Computer training has become a requirement for graduation from Ugandan secondary schools (“high schools”). This is a significant challenge for most schools that can’t afford to purchase even the most basic computer equipment. In many cases, students are taught to memorize the answers to the computer questions without ever touching or seeing a computer. This of course defeats the purpose of the requirement, but the majority of schools simply can’t afford computer equipment.
We created the Computer Training Center in JInja to help address this need but despite it’s rather central location in town, there are many schools that need our help that simply can’t get into the center, and even if they could, our center is too small to accommodate large groups.
Josh agreed to head up an outreach program that would bring computer training to the outlying schools that couldn’t get into the center. He’s done a great job with this effort primarily because he has a great heart for helping folks in need.
In his most recent outing, Josh visited Saint James Senior Secondary School on Clive Road in Maggwa, Jinja. As you can see from the photos, the computer lab at St James is very large for a Ugandan computer lab, but like most school labs, the computers are quite old and in various levels of disrepair.
Despite these limitations, he taught both Microsoft Publisher and website development to the computer club and invited non-members of the club to join in as well.
We have been working with the students of St. James SS for quite a while, and thanks to the instruction by the Hackers For Charity team in Uganda, 89% of the computer students passed the Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) Computer Studies test (the final test in senior four) with distinction while the remaining 11% received a passing grade.
The passing grades are impressive but what really thrills us is that the students actually understand the concepts behind the questions and each of them have a level of proficiency in these skills as well.
We’re proud of the work we’re doing in Uganda, and are so thankful for your support which makes this possible!
