We are
participating in the Mohamed Bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity
digital divide and digital literacy challenge to scale up DigiLab, a
digital resource center in Kajiado, Kenya where we train young girls on digital
literacy, entrepreneurship and life-skills.
What we have done already
Empower and
Serve Kenya through our Innovating for Social Impact Program (iSIP) is
leveraging on the power of information and communication technology (ICT) and
associated benefits to establish Digital Laboratory for Girls (DigiLab). This
is a gender transformative program to address the socio-economic barriers to
entry into the labor market for young women in rural Kenya. In particular, the
initiative aims to enhance digital literacy for girls/women in Kajiado County.
At DigiLab, girls and women gather to learn basics of computer, coding, web-design,
and graphic-design, serving as a tool for them to tap into limitless direct and
indirect job and business opportunities, while encouraging the community to
embrace practices that promote gender equality. At the same time, the DigiLab
serves as a social platform where we introduce sessions of entrepreneurship,
life skills and behavior change and communication. The project targets out of
school girls/young women of age 16-29 drawn from vulnerable households in
Kajiado.
Noteworthy,
Kajiado County is predominantly inhabited by the Maasai community who practice
nomadic way of life. The community has recorded high cases of female genital
mutilation (FGM) at 46%, early marriages at 63% and generally low literacy
levels largely affecting women at 54%, and other retrogressive practices that
impact on women.
Achievements:
Through
DigiLab, we have trained over 70 girls and women, with about 65% using ICT
directly and indirectly to earn a livelihood either in wage and
self-employment, and 15% advancing their careers in ICT related courses.
Why participate in the MBR Initiative
for Global Prosperity digital divide and digital literacy challenge? – DigiLab
Scale-up Plan:
To ensure
greater reach and sustainability echoed in our expansion model, we are lodging
a fully-fledged and a self-sustaining DigiLab Center in another location
(Kitengela) in Kajiado County now completely managed by Empower and Serve
Kenya. The center will be a replica of the other center we have established in
our partner organization in Kajiado town, fully equipped with computer lab and
a digital studio, offering low cost basic and advance computer packages
including photography and videography and online jobs training, social
enterprise training and behavior change and communication. The goal of the
project is to improve gender equality outcomes by increasing economic
opportunities for girls and women.
Targets:
Each year, the
project targets to reach 200 out of school girls/women of age 16-29 drawn from
vulnerable households in Kitengela.
Project Activities:
A1: Recruitment,
training and deployment of 3 trainers of trainees (ToTs), preferably female
trainers with ICT academic background also to be the first cohort of youth
champions. In addition to delivering the ICT, entrepreneurship and
behavior change and communication sessions through the mentorship and coaching
from Empower and Serve Kenya team, the ToTs will serve as role models for other
girls in Kitengela and participate actively in gender awareness forums and
campaigns.
A2: Working
with grassroots organizations to mobilize, register and enroll girls and women
(our beneficiaries) into the program. This model of working with
grassroot organizations is at the core of Empower and Serve Kenya work of
devolving benefits of ICT to the grassroots as opposed to concentrating these
solutions in urban areas. The model is also a participatory way of working with
communities for buy-in, ownership, and capacity building for change agents
driving innovative solutions at the grass-root.
A3: Delivering
computer (both basic and advance courses), digital media, and social enterprise
and behavior change and communication sessions in a graduation model.
This activity aim to bring ICT benefits to last-miles communities in Kajiado
while cultivating the spirit of entrepreneurship and positive behavior change
for young women.
A4: Pulling
private sector partners for apprenticeship and job opportunities for the
graduates. This activity aims to close the loop of our solutions by
creating avenues to transition the young women graduating from the program into
the labor market through networks of private sector actors. This will ensure
that the girls have ready market for jobs (either apprenticeship/internships or
meaningful full-time and part-time jobs) and business opportunities (network of
suppliers, business mentors/coaches, business partners, investment partners,
micro-franchising partners among other opportunities).
A5: Initiating
a DigiFund that will be disbursed to promising entrepreneurs through
competitive hackathons. The source of the fund will be from offering
cyber-café pay-services to the community members (our customers). The services will include printing, photo copying,
type setting, ecitizen services, photography and videography, web-development,
and graphic design. These services will be offered by the girls in session.
A6: Establishing
a Community of Practice (CoP) made up of stakeholder to shape the gender equality
direction for the community while incorporating beneficiaries’ voices and
choices. The community of practice will pull private sector
representatives, area administrators, and representatives from other
NGOs/CBOs/FBOs, beneficiary’s representatives and Empower and Serve Kenya team
including the 3 ToTs. The CoP will meet quarterly and gender discussions
including best practices to address gender inequalities will dominate the
meetings. In addition, the CoP will serve as point of renewed commitments against
retrogressive cultures that disempower women in this area.
A7 Organize
Grassroots Entrepreneurship Summit
annually inviting participation of key market players to rethink devolving
entrepreneurship promotion and digital solutions in last-mile rural communities.
Expected Outcomes
In so doing, we
hope to increase the number of girls and women using ICT either directly or
indirectly to earn a sustainable livelihood, increase number of girls advancing
their studies in ICT related fields, change community's perception on women
pursuing male dominant careers, increased self-awareness and self-worth for
women and girls and awaken other young leaders to champion for women
empowerment and advancement.
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