IPNEWS: The Kids Educational Engagement Project (KEEP) Liberia basic computer literacy program Phase 1, in partnership with C-Squared, kicked off in February of 2024, targeting students from the JW Pearson School in Ganta City Nimba County, and educating them with free Basic Computer Literacy skills.
Project participants had little to no knowledge of computer operations. This is the first-ever digital literacy training at the JW Pearson Elem. Jr & Sr. High school since its establishment.
The computer program at this location is designed by the Kids’ Educational Engagement project an sponsored by C-Squared to educate students with requisite computer knowledge that gives them the platform to advance themselves through digital literacy. The program is structured to cover key topics, including an introduction to computers, easy computer navigation, creating folders, computer personalization, saving a document, basic internet navigation, simple typing and beginniers Microsoft Word.
The 3-month long training was conducted at the newly refurbished KEEP & C-Squared resource center at the JW Pearson School in Ganta-Nimba County.
On June 21, 2024, 39 students who completed the three months of digital literacy program were certificated at a closing ceremony in Ganta, Nimba. The free basic computer literacy training began with 50 participants, and 39 students successfully completed the training.
All participants are elementary students of the JW Pearson School between the ages of 8 and 18. At the graduation ceremony, students were able to demonstrate all that they had learned about the computer and computer operations.
The graduation brought together students, parents, the school administration, and staff of the JW Pearson Elem. Jr. and Sr. High School, C-Squared representatives, KEEP staff, etc. The parents and school administration expressed deep gratitude to KEEP for such an impactful initiative. Some suggested that the computer training be opened to adults and not just the children. KEEP is highly considering conducting training for the community that adults can also benefit from.
KEEP Liberia is proud of its intentional work over the years – working directly with elementary and high school students in providing them with basic computer literacy skills. We have trained over 300 students in Microsoft Word, online research, etc, since we commenced our classes in 2016.
Special thanks to our partner C-Squared, an Internet service and fiber optics company, our partner on this project for the support and contributions, as well as the services being rendered to the people of Nimba.
The second phase of the computer literacy program at the JW Pearson School is ongoing. Kindly sign your children up early, or recommend a child to benefit from the program. The training targets every child between the ages of 8 and 15 students who has no or very little digital literacy skills.
In this age of technology, computer skills are key to excelling in schools and our way of life.
