Dear fono77,
     This is a very well thought-out and very well
written article.
     As the expression goes, I believe you have hit
the nail squarely on the head when it comes to
bringing technology to the poor of the Philippines.
Your whole article goes directly to our hearts.
     A few years ago, my compadre (Demos Punsalan) and
I founded a non-profit in California to address the
exact same issues you are concerned about.  We formed
California Technological Care (CTC) "to teach people
how to fish."  
     To reach as many individuals as fast as we can in
the Philippines, CTC has formed a coalition with three
other organizations; BADANI, FISH for PEASE and
LBC-USA. Together we have massed our collective
expertise to bring computer knowledge to the
Philippines under a project called "CyberBarangayan".
    To give you a brief overview, we go into a
barangay, form a partnership with the barangay leaders
and enter into an agreement to open a Computer
Resource Learning Center to provide "FREE" basic
computer operations training to anyone who wants to
learn (there is "no" charge for anything).  We provide
all the equipment, we train the trainers, and we
monitor the progress to implement changes to meet the
needs of the community as we go along.
     These Computer Resource Learning Centers are
being setup so individuals in a barangay will not only
be able to receive "FREE" computer training but also
be able to find answers they seek to other questions
by using CDs where the Internet is not available.  
     The program has already several success stories.
One which is foremost in my mind is from one of the
Computer Resource Learning Centers established in Feb.
of this year in Laguna.  Between Feb. 5 and Apr. 24,
46 individuals completed the CTC program learning how
to use a computer.  Of the 46, 22 individuals found
jobs with a new company not too far away from their
banrangay because they had acquired computer skills.
     We've only just begun in our crusade to reach as
many people as we can in the Philippines inorder to
help make their lives a little better and perhaps be
able to give one or two of them a hand-up instead of a
hand-out.
     By the end of this year, CTC will have Computer
Resource Learning Centers in the following Provence:
        
         Provence             No. Centers
          Albay                    4
          Cebu                     8
          Davao Del Sur            1
          Ilocos Norte             1
          Isabela                  1
          Laguna                   6
          Lanao Del Sur            1
          Latye                    1
          Misamis Oriental         4
          Negros Oriental          8
          North Cotabato           1
          Nueva Ecija              1
          Nueva Viscaya            1
          Palawan                  1
          Pangasinan               1
          Pampanga                 3
          Rizal                    3
          Samar                    2
          Siquijor                 2
          Southern Leyte           3
          Tarlac                   3
          Zambales                 5

     This list is takes into account those sites which
are up and operational and those which are to be
installed before the end of the year.  61 Computer
Resource Learning Centers comprised of 5 complete
computer systems each for training.  The training
module takes roughly 50 hours to complete.  If CTC
holds 24 of these basic computer operations sessions
in each of its 61 centers over the next year, we have
the opportunity to affect the lives of 7,320
individuals in a positive manner.
     But, as I said, we've only just begun.  And, we
have a lot to do.  I don't want to bend you ear too
much, but you have hit upon a subject so very dear to
our hearts.
     If you or anyone wants further information about
CTC or about our future plans, please feel free to
contact any of us.  In the Philippines,
     
     California Technological Care Foundation (CTCF)
       Pampanga Central Educational System Campus,
              San Simon, Pampanga, Philippines
               Attn:    Mr. Rudy L. Arias
                        Executive Vice President
               Mobile:  (0919) 648-4946
               Phone:   (02) 417-8740

                     or ~ in the USA at,

             California Technological Care
             P.O. Box: 11771
             Pleasanton, Ca.  95131
              Attn:    Mr. Al "Sandy" Munroe
                       Executive Director / Co-Founder
              Phone:   (925) 785-1946
              WEB:     www.ctc-usa.com

     Its great to find others who, like us don't want
to just sit back and talk about the situation the poor
of the Philippines finds themselves in, but rather
roll up their sleeves and work to do something about
changing it.
     God Bless....
                   Al "Sandy" Munroe 

          

