Recipient Institution:
Engineers Without Borders

Project Leader:
Nabeel Al-Kady
nabeela@ewb.ca; parker@ewb.ca

URL:
http://www.ewb.ca

Amount and Duration: US$ 9,000 / 6 months

Abstract of Project
The Filipino government has identified ICTs as a source of competitive advantage for the country and is strongly promoting them. IT centers aimed offering computer literacy courses and other services are springing up in all urban areas.

However, this risks exacerbating the divide between the better-off and worse-off Filipino communities. Many of the IT centers are private and offer courses that are unaffordable for poor Filipinos. As well, few rural areas and peri-urban communities have access to IT facilities or literacy courses.

A number of local community initiatives have sought to bridge this divide. In 2001, TESDA Lingayen approached Engineers Without Borders to seek support in setting up a low cost IT center that would offer affordable IT training to local residents. This center was completed in August 2002 at a cost 7,000USD, and is offering affordable computer training.

The success of the first phase of this project has led to much interest from other community organizations around the Philippines. This proposed project has three goals:

Study the impact of the TESDA Lingayen IT center, in particular whether it is accessible to poorer members of the community and whether women are using the center.

Set up three more IT centers in the Sarangani Province based on the TESDA Lingayen model and continue to test their impact on their communities.

Create a guide to setting up low-cost IT centers in the Philippines offering low cost training and IT services and make available all necessary technical information/training programs in an accessible manner.