Hello World. ASMK IT Program for girls is about to launch!

​ASMK is about to launch our first IT training and mentorship program. The six month basic computer training course is designed specifically to enhance the future prospects of girls from poor socioeconomic backgrounds in Shinyanga; several of whom had previously dropped out of high school.

The program, set up with assistance from the philanthropic Diplomatic Spouses Group, will cover basic skills in the Microsoft Office package and Internet literacy to give young women the technical capabilities needed for a modern commercial environment. They will also receive training in softer organisational skills like etiquette, dress and appearance, and communications.

Often training schemes in development countries don’t result in significant changes inside organisations or for the students. Most importantly, our IT training programme doesn’t simply come to a close at the end of their training. We will be supporting the girls by helping them get placed with local businesses and government institutions for internships and mentoring programs. This is part of our objective to help break the cycle of poverty among young girls. We really believe this program has the potential to grow into something larger and help in our fight to end poverty, especially amongst women in the developing world.

The ASMK centre will also serve as venue to train local teachers who lack computer skills or are simply looking into improving their computer skills, which in the long term will make them more efficient.

In other news: It has been three years since our two preschools - The Anna Schubert Playgroup in Shinyanga and The Nhobola Village preschool - were set up. At Nhobola, this year’s enrollment has risen from 50 to 60 students. Both preschools have been a major success, a further proof that the education children receive before the age of 7 has a tremendous effect on their future learning and life. A good education is still a luxury for most children especially those living in villages.

The signs of poverty are never far away. For example, at Nhobola village, a classroom occupied by class one pupils, next to the ASMK preschool on the same Nhobola campus, lost three quarters of its roof three years ago due to heavy rainfall. The classroom roof, has to this day remained open (see picture below) and the authorities concerned have not been able to find enough money to repair the roof, hence leaving students and several of our preschool graduates, huddling for shade to keep cool. More needs to be done.