wfn.org | BWNS -- Free computer courses lead to jobs

[Baha'i World News Service <bwns@bwc.org>]

Baha'i World News Service
See the story and a photograph on the BWNS site at http://news.bahai.org
For more information, contact editor@bahaiworldnews.org

Free computer courses lead to jobs
BANJUL, The Gambia, 1 January 2006 (BWNS) -- A graduation ceremony this
month has boosted the number of computer graduates from classes offered
free by the local Baha'i community to more than 900.

Since 1998, the Baha'is have arranged the classes to help people who
cannot otherwise obtain computer skills to get a job.

Students have ranged from teenagers to the middle-aged, and include both
men and women, said local Baha'i spokesman Faramarz Shams.

Many graduates use their newly-gained skills in jobs that they have
obtained after completing the courses, Mr. Shams said.

"The students come from the Islamic, Christian, and Baha'i communities
and include teachers, students, and business people," he said.

The courses, offered at basic and advanced levels, usually involve two
sessions of two hours per week for three months. The teachers are
Gambian Baha'is and Baha'i youth volunteers from the United Kingdom, the
United States, and Canada.

The country's only television station and both its major newspapers
regularly cover the graduation ceremonies. On 18 December 2005, 56
students received their graduation certificates.

In a speech at the ceremony, one of the graduates, Fatou Cham, 24,
expressed her gratitude for the courses.

"I would like to thank the entire Baha'i community for their tireless
efforts to disseminate knowledge in The Gambia at no cost," said Ms.
Cham, a Muslim.

"I can remember back in 2000 when I attended the basic Baha'i computer
training I could not even move a mouse, but after the course I built up
a lot of interest in computing," she said.

"I hope that other institutions will emulate (the Baha'i) efforts and
empower people with more 'IT' knowledge."

The computers used in the training were donated by Baha'is of The
Gambia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Classes were initially held in a rental property but they have moved to
a specially designed room in the new national Baha'i centre, which
opened last year.

(For another story about the Baha'is of Gambia see
http://news.bahai.org/story.cfm?storyid=346)