Technology Centre for Young Women in Disadvantaged Communities
Sign of Hope proposes to establish a Rural Community Technology Centre targeting young women in low to moderate income communities in Ehime Mbano in Imo State, Nigeria. The project aims to empower young women with technology skills to strengthen local Nigerian villages. Using the skills they have acquired, the girls can achieve financial independence.
About You
Section 1: About You
Section 2: About Your Organization
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Yes
Organization Name
Sign of Hope Inc
Organization Website
Organization Phone
+393271756394
Organization Address
Via Don Minzoni 16, 62100 Macerata
Organization Country
Italy, MC
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has this organization been operating?
1‐5 years
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Your idea
Name Your Project
Technology Centre for Young Women in Disadvantaged Communities
Describe Your Idea
Sign of Hope proposes to establish a Rural Community Technology Centre targeting young women in low to moderate income communities in Ehime Mbano in Imo State, Nigeria. The project aims to empower young women with technology skills to strengthen local Nigerian villages. Using the skills they have acquired, the girls can achieve financial independence.
Country your work focuses on
Nigeria, IM
Innovation
What makes your idea unique?
The Rural Community Technology Centre will adopt an open learning methodologies and facilitate an intensive ‘hands on’ experience. Focus areas will include word processing, database management, internet skills and graphic design.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
No
Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
Tell us about the social impact of your innovation. Please include both numbers and stories as evidence of this impact
Girls and young women in low and moderate income communities in villages will be empowered
with technology skills and usage in a community based setting. The intensive program will enable them to acquire applicable technology skills to advance economically and compete professionally in today’s digital economy.
Problem: Describe the primary problem(s) that your innovation is addressing
A high proportion of young women in rural areas do not have any opportunity to acquire computer skills which is important to both the educational process and a significant contributor to achieving positive career outcomes. The project aims to empower young women with technology skills by providing Microsoft Office and computer programming training, dispensing information technology career guidance and providing encouragement for further education.
Actions: Describe the steps that you are taking to make your innovation a success. What might prevent that success?
The Rural Community Technology Centre will identify young women in the age group of fifteen to thirty and collect baseline information about the target population in the project areas. The Rural Community Technology Centre will design courses and learning objectives in introduction to computers, word processing, spreadsheets and the Internet. The strategies will include classroom teaching and exercises, class tests, hands-on training and field placement training. The project will be implemented in the following phases:
1.Community mapping to identify interests and needs of prospective Participants
2.Establishing a Community Technology Centres for girls and young adult women coming
from villages and backward areas in the peri-urban region.
3.Plan for operational needs-space, hardware, software, furniture, and furnishings, Personnel for the CTC etc.
4.Designing curricula for various ICT courses and programs
5.Enrolment of girls and young women
6.Conducting a demographic survey
7.Pre assessment of Technology use and skills of girls and young women
8.Initiating ICT programs for girls and young women
9.Post assessment survey of the sampled population attending Community Technology Centre
10.Documentation and Research reporting
Results: Describe the expected results of these actions over the next three years. Please address each year separately, if possible
The project will train one thousand young women in the age group of fifteen to thirty five in basic computer skills. The participants will acquire different skills namely usage of Microsoft Office, databases, programming and the usage of the internet. Further, the Rural Community Technology Centre will work in collaboration with local governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations in locating appropriate volunteer work. The trainees will develop knowledge competencies and applicable skills in information and communication technology and will be equipped with different computer skills which would provide them with employment opportunities and advance economically in today’s digital economy.
How many people will your project serve annually?
101‐1000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
Less than $50
Does your innovation seek to have an impact on public policy?
No
If your innovation seeks to impact public policy, how?
Approximately 150 words left (1200 characters).
Sustainability
What stage is your project in?
Idea phase
Does your organization have a board of directors or an advisory board?
Yes
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Yes
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with businesses?
Yes
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with government?
No
Please tell us more about how partnerships could be critical to the success of your innovation
Sign of Hope will partner with commercially run Computer Education Centres and Web Browsing Centres. Feedback and guidance will be sought from the Departments of Information Technology attached with Colleges of Engineering at Imo State. This project partnership with local ICT institutions and resource centres will also assist in finding employment opportunities for the beneficiaries.
