Statement of the Problem: In education, in the workplace, and in many leisure pursuits, the computer embodies the fundamental difference between yesterday and today. Unfortunately, however, the benefits of this remarkable tool are not being evenly shared. In the developing world, where poverty is widespread and public education systems are frequently deficient, both the high cost of computer hardware and limited opportunities for training in computer skills deny access to those benefits to most people of meager economic resources. As a result, in several important respects the gulf between the “haves” and the “have-nots,” is widening and with that widening, the opportunities open to economically disadvantaged groups are correspondingly curtailed.
Our Approach: Our approach places strong emphasis on community-self management, financial independence, and the long-term sustainability of each new computer-learning center. Most of the hardware and software for our centers are elicited through donations, and are refurbished, installed, and maintained by a cadre of dedicated volunteers.
Students pay a nominal fee per month of instruction that includes word-processing, presentation applications, spreadsheets and internet-related content. We run classes in rooms within pre-existing infrastructure in as much as possible.
We recruit, screen, and train community members to be the teachers for each center. The funds required for teacher salaries and facility maintenance are generated largely from student tuition, but other income sources may be part of a center’s financial plan. In some instances, for example, graduates may use the center’s equipment (when classes are not in session), to provide various services to community groups or small local businesses on a fee-for-service-rendered basis.
The Net Gain Project