19 Feb 2014

The sesigo project, a partnership between the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is transforming ordinary Batswana by enabling them free access to computers and internet access in public libraries.

Senior library officer for Letlhakeng, Ms Ruth Malibala said, "Sesigo is a way forward in e-public libraries" during a roadshow to showcase the importance of the project on February 17.

Ms Malibala was, however, concerned that the youth in Letlhakeng were registering in low numbers for computer lessons even though such lessons were free.

She said to do a computer training course cost a lot of money, but residents of Letlhakeng were not using this free opportunity, and she further said about 60 library users graduated from computer training from 2012 up to now.

“This computer training only takes six weeks and we have a total of eight computers, four are for children and the other four are for adults,” she said.

Ms Malibala also said they enrolled 10 students for each training period. One of the 2013 graduates, Ms Keanole Monageng said she was trained in computer basics such as Microsoft word and spreadsheet.

She said she was assisted by her tutors to create her own email and Facebook account in order for her to communicate with her friends and looked for jobs on the Internet.

Ms Monageng said she had a great time because her tutors and library staff were friendly, and she even later volunteered at Gothibamang Primary School as a computer tutor for standard 2-7 students.  “After three months, the teachers realised that computer lessons were important, so they asked me to include standard one students,” she said

Ms Monageng also said that this computer training helped her because she managed to go back to school to do her Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE).

“I do my homework with the help of the internet at the Library,” she said. Ms Monageng encouraged the youth to take advantage of the Sesigo Project in order to advance their live. ENDS