Seychelles Rising Lions Clubs, Nisti teach computer literacy to orphans |16 December 2020

The training in full swing

The Seychelles Rising Lions Club teamed up with the National Institute of Science, Technology and Innovation to launch and conduct a computer training and computer maintenance programme at the Saint Elizabeth Orphanage Home on Saturday.

“We collaborated with the National Institute of Science, Technology and Innovation (Nisti) for this project because we felt that children in orphanages do not get much access to computers, so being in the digital age where computer accessibility and internet facilities have become a daily need we thought they should not be left out,” said Deepak Babu, president of Seychelles Rising Lions Club.

He added that in schools most students are privileged to use a computer and study computing whereas children on the other side in the homes are not that privileged to use a computer or learn anything.

“We wanted to give the children of different homes a chance to experience the digital literacy and teach them the ways of the internet,” added Mr Babu.

Many orphanages are equipped with computers but most of them are either outdated or there is no one to teach the children the basic computer knowledge.

During the activity, the two organisations completely upgraded the convent’s PCS with the latest Windows and Office running for smoother workflow. They also installed educational interactive software where the children will learn basic programming skills.

“We noticed many children are really into programming and are already acing programming and typing software such as ‘Scratch’ and ‘Type Master’. For such children we are planning to introduce them to a little bit more advanced software and programming skills,” explained Mr Babu.

The Seychelles Rising Lions Club and members of Nisti will be doing a continuous session with the children, where members would be visiting the Saint Elizabeth Home twice weekly to teach the children different lessons.

“With the success of our launch in the computer training and computer maintenance, we are planning to reach all the other homes and orphanages in the coming future and continue the programme. With Nisti’s support we believe we can make all the children who are not that fortunate or privileged enough with a computer education to reach them and help them in showing the cyber world,” he added

Nisti had started a similar initiative in 2017 for teaching computer skills at St Elizabeth convent. During that period the training was carried out on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays after working hours by trainers from Nisti who taught the kids basic computer skills, but because of limited manpower Nisti was not able to launch the programme in other orphanage.

“We would also like to thank the chief executive of Nisti, Xavier Estico, and principal research officer Joseph Raj for their continuous support. We look forward to do more such noble causes in the future as we believe no child should be left behind,” said Mr Babu.

Christophe Zialor

Photos contributed