Bridging the Digital Divide in Ghana: The Unheard Story of MTN Heroes of Change Nominee

Dr Quincy Attipoe, 2018 MTN Heroes of Change nominee

Accra, April 9, 2018//-Knowing how to read and write without knowledge of computer is synonymous with illiteracy, according to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). 

 Luckily, there are few individuals and institutions working round clock to ensure that Ghanaians especially the young ones in schools are computer literates.

 One of such individuals, is a rising Ghanaian-American trained dentist by name Dr Quincy Attipoe. He has set up  Smile Village Foundation, an ICT Learning Centre based in Anyako in the Volta Region of Ghana.

The project which was established to help the rural community learn the fundamentals in ICT, is equipped with about 60 computers, which are accessible to both adults and children within the community.

There is also a commercial type printer and scanner to allow for scanning and printing of documents for the children.

“We contracted a full time instructor to help with the teaching. It does not only serve the school where it is situated, but every child have access to it. We have even given learning opportunities to adults in the area and they are able to attend classes in the afternoon and evening sessions”, Dr Attipoe who is also the founder centre stated.

Achievements

 The academic performance of school children in Anyako and its surrounding communities, is picking up following the establishment of the centre some few years ago.

Previously school children there used not to show interest in the learning of ICT because of the non-availability of computers and qualified ICT instructors or teachers.

Teachers of the community primary and junior high schools attributed the children’s recent academic performance to the ICT centre.

“The children are improving academically because of their daily visit to the  centre”, one of the community teachers said.

Awo (real name withheld) said that she used to perform poorly in school but, after she started going to the ICT centre, her grades in the school’s terminal exams are encouraging.

School children learning in the ICT centre

Nomination

In this regard, the children and their parents are so happy to the extent of nominating Dr Attipoe to participate in this year’s MTN Heroes of Change.

It is currently aired on GTV every Sunday at 5:00pm; TV3 on Saturdays at 4:00pm;UTV on Sundays at 3:00pm;  Adom TV on Saturdays at 7:30pm; Max TV on Fridays at 7:00pm; and Home Base TV on Saturdays at 3:30pm to highlight the humanitarian activities of the Dr Attipoe  and the other nine nominees.

The MTN Heroes of Change  which is MTN Ghana Foundation flagship project was initiated in July 2013 to recognise and reward persons who have provided significant humanitarian services to their communities through personal sacrifices. 

The MTN Ghana Foundation is the corporate social responsibility (CRS) arm of MTN Ghana, the leading telecoms services provider in the country.

Dr Attipoe’s unheard project was highlighted yesterday on the ongoing season IV of the MTN Heroes of Change.

Bridging the rural-urban digital divide

He said: “Our project aims at bringing ICT education to kids in the villages to enable them compete favourably with their counterparts in the cities”.

“With this as our vision, we will extend this project to all parts of the country soon. This will enable us to bridge the huge digital divide between rural and urban Ghana”, Dr Attipoe stressed.

He maintained: “The motivation is to help a child to compete in the ever changing world. I had never touched a computer prior to 1999.  On my first educational trip to the US in 1999, I was given an assignment to write a 10-page paper.

I was so terrified and went to plead with the professor to allow me to write a 20-page hand written paper instead. He was shocked at my request but declined my offer and told me to type the assignment just like the rest of the class.

Dr Attipoe continued: ” I was scared of touching the computer and I had no idea how to go about it. While my classmates who apparently had exposure to the use of computers were busy typing the assignment, I was terrified to even go near the monitor.

” Years down the road, I resolved to help a child avoid what I went through and give that child an opportunity and sort of level the playing field and allow such a child to compete well with his or her peers globally”. This experience gave birth to the ICT learning centre project.

Funding of the project

The $100,000 building project was funded initially from his personal savings. Towards the completion phase, Apostle Ansuade Boyefio and Holy Grounds Assembly International stepped in and contributed towards some of the cost of buying the computers.

The Apostle was also very instrumental by offering his time with visits to the project site from the US and helping to make sure the project was completed.

Some of my patients also gave between $1 to $100 donations. Mr. Burke from Ambit Energy in the US also contributed some used computers towards the project.

Major challenge

Dr Attipoe’s major challenge has been funding. It was very difficult to arrive at the total cost of the project. The estimates were way off and more funds have to be sourced in order to complete the project, according to him.

Therefore, he needs  more  resources as well as support to enable him expand the project to other nine regions of the country to boost the teaching and learning of ICT.

Dr Attipoe like the other nominees is seeking to win the GHC 100,000 ultimate prize of the MTN Heroes of Change to enable him fund his project which is keen to his heart.

Apart from the recognition, the award  which is in its fourth year will motivate him to continue using his resources to transform lives in Ghana and beyond.

To help him pick the coveted prize, people are requested to vote by texting his short code name (Quincy) to 1406.

By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, African Eye Report

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

*