The Sawoaba GIFEC Centre has been re-opened with a call on Zongo communities to embrace Information Technology (I.T) knowledge and reap full benefits of the GIFEC centres, which are located in their localities. Established over eight years ago, the centre has trained over 260 people.
Parents and Guardians have, therefore, been urged to encourage their wards to visit the Centre and acquire knowledge that will make them competitive on the job market and thereby, changing the narrative about Zongo communities.
At a ceremony held at Sawoaba in the Asokore Mampong municipality of the Ashanti region to re-open the GIFEC Centre, Salifu Abubakari, the new manager of the Centre, noted that the rationale behind the GIFEC Centre was to aid the learning of computing and its benefits.
According to him, I.T knowledge is beneficial and advised parents and guardians to encourage their wards to take up I.T seriously.
He regretted that in spite of the burgeoning I.C.T knowledge in Ashanti region and Ghana, Zongo communities are still lagging behind in computer knowledge acquisition.
This, he noted, is the reason why they have introduced a programme called Kids in I.T to help the youth learn about I.T – adding that it also covers adults as well.
“We look forward that in ten years time, Zongo residents can be counted among ICT nerds in the country,” he said.
He mentioned some of the courses being offered at the centre as: System Engineering, Network Engineering, Publishing, Photo editing, CCTV Camera installation (artisanal skills) and Electrical Engineering. “We are also training the kid in cyber defence and teach them how to defend themselves”.
He appealed to the Zongo communities to support the programme because without them, they cannot roll it out successfully.
“This project has to be utilised because they are built from our own taxes. We intend to introduce international programmes such as CISCO international programmes. This certificate can help one to be employed internationally”, he said.
The Ashanti regional manager of GIFEC, Richard Asiamah, on his part, disclosed that the main mission of the project was to bridge the digital gap between the served and underserved communities.
According to him, in the whole of Ashanti region, Asokore Mampong is the only municipality which has three GIFEC centres, with Sawaba, Adukrom and Asawase being the centres.
Asiamah subsequently urged parents and guardians to encourage their wards to come and learn at the centre.
According to him, he does not intend to run down someone’s business, but learning I.T skill is better than watching a movie or telenovela.
When asked if the motive was to make profit at the centre, the Ashanti regional GIFEC Manager responded in the negative.
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