Mundeku Village in western Kenya has all the hallmarks of a rural setting: narrow foot paths, unpaved roads, grass-thatched huts and houses, and acres upon acres of farmland. But that is where its remoteness ends. Thanks to the new digital center in the village, the local schoolchildren are able to learn new skills and get to interact with other students in other parts of the world via the internet. The teaching community in the village is also enlightened as they are able to learn of developments many miles away, while the farmers in the area can learn from what farmers in other parts of the world are doing to make their farms more productive.
The Mundeku Digital Village is the brainchild of Gibson Shiraku. "With this facility, the children of this area will become skilled in ICT [information and communication technology] and will not have to travel to Nairobi or other towns and cities to acquire such skills," says Shiraku. All across Kenya and in the rural parts of Africa, where the majority of the population resides, digital villages such as this one spell a new dawn for people by opening up a whole new world that is rich in formation and faster communication channels that will most definitely empower them to become better students, better citizens, better farmers, and skilled workers.
Today, Africa is adopting and quickly harnessing and benefiting from the opportunities that ICT affords faster than any other new technology in its history. ICT is helping African nations and governments better provide services and information to their citizenry, while African businesses have found new wings that have propelled their businesses far and wide by breaking down physical boundaries. Communication is now easier, faster, and cheaper, thanks to an improved technology.
With the development of ICT comes a new method through which information, knowledge, and skills can be shared across geographical boundaries at the touch of a button. This presents a great opportunity for information dissemination and the subsequent education and empowerment of the African people. Africa boasts a wealth of cultural and historical information that mostly lies in physical libraries in Africa, Europe, and North America, while an incredible knowledge and information is still held by the people themselves, especially the older folks within the community.