1. PROJECT IDENTIFICATION
a. Project name:
CINETic is the acronym for our project, which is the Centre d’INitiation et Encadrement en NTic. Inspired by the meaning of the word kinetics which means “which relates to or is due to movement”, explaining in our case the advances we wish to observe in the learning process of the beneficiaries of this project which aims to facilitate access to computer equipment and information to children in difficult situations and to assist students in the use of ICT during their academic and academic journey.
b. Project location:
The project will be carried out in the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and may extend over the entire territory depending on its evolution.
c. Project manager:
This project is being carried out by KWETU BEST SERVICES TECHNOLOGIES, KWETU BEST Sarl, a company based in Goma, DRC, and registered in the national register at CD/GOM/RCCM/20-B-00110. It works to study and propose innovative solutions in the field of new technologies.
Since 2020, the company has been working to propose innovative services in the field of new information and communication technologies.
Kwetu Best Sarl exists since 2019 and is officially registered as of 2020. 4 years of professional experience for the company.
In addition, individual team members have 10 years’ professional experience in the IT field.
Find out more at www.kwetubest.com
2. BACKGROUND
Today, the Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly in its eastern part, is experiencing an alarming security situation.
Indeed, eastern DRC is experiencing an endless war that is causing both loss of life and property, displacement of populations, and disruption of school and academic activities in a large portion of the province. As a result, this insecurity has led to a paralyzed socio-economic situation directly affecting the population on several levels, including the education of children and young people in difficulty. according to statistics published by UNICEF estimates that between January 2022 and March 2023, some 240,000 children will be deprived of an education as a result of the chronic war in eastern DRC.
With the integration of the Licence-Master-Doctorat (LMD) system, university education today requires the use of IT tools in many of the courses offered by the Ministry of Higher and University Education. For example, at the end of each year, every student must complete an internship or run a project for which a report must be produced.
Moreover, the young people still in school at university level encounter educational difficulties at first sight linked to the economic crisis imposed by the war resulting in the difficulty of paying the academic fees, it is also observed that access to the use of the computer tool becomes increasingly difficult because not having enough means to pay the academic fees, it is also naturally difficult for the young learners to find ways to acquire a computer. From this issue, it emerges that even at university level in the DRC, it would not be surprising to see young students who do not know how to manipulate a computer even for the most basic operations.
Given the above observation, it is important to ask ourselves the question “what will be the level of young academics in the eastern part of the DRC since scientific research in this world where cannot be done without the Internet, and without a certain mastery of the computer tool?”
Hence, this project is part of the creation of a center for mentoring and training young people and children in difficult situations in computer science. The center will also serve as a mentoring place for students requiring an introduction to new technologies in order to prepare for the LMD system.
Under the supervision of young people and children in difficult situations, the mission of this project will be to equip them with basic information technology, to advocate for their integration into the educational and social circuits through various partners working in the concerned fields. Computer technology is also opening up new possibilities in terms of literacy and education for these children left at their mercy by educational institutions. While not giving up opportunities for some of these children to join the formal system, the project is empowering them with educational opportunities using computer tools. It is also important to note that this project will also make it possible to use the computer tool as a means of conveying another ideal to these children and young people who have experienced difficult situations but who nevertheless possess essential capacities that can contribute to the emergence of a strong and developed Congo.
For young students, this project will be a field for preparing and anticipating the LMD system through information sessions on the system and on the advantages of mastering the IT tool in the system.
3. TARGET
As mentioned above, this project is primarily aimed at young people and children in difficult situations, unable to access school due to lack of resources, the movement of their families, etc.
These children do not have access to basic education and even less to new technologies. Yet, according to our survey, of a sample of 100 children, 87% showed a strong desire to learn, to know, their curiosity, their desire to have access to modern tools like other children around the world, and finally to be able to take an interest and invest in educational times.
The second targets of the project are students from across North-Kivu province and Goma town, in particular those lacking a center to prepare finalists in high school for their next university studies in the LMD system.