We would like to learn more about how your initiative is financially supported. Please explain your business plan/revenue model
Approximately 250 words left (2000 characters).
The Story
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
Since empowerment of young women is a crucial pre-requisite for sustainable development, ICT is considered as one of the most powerful weapons in the empowerment process. The project is designed to benefit young women, which will generate acceptable investment returns through their active participation in the workplace. It will benefit young women in learning different computer skills and providing a range of new employment opportunities previously unavailable to them. The project will also allow local non-governmental organizations to benefit from volunteer work provided by students completing the program.
Tell us about the person—the social innovator—behind this idea.
Clinton has more than 4 years experience in community development, humanitarian program, and organizational development. Developing and maintaining relationships with a wide range of stakeholders within the private and public sector as well as people from varying multicultural backgrounds. Extensively travelled and well networked. Currently, he is the founder/program manager of Sign of Hope Inc, a nonprofit organization based in Italy:www.signofhopeinc.org. Previously, he co-foundered and worked with Christian Fellowship and Care Foundation, a Non Govermental Organization (NGO) working in Nigeria, where he directs the organization's affairs. Responsible for fund raising, marketing and communications with a long -range goal of increasing the organization's visibility and generating diversified and sustainable income for the work of the organization.
Trained by Society for Family Health/Imo-SACA on HIV/AIDS Project Implementation. Co-director In-school HIV project in Ehime Mbano, Imo State-Directed Training programmes for selected youth in schools. Working to encourage youth to take action to protect themselves from HIV infection.
In addition to his employment, he also continue to volunteer for community services. He has undertaken a HIV Awareness for Secondary School Students, a Free Medical Outreach for Rural community together with Doctors volunteers corps, School Support project through distributing Pencils and Back-to-School materials to school children, and coordinated CHRIFACAF online volunteers through UNV. Clinton assist in a kindergarten class every Wednesday in Macerata, Italy, where he help the teacher with lessons, art projects, supervising during “play time,” Clinton love children. Watching them grow and learn is one of his greatest joys.
Clinton holds a Bachelor degree in Religious Studies from NationsUniversity, USA . Consequently, he is working on his Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Web Search (e.g., Google or Yahoo)
If through another source, please provide the information
ICRW
Does your project address any of the following barriers to women’s technology access and use?
Women’s time poverty, Economic or institutional constraints, Women’s lack of involvement in the technology development process.
If you checked any of the boxes above, please explain how.
A high proportion of young women in rural areas do not have any opportunity to acquire computer skills which is important to both the educational process and a significant contributor to achieving positive career outcomes. The project will target girls who belong to Umuezeala communities which are socially oppressed classes , young women whose parents work in primary sectors such as agriculture and young women in dysfunctional families. It is expected around one thousand young women will benefit from The Rural Community Technology Centre within the first two years of its operation
Does your project involve women in one or more of the following stages of the technology lifecycle? Identification of the problem the technology will solve:
Technology introduction, Technology training, Creation and maintenance of market linkages for women's economic outputs.
If you checked any of the boxes above, please explain how you will ensure women’s involvement in each relevant phase of the technology lifecycle.
The Rural Community Technology Centre will identify young women in the age group of fifteen to thirty and collect baseline information about the target population in the project areas. The Rural Community Technology Centre will design courses and learning objectives in introduction to computers, word processing, spreadsheets and the Internet. The strategies will include classroom teaching and exercises, class tests, hands-on training and field placement training.
If women are a focus of your project, how did this focus evolve?
The project focused on women from its conception..
Which type of women will your project reach directly?
Rural, Low income.
In what ways does your project team/leadership involve women?
The core project team includes women from developing countries..
Has your organization formed any new partnerships in response to this challenge? If so, with what type/s of organization/s?
Non-profit/NGO/community-based organization, Women's organization.
Has your project leadership had prior experience with the following?
Working with women, Working with technologies, Working to increase women's economic empowerment through technology.
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 | 108 weeks agoAndrew Nwadigo said: Great project! Good luck. about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 109 weeks agoBahiyah Yasmeen Robinson said: This is a great program that will greatly benefit young women as they move towards the possibility of employment in the ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 110 weeks agoClinton Ezeigwe updated this Competition Entry. |
| 110 weeks agoClinton Ezeigwe submitted this idea. |
