CEDECOM plans to establish similar CLCs in the thirteen districts of Ghana’s central region, where no such facilities currently are available. People who have had both formal and Informal training at the centre have set up their Internet café’s to help meet the demand for Internet and secretarial services while others have being employed in both governmental and private institutions.. Other ancillary businesses, such as hardware and software shops and repair companies, are creating employment opportunities for people in the region. Yet the low fees and training opportunities offered by the CLC continue to help disadvantaged communities in and around Cape Coast who otherwise would not be able to access these technologies that are becoming so critical for personal, professional, social, and economic development.

Project Information

Organisation : cedecom

Contact Information

gloria bampo
gbamps@yahoo.co.uk

Disclaimer: No stories on this website shall be reproduced or stored in any other retrieval system without the written permission of the infoDev/IICD. Although every precaution will be taken in the preperation and maintenance of this collection of stories, neither infoDev, IICD or the submitting parties assume any responsibilities for errors or omissions. In addition, no liability is assumed fordamages resulting from the use of the information supplied in the stories.