Finally, this project will allow students already enrolled in university to have easy access to tools allowing them to do research (as a basic element in the LMD system) and the entire population to practice Microsoft office tools, web research and familiarization with the computer.
4. OBJECTIVES
a. For children in difficult situations
General objective:
Create time for education and training of children from the computer tool as well as create a practical vision in those children..
Specific objectives :
– Provide basic education (reading, writing, numeracy), develop awakening, curiosity of the child, accompany the child in his cognitive development. Develop activity time from educational computer games.
– Reduce the time spent on the street wandering and begging; allow them to access a modern and attractive tool from which they are a priori excluded.
b. For high-ranking and finalists in high schools
General objective:
Coach, initiate and prepare students for the LMD education system based on the advantages of the IT tool in their academic curricula.
Specific objectives :
– Prepare for LMD education systems.
– Support students in developing a spirit of scientific research using new technologies.
– Assist students in the orientation of the choice of faculty to follow.
c. For students and the general audience
General objective:
Create an Internet and computer access point for students and the entire community around the center.
Specific objectives :
– Allow young people and neighborhood residents to access IT tools as close as possible to their home.
– Enabling access to the Internet and promoting new forms of information and exchange.
– Reinforce awareness and introduction to the ethical use of IT tools
5. PROGRESS OF ACTIVITIES
a. Establishment of CINETic
The setting up of the Centre d’Initiation et Encadrement en NTIC requires the involvement of all social strata, which means that potential partners will be identified, and their contacts will be made according to the project timetable.
The identification of partners will be based on the needs for the viability and sustainability of the project, i.e. partners who can support the project in materials (computers, printers, projectors, tablets, tables, chairs, table, etc.), partners in educational and technical support, etc.
b. Supervision of young people in difficulty
A cohort technique of beneficiaries will be developed in such a way as to vary young people under a cycle that allows supervisors to reintegrate easily into the community.
These young people will have a fixed schedule for their apprenticeship program and will be able to be accompanied in the realization of their dreams in accordance with the objectives of the project and according to the means of the latter.
Content adapted to their age group will be prepared to facilitate learning in the computer field such as computer discovery, basic skills, office tools, digital ethics, digital opportunities.
CINETic will also act as a bridge between organizations that provide scholarships to talented young people who do not have the chance to study to create educational opportunities.
CINETic will organize exchange activities on the same themes to deepen the beneficiaries’ knowledge (conferences, debates, challenges, bootcamps, visits, etc…), these activities will also enable these young people to get closer to other young people in the community.
c. Initiation of high school student
An introductory program for students, especially finalists from high school, will be established in order to prepare them for using the computer tool and the LMD system.
Content adapted to their level of study will be prepared to facilitate learning in the computer field such as the discovery of new information and communication technologies, basic concepts, office automation, digital ethics, digital opportunities, scientific research, etc…
In order to make training possible, the program will follow the school calendar and will be much more concentrated during the holiday periods.
CINETic will organize conferences, debates and other activities to exchange with students on the new education system and the mastery of the IT tool.
d. Student support
A student-only program and a work policy will be established to facilitate students’ access to the centers. They will have access to materials and the internet to do research. Students who prepare the work for study purposes will be privileged.
6. EXPECTED RESULTS
Our project aims to make a contribution to the care of young people (children in difficult situations, secondary school pupils and graduates, students), and in the long term to the general population.
By achieving the following results, we will consider our impact in the community to be significant:
– Over a 24-month period, train at least 400 young people in difficult situations in advanced computer skills.
– Assign at least 30 young people to tasks to be carried out in the job market
– Refer around 500 young people in difficult situations living on the streets, in camps for displaced persons, etc. to other centers for young people who show an attachment to other forms of work other than New Information and Communication Technologies.
– To have a setting that welcomes at least 100 students every week over the long term (this result will ensure the sustainability of the project).
– At least 5 schools in the city of Goma to adopt the CinetiC project’s program of training pupils in the use of new information and communication technologies.