Phase Two WWW Campaign- Power Women of Kenya

The internet provides women with an endless amount of information right at their fingertips. However, not having any knowledge as to what the internet has to offer unknowingly holds them back. Because of this it is important we advocate the many opportunities the computer has to offer and encourage women around the world to learn more. Awareness can be successful through social media and word of mouth.

After more women become aware of the opportunities the internet has to offer it is important they have the right resources to take advantage of it. Computer trainings offered in remote areas would be idle for women to thrive on the internet quickly. Training would need to include distinguishing between valid information and invalid information along with internet safety tips. From there women would be able to learn and teach others creating a chain reaction within their community. The hard part of this is having computers available for the women to both use and train on. This would have to be address on a community bases, but if one computer could be provide to each community it would make a huge difference. With one computer one women could use it and the others could watch and learn.

Like anyone who has not had the chance to use and learn how to use a computer the women lack the basic computer skills that hinders the women’s success. As a volunteer of the Power Women Group in Kibera Kenya I became more aware of the resources the women need to take full advantage of what the internet has to offer. One of the major and more obvious needs is basic computer training. For example, email and Skype are the most effective way for communicating with volunteers and customers the women have around the world. Therefore these skills are imperative in order for the women to continue selling their products and keep volunteers up-to-date. Another need was where and how to find information. Google was a foreign concept to them and can be difficult to navigate if you are not trained how to use it.

If women learn how to Skype it can become a much greater use then simply talking to others overseas. It would be idle if there was a resource for women to be trained over Skype by a real person who can answer all there questions. This would provide endless opportunities for women to teach each other no matter where you are in the world! This could include anything such as computer skills, business skills or life skills. This could also open the door to women learning more about different business programs they can use to keep track of their budget and further what ever initiatives they may have for the future. This is something we are trying to implement for the Power Women Group in Kenya. This has proven to be a valuable practice and could be used for women all over the world.

Overall, we can all contribute to bringing awareness of the endless opportunities and knowledge the internet has in store. The next step is finding creative ways to train the women so they can use the internet to be successful in the future.