Access to Computers and Skills in Rural South Africa

By

Alyssa Morrison



The entire experience in Kwazulu-Natal was amazing and full of learning experiences. It was like nothing I had experience before and I was astounded by how different it was from Cape Town. I was impressed by the health clinic that was in a rural area, but am curious how such a small place could service such a huge population.

For me the most remarkable part of the entire excursion was when we went to the school to help out. A lot of people were painting a classroom, which was a tremendous help to the school. There was also a group of four people, and then five, that were going to help teach the educators how to use the new computers they had. Someone had generously donated around eleven new computers to this rural school, but unfortunately did not train these teachers on how to use them. My expectations were that we would come in and teach them how to do things on Microsoft and Excel and get them up and running. I had not even thought about the fact that most of these women had never even seen a computer before. Instead of jumping right in like I had thought I first had to teach them what a keyboard was and basic things on it, how to move the mouse and double click. It was more difficult then I had envisioned because I have been using computers for so long it is like second nature. I had to keep remembering that they did not know what I mean when I said ‘shift’ or ‘enter’.

The first woman I was teaching was getting very frustrated with the whole thing. She was a fast learner but was having trouble with the mouse. The man that was helping us kept teasing her about her typing, while it was meant in good fun, made her even more self-conscious. At one point she asked if she could leave the room and get some fresh air. It was so difficult to try and sit down and teach these women how to do all the things on computers at once. It was so much information for anyone to handle. It made it even more difficult that this woman did not speak English well and was also not used to my accent. The bell rang and the next group of teachers came in. I was feeling a bit frustrated from the one before but I was still eager to help in any way that I could.

The second woman that came in was much more excited to be learning about the computers. She picked up on typing and the mouse really quickly and then we started to work on Microsoft Word. I sincerely believe that this woman changed me in a profound way. She was so happy to learn how to type in math problems and sentences to make a worksheet. I taught her to save and found what she saved in ‘My Document’. When she found it and clicked on it without my help and found her document there she was so happy, in a way that I cannot even explain. I felt what every teacher must feel like when a student is excited about learning, but in a way I felt like this was more then that. I had done something for her that a lot of people could have done, but had not yet. When we discussed Altruism in the class the other day we were just discussing whether it existed or not. In that moment it seemed to me, why would you want it to? I helped someone out but got something so profound out of it that I could never imagine going in somewhere and helping him or her without getting any sort of benefit from it. This entire time I have been trying to decide how this ties into Public Health. I think that by teaching these women a new skill I was helping to empower them. They now know something that they can teach others, which by nature gives them more power. Whether this happens or not, empowerment can help them to make better health related decisions. They can feel more confident to make their partner used a condom, to take their kids to the health clinic, or even to leave an abusive relationship. By having computer skills, it opens them up to a whole new realm of knowledge that they have not had before. I am not saying they are now involved in a western way of thinking, but more like they can now adapt computer skills into what they are going to need the most. In this one morning I did not teach this woman the computer inside and out, but I have her the confidence she needed and the excitement to learn more about it.

“Born Into Brothels”: On Dalits, Brahmins, … and Discrimination

By
Pablo Friedmann


Excellent films end with the viewer asking more questions than the film itself answers. Born into Brothels is no exception. The documentary touches on a multitude of complex topics: the role of religion and the caste system, dense urban living pattern, discrimination against certain social sectors, HIV/AIDS transmission in at-risk communities, and the struggles poor families face in their efforts to keep their children in school. It’s impossible to write about all these issues within the space of a single journal entry. For the sake of clarity and substance, I will stick towards the first issue, the role of the caste system in India.

The issue of religious privilege is raised in subtle ways throughout the documentary. There is the astute observation by one of the young female photographers, who herself comes from a Brahmin family, that a private school might only serve vegetables to its students. This, of course, would be a step back for a child who is regularly accustomed to eating chicken and other sources of protein. Implicit in the child’s questioning is the social positioning of her family and, by consequence, her family’s position in the Hindu hierarchy. Zana, the narrator, acknowledges this reality when she articulates her concern for the nutrition and general well-being of the other children, who by the narrator’s own admission are, by default, not Brahmins.

A variant of the caste system rears its head in the film when the narrator discusses her difficulty in procuring a passport for Avijit. The caste system is an engrained system of discrimination veiled behind religious platitudes. The refusal to issue Avijit a passport because his parents are mere criminals, by virtue of their professional occupation, highlights a deeper issue, the larger discrimination that certain sectors of the Indian community face. The obvious victims are sex workers and less obviously, those suffering from HIV/AIDS. When Zara attempts to enroll the young photographers in a boarding school, the principal demands HIV/AIDS tests as a precondition for acceptance. Implicit in that scene is the idea that individuals suffering HIV/AIDS are contagious and undeserving of a proper education.

Against this backdrop, the recent government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has sought to advance an affirmative action policy targeting the most marginalized sectors of the Indian community, namely the untouchables. Over the last few years, quota systems have been instituted in higher learning and government job vacancies. There is, of course, a glaring omission, the private sector. The rise of the IT sector in India- and, by consequence, the corporate rise of firms such as Infosys and Wipro- has empowered a whole new generation of young college graduates. Yet, such job growth and employment has not been uniformly distributed across society (on a side note, it’s ironic to realize that the ongoing debate concerning black economic empowerment, quota systems in higher education, skilled labor, and ownership of productive capital is not just occurring in South Africa). It’s on the heels of the aforementioned statement that The Economist penned an article entitled “With reservations” that described veiled threats the Indian government was leveling against the private sector to increase employment of dalits and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), segments of society considered to be the lowest rung of Hindu priestly society. The article itself was an articulate and persuasively argued piece that sought to make the case against dalit and OBC affirmative action in India. The report raises some key questions and observations that deserve to be studied more in-depth (perhaps more means-testing is needed to fine tune and target the most socio-economically disadvantaged groups). That being said, I think the Prime Minister’s threats are accomplishing something, from a public policy perspective, because it is forcing the private sector to develop its own programs to train and employ greater numbers of employees from disadvantaged backgrounds. At least in that sense, the Prime Minister’s words are being taken seriously by private companies. A failure to incorporate greater number of disadvantaged Indians in the economic boom that is presently befalling Indian risks alienating a sizeable percentage of the electorate and, by consequence, any future support for liberalization reforms.

I selected this piece not because of its relevance to the film, but also because it touches on a subject that is regularly debated here in South Africa, namely economic empowerment for the most marginalized communities. It also deals with a subject that perfectly fits with this week’s theme of children. At the root of any debate concerning private sector and higher education affirmative action, is a population of young adults who ten years ago were just children.