M-Web makes R750 000 community investment

Internet and information technology (IT) skills are taken into previously disadvantaged sectors in a pioneering joint project between M-Web and Western Cape communities Leading Internet Service Provider, M-Web has entered into a joint partnership with three Western Cape educational and community centres, with an investment of over R750 000 which will see Internet connected IT centres set up in Mitchell`s Plain and Gugulethu. Cornflower Primary School in Lentegeur, Mitchell`s Plain, Tafelsig Secondary School in Tafelsig, Mitchell`s Plain and the Ikwezi Community Centre in NY 2, Gugulethu will each benefit from an investment of R225 000 and free Internet connectivity from M-Web. According to Marlon Abrahams, Corporate Social Investment Manager for M-Web, these three centres were selected because of their ability to serve the broader community, their pro-active involvement in their communities and their potential to become self-sufficient through IT training. "Our wish is that through qualified Internet facilitators, the schools and communities will embrace this new technology and master it to the extent that they can share knowledge. It is our hope that we can assist communities to make the Internet and IT part of daily life," says Abrahams. According to Abrahams the selected schools will serve the broader community in each area, promoting the Internet and computer literacy well beyond the parameters of their own school or centre. "Our efforts stem from the Government`s Green Paper on education. We recognise that government cannot meet the needs of education on its own, and we hope that the success of our projects will add to the Government`s education initiatives," he says. "These projects form the pilot phase of our Corporate Social Investment (CSI) strategy and their success will determine to what extent we roll out in the rest of the country." M-Web`s CSI will have a strong focus on youth and education. As Abrahams says: "The youth represent our future, and we`re just doing our bit to ensure that they are in some way prepared to meet the challenges of new technologies. The Internet offers a vast resource of information from subjects as diverse as horoscopes to issues that are key, like education. It is vital for the next generation of South Africans to be Internet literate. In the United States about 80% of schools have access to the Internet and our kids cannot afford to lag too far behind." M-Web`s investment into the Western Cape region will be owned by each of the specified communities but will be managed in conjunction with elected partners and experts in the field of hardware and software technology. Project partners include Maseco, a black empowerment IT company which will provide technical support for the projects, and Business for Computer Literacy, a section 21 company aimed at propagating IT literacy amongst previously disadvantaged communities. Business for Computer Literacy will be responsible for consultation and facilitation on projects. Partnership agreements have been drawn up between M-Web and each of the schools and the community centre by Mallinicks Attorneys. These agreements were signed at the Internet company`s offices in Cape Town.