CSO Capacity Building ‘connectivity
is productivity’
Indicator:
Measured by amount of
money raised, publications registered in the research library,
partnerships formed, and increase in number of projects
undertaken
DevelopNet expects to see a dramatic
increase in financial inflows to the nonprofit sector
here in Iganga District over as nonprofits in Iganga
are better able to contact and communicate with the international
community.
Under-funded and understaffed, Iganga District’s
CSOs aim to strengthen their capacities to effectively
and efficiently deliver social services. Forum members
have uniformly announced that DevelopNet Iganga is
a priority project that will help them realize their
respective missions.
Improved communication infrastructures can directly
lead to improved customer care by service providers.
Iganga District will be better able to attract international
funds after its CSOs are connected to the World Wide
Web, educated on how to access resources, and trained
on how best to present themselves and their works in
ways favored by International Financial Institutions
(IFIs). Consider that fewer than 12% of the civil society
organizations in Iganga District use informational technologies
to seek funds, information, relationships and basic communication
with those outside the organization. This is further
represented by the fact few organizations communicate
through email.
Goal:
Leadership Training and
Education ‘train the trainers’
Indicator:
Measured by enrollment
in training courses.
DevelopNet Iganga targets training programs
at youth and community leaders, and hopes to recruit
a core of these leaders to participate in the ‘train
the trainers’ program to further facilitate skills
transfer.
Goal:
Universal Accessibility
Indicator:
Measured by the Centre’s
ability to lower the market price for Internet access through
competitive pricing and by the number of village regions
from which our customers travel.
The Iganga Distrcit NGO/CBO Forum provided
the first development-oriented public access Internet
in Iganga when they opened the DevelopNet Café.
It is all of our hopes that this paves the way for others
to invest in technology building elsewhere in the District
and in other parts of rural Uganda.
Since the founding of the DevelopNet Café,
Iganga has witnessed an explosion in internet availability;
more cafes have opened (some have closed), but prices
for the internet-going public have lowered. Ahead of
the curve, D’Net remains a leader through reliability,
cost affordability, services and training programs.
The district of Iganga, located in Eastern Uganda, is home
to 1.2 million people and over 250 non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) and community based organizations (CBOs).
With little access to the internet’s research and communications
opportunities, Igangans very often found it difficult to locate
the needed funding and technical assistance for their projects.
Before the DevelopNet Project, the nearest public Internet
access was 30 miles away in Jinja. As a result, most community
members and nearly half of Iganga’s development workers
did not use E-mail or the Internet.
DevelopNet Iganga opened a self-sustaining
ICT and research facility where local community workers and
the general public can come to access and learn how to use
computers and the Internet to their benefit.
When the DevelopNet Iganga project was first founded it set
forth the following goals, all of which have seen progress
and achievement in varying capacities. A two year program assessment
and evaluation is scheduled for summer 2007.
MILESTONES
2005
2006
2007
Spring
2004
The DNet team holds first fundraiser and gathers support
of over $10,000; Partnership forged with
Bice-Passavant Foundation (California, USA)
August
2004
DNet organizing team visits all 19 subcounties of Iganga
District for sensitization and awareness raising
Sept
2004
DNET project and Iganga District NGO/CBO Forum organize
General Assembly meeting with 450+ villagers, local civil
service representatives and district officials to discuss
ideas, concerns and the future of the DevelopNet project
Sept
2004
With the assistance of the DevelopNet project, the Iganga
District NGO/CBO Forum begin drive to register all NGOs
and community organizations operating in Iganga
January
2005
DNet receives grant from Uganda Communications Commission’s
Rural Communications Development Fund (RCDF)
April
2005
DNet opens internet café and computer skills training
centre on the main road in Iganga town. Uganda National
NGO provides funding for ceremony and opening events
January
2006
partnership developed with School of International Training,
Geneva Switzerland for financial support and for student
volunteer programme
January
2007
Iganga District Administration (Republic of Uganda) formally
donates plot of land to the DevelopNet project, marking
the first step towards construction of a free-standing
community centre, research library and healthy eating
restaurant