 <fono77@yahoo.com> wrote:
> More than 600 million people worldwide have some
> sort of access to 
> the internet. 
> That is an astonishing number, and reflects the
> rapid growth of the 
> network since it was invented in the 1970s. 
> 
> However, that still leaves about 5.5 billion people
> who do not use 
> the net and who have no access. 
> 
> Most of these people live outside the developed
> Western countries. 
> While over half of UK households are online, only
> 0.1% of homes in 
> Bangladesh can claim the same. 
> 
> Few politicians now talk about the digital divide as
> a major 
> development issue, and there is a growing sense that
> it is 
> yesterday's problem. 
> 
> As the cost of computers and of network connectivity
> has come down in 
> the West, there is an unexamined assumption that the
> network is on 
> its way to being generally available to all who want
> it. 
> 
> This is not the case. The gap in the access to and
> use of the latest 
> information and communications technologies -
> computers, mobile 
> phones, digital networks, even interactive
> television - is as wide as 
> ever, and the consequences are being felt in all the
> poorer parts of 
> the world. 
> 
> It may seem inappropriate to consider access to
> technology in the 
> same light as access to other resources, like clean
> water, adequate 
> health care, sufficient food, or educational
> opportunities, all of 
> which are thought to have priority in development
> plans. 
> 
> However, it does not make sense to separate things
> out this way. If 
> the growth of the net in the West has demonstrated
> anything it has 
> shown how access to information and communications
> opportunities has 
> an impact on all aspects of life.
> 
> School children in London with net access from home
> have an advantage 
> in doing research for homework, and a Punjab village
> in India with a 
> working internet connection has an advantage in
> monitoring weather 
> patterns, knowing what the tides are doing or
> getting help with pest 
> control. 
> 
> Sometimes technology is part of the problem, not
> part of the 
> solution. 
> 
> In the 1970s, many developing countries were
> encouraged to base their 
> farming on the heavy use of chemicals and machines.
> But as the 
> tractors broke down and the costs of pesticides
> rose, the result was 
> famine and despair. 
> 
> The same thing could happen with computers and
> networks, if we 
> encourage dependency on technology which cannot be
> maintained and 
> does not meet real needs. 
> 
> This is less likely to happen if the computers are
> deployed 
> sensitively, and if the impetus comes from local
> people who are 
> solving the problems that matter to them. 
> 
> Two trends are particularly promising. The first is
> that many 
> developing countries are managing to leapfrog over
> the industrialised 
> world by using the latest technologies and missing
> out all of the 
> earlier stages. 
> 
> Instead of installing a fixed-line telephone system,
> for example, a 
> wireless mobile network can be put in place far more
> cheaply and 
> speedily. 
> 
> Instead of brick-like laptops being lugged around,
> super-slim models 
> with long battery life can be used. 
> 
> Second, we are seeing the development of appropriate
> technologies. 
> The Simputer( http://www.simputer.org  )is the best
> example of this 
> so far - a powerful computer processor in an
> easy-to-use package 
> available at low cost. 
> 
> We can expect to see more - a mobile phone designed
> specifically for 
> shared village use would be the obvious next step. 
> 
> While getting internet access to remote hill
> villages in the Andes or 
> in India may not be as important in itself as
> getting clean water or 
> effective healthcare, the net - through e-mail or
> the web - is often 
> a gateway to other resources and to self-reliance.
> 
>  mother who is worried about her child's health can
> find out about 
> childhood illnesses. 
> 
> A farmer can take a beetle he finds on his crop and
> check it against 
> a comprehensive catalogue on a CD-Rom in his
> village. 
> 
> Children can learn about local history, world events
> or scientific 
> advances in school, using resources that would never
> be available in 
> print because of the cost and the problems of
> distributing books. 
> 
> Perhaps it is time to update the old adage: "If you
> give me a fish, 
> you feed me for a day. If you teach me to fish you
> feed me for life." 
> 
> Maybe it should now say: "If you give me
> information, you answer one 
> of my questions. If you get me online, you let me
> answer my questions 
> for myself." 


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