A 15 day Computing Skills Development Training Course was delivered to the Pragati Women Cooperative and teachers from the Shree Nu Bahakot Secondary School in Mayatari, Syangja District.

The training program was organised jointly by Logged On, the Nepal Rural Information Technology Development Society (NRIDS) and Pragati Women Saving and Credit Cooperative Limited (Mayatari). 60 women participants of different age groups, castes and educational backgrounds registered for the training with 10 teachers from the Nu Bahakot school.

Both organisations were provided with computer centres by Logged On and the training course was part of our commitment to empowering local people with the knowledge and skills to be able to effectively use and sustain the computer facility for the benefit of the community.

Participants were divided into three daily shifts so everyone was able to receive individualised assistance. Training coordinator, Sudip Aryal, reported that “it was a touching moment to see local women curiously learning computers who have managed to join the class after completing their regular agriculture work in their field. I am very happy to have dedicated my time to the training to help them realise their aspirations.”

One of the participants, Kamala Poudel, 50, cried after adding her son to her newly created Facebook account and talking with him using Messenger for the first time. Her son was surprised to see his mother’s unexpected friend request. He initially said “what will you do with Facebook Mum?”
 
 

 
 
“It is a common situation that many of our family members and relatives are outside of Syangja District or even outside Nepal. So I will use Facebook to communicate with them from time-to-time” Kamala said.

The Pragati Women Cooperative supports local women’s development initiatives including providing micro-credit loans. One key reason for running the two week course was to train members to be able to better manage the Cooperative using their newly acquired computers. Members are now able to write letters and prepare reports in MS Word, create bills in Excel and make presentations in PowerPoint. They are also able to communicate more effectively with clients, friends and family using email, Facebook and Skype.

Participants were introduced to the ways computers could be used effectively in their daily lives, the basics of computer parts and peripheral devices, the operating system, MS Office products, multimedia, internet and the basics of trouble shooting and security.

Teacher were also taught digital literacy skills, but most importantly, ways of using the computers to prepare materials for lessons and to use them in classroom activities for children.
 
 
 
 
 

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