I present this unsolicited proposal guided by the third Guiding Principle of your foundation; the principle which states that science and technology have great potential to improve lives around the world. I herein seek for grants to enable me start a project aimed at improving access to ICT in Chad.
It is my hope that your Foundation finds the proposal feasible and that you support me in quest to achieve the objectives which, I believe, complement your Foundation’s.
Executive Summary
Chad is one of the poorest countries in the world. As a consequence, its adoption of ICT is very low. This is an anathema at a time when the world is looking skywards with a view to attaining the Millennium Development Goals. If we are to move together in this small planet – and in line with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s assertion that all lives have equal value – then we must bring Chad on-board the ICT train.
The country currently has zero ICT policy framework and almost non-existent ICT infrastructure. Putting these in place will require a long term plan by the government. However, in the short term, local computer networks can be used to teach ICT skills to the young and to encourage the government to embrace the same. Access to the World Wide Web is not a major requirement in this project but, where it is absolutely necessary, dial-up connections via the internet service provider ChadNet can be used. This is informed by the need to save costs as internet bandwidth costs are still very prohibitive in Chad.
In this project, digital (or ICT) villages will be set up at yet to be decided locations. These ICT villages will be used for training the population, especially the young, on basic ICT skills. This, I believe, is one way in which we can help Chad in elusive forward march.
Introduction
Republic of Chad, as Chad is officially known, is a country in central Africa bordered by Sudan, Libya, Cameroon, Nigeria and the Central African Republic. Majority of the people of Chad live below the poverty line. According to United Nations' Human Development Index, Chad is the seventh poorest nation on earth. It is estimated that only 20% of the population is outside the poverty bracket. Chad has a young population with approximately 48% of the population being below the age of 15.
With such high levels of poverty, education in Chad has been anything but successful. Less than 60% of the country’s children have gone beyond primary education. This is clearly worrying. But not as worrying as the fact that the country’s adoption of ICT is unacceptably low. As yet the country lacks a formal ICT policy. Chad’s adoption of telecommunications is also very low with very low access to telephones. Where there is access to the internet, it is censored by the government. Bagnolet Paris node connects Chad to the World Wide Web. Internet speeds are very low such it takes up to 20 minutes to send e-mail.
In the current ICT driven world economy, a lot has to be done if Chad is to join the rest of the world in the quest to attain the objectives as set in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The lack of infrastructure must be solved. But that is in the long term. In the short term, there is need to have natives who are skilled in ICT. These skilled individuals can then make the government see the need of investing of investing in ICT and developing a clear policy framework. In this proposal, I have put forward what I consider the cheapest means of disseminating ICT skills to Chadian population.
Statement of the Problem
A lot is going on well in the world; that we must always admit and be proud of. A number of third world countries are posting impressive economic growth and pulling a large chunk of their people off the poverty bracket. Some third world countries like Kenya have emerged as leaders in the telecommunications sector. However, there are those states on earth which, for certain historical reasons, have faltered on the noble obligations already intimated. An example of such a country is Chad.
In the field of ICT, there are a number of organizations – mostly funded by the UN – that are trying to help Chad in its march forward. But years of neglect has come with the attendant consequence that there is no clear policy framework nor is there a sound infrastructural system in Chad to support these initiatives. As I have said more than once in this proposal, putting in place the two will require bold and swift steps, and will certainly require long term plans on the part of Chadian government and the international community. This we cannot wait for. We can take immediate steps aimed at instilling ICT skills unto the population. The next section explains the necessary step.
Project Description
The aim of this project is to use the cheapest means possible to disseminate ICT skills to, especially the young, Chadian population with a view to improving the living standard of the people. The project will make use of digital ICT villages located at yet to be determined locations in the country. Their locations will however have to take cognizance of the diversity of the people of Chad so that the composition of the beneficiaries will cosmopolitan with respect to the local context.
The initial phase of the project presupposes four digital villages situated in four major towns of the republic. Each village will have at least fifty desktop computers, one of which will be the server while the other will be workstations. The computers in each village will be networked using Ethernet standards. Connection to the internet will be via satellite dish with dial-up connection to ChadNet ISP. Dial-up connection will be used with a view to cutting costs for the reason that satellite bandwidth is still very costly in Chad. The system configuration will be such that only ten workstations are permitted access to the internet.
Initial training will be on the basics of a computer; introduction to hardware and software, and graphics user interface. Later, finer details will be added until such a time programming and the learning about the application of specific software suits is possible.
The project will mainly make use of the services of local experts – mostly part time volunteers. However, at least five full time, paid and dedicated experts in ICT will be required. Each village should be accommodating of accommodating fifty trainees at any given time and at least one hundred trainees on any working day.
For it to be effective, the training will be offered free of charge but on meritocracy such that only those who successfully finish one grade move to the next. The aim is that, at the end of one year, each village should produce at least two hundred graduates. Some of these graduates will be absorbed in the project as paid employees so that it is self perpetuating. The ten computers that have access to the internet will be used for teaching in classes about the internet.
I will be seeking for funding from foundations, governments and individuals. This proposal is one way of seeking that funding. I will also seek support in the form of equipment, personnel and logistics from organizations and well wishers. I will personally be on the ground as project leader.
Conclusion
There is need to improve the welfare of the world’s poor not just for the benefit of our conscience, not just for the sake of world stability, but just for the simple reason that it the right thing to do. I intend to go to Chad and do the much I have described in this report. I am alive to the fact that funding will be a major challenge in this regard and that is why I write proposal to your Foundation. I believe this project satisfies the third guiding principle of your Foundation which rightly claims that science and technology have great potential to improve lives around the world. As human beings, we have an ability to solve the problems afflicting humanity. Your Foundation believes in that; I also do. And I believe that together we can satisfy that end.
Works Cited
Babacar Fall, ICT in Education in Chad, May 2007
Pierre Guislain et al, Connecting Sub-Saharan Africa: A World Bank Group Strategy for Information and Communication Technology Sector Development (World Bank Working Papers), June 2005
Gianluca Misuraca, E-Governance in Africa: From Theory to Action; a Handbook on icts for Local Governance, July 16, 2007
Nino Orlando, Africa Networking: Development Information, ICTs and Governance, October 1, 2004
Mark D.J. Williams, Africa's ICT Infrastructure: Building on the Mobile Revolution (Directions in Development), June 24, 2011
