At fourteen, Aminata was hungrily looking in at the rice and sauce being served at her school in Freetown, Sierra Leone. By sixteen, she is married and pregnant. “My parents couldn’t afford to give me any money for food, so I dropped out of school and got into an early marriage to an older man.” As we Skype in a classroom, I in a spacious well equipped one in London and Aminata in a small, basic one, provided by the Global Giving charity in Sierra Leone, she and some of her classmates explain some of the problems they face.

The computer may be an integral part in the homes, schools and companies of developed nations but for Africans it is a distant dream. This could also be one of the reasons why the youth in African countries are unable to compete in the global market. Those aspiring to get even basic computer training need to enroll and pay the computer schools which come at a predatory price.

Today, without exception, we live in a technological age.  We live in a world where computers offer instant access to knowledge, communication, culture, and skill building opportunities.  We live in a time where a person can go to school, tend to their finances, talk with friends, apply to jobs and so much more - all with the click of a mouse.  Perhaps most important to acknowledge, we live in a world where those who possess computer skills soar in their personal and professional lives and those without often get left behind.  
 

This past month in Equatorial Guinea, the 17^th African Union Summit opened for discussion centered on the theme:  Accelerating the Empowerment of Youth for Sustainable Development.  Leaders from all 54 member states attended –minus one Colonel Gaddafi- with diplomats flying in from all over the world.  African and global leaders were joined by youth representatives from Africa’s five regions along with a contingent of 130 young people from the African Youth Volunteer Corp (AUVC).  As development

Feeding a nation through education, that is the way for development to happen. Many countries still face conflicts and the impact of HIV/Aids have gotten in the way of development. With instability, there is low investment and without investment there is no development. Truth is no country can develop without having a good academic foundation that will mold future generations. How can a country develop when the majority of the population was not taught to think for themselves?

Develop Africa, in partnership with the FAWE (Forum for African Women Educationalists), Freetown Branch, Sierra Leone, has set up a fully-equipped, multimedia computer lab at the FAWE school for girls in Freetown, Sierra Leone.  Lab was launched in May  2011.  The school was set up in 1995 during the civil war. It was set up to provide education for displaced and under privileged girls. Read more about the FAWE Lab...