By Mohamed K. Turay
Sunday Foundation last Thursday officially opened the Sunday Foundation Computer Training Centre at the back of Kambia II Police Barracks along the University of Management and Technology Road.
The computer centre, which is worth 28 thousand Euros, is expected to serve different purposes for both school-going pupils and community members within Kambia District. It is equipped with full internet facilities, photocopying facilities, and will be undertaking computer training programmes free of any costs.
Giving the background to the Centre, Sunday Foundation’s National Coordinator, Alimamy Sawyer Bangura expressed gratitude to the Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Sander de Kramer, for his financial supports to boost the educational sector in Kambia District and the country as a whole.
Alimamy Sawyer Bangura informed the school pupils present that during their school days it was very difficult to see a computer needless to mention touching it. He said even when he went to the university, he paid for a computer course as part of his tuition fees but unfortunately he never had the opportunity of being computer literate as there were no computers at the university.
He noted that it was only after his graduation that he came across a computer, he therefore encouraged the pupils to make use of the opportunity as they were not going pay a cent while accessing the facilities at the Centre.
The Sunday Foundation’s National Coordinator said the initial intention was for pupils only to have access to the Centre but that they later decided to extend the facilities to non-school going members in the community. He encouraged the Junior Secondary School (JSS) pupils present to make use of the opportunity to be enrolled and assured them that no one would pay a cent, adding that the Sunday Foundation had enough computers to run the Centre effectively.
Mr Alimamy Sawyer Bangura concluded that for someone to be qualified to access the facilities at the Centre, he or she had to bring along a valid student ID card or be brought by a teacher. He, however, noted that adults in Kambia Town and its environs would also be allowed to attend the computer school at the Centre but that they would have to pay minimum fees for the maintenance of the school unlike school going pupils who would be attending free of charge.
In their submissions the Principals of Linda Koroma Junior Secondary School, Islamic Secondary School and the Sierra Leone Islamic Federation appealed to the pupils to utilize the Centre’s facilities for their intended purposes and that they should not upload materials that would not be helpful for their future.
A representative of the Paramount Chief and the Deputy Director of Education in Kambia District, in their statements, reminded the pupils that they were very fortunate to become computer literates without paying a cent for such training. They encouraged them to make use of the opportunity given to them and that it was a life time development which would benefit them in their future careers.
In another development, Sunday Foundation also donated a 5.5 kva generator, worth Le20,000 new Leones, to Radio Kolenten for the station to solve the electricity challenge it has been facing for the past years.
The activities of Sunday Foundation are education; sports for the youth; micro finance; skills training; health, and agriculture.
The Foundation has forty-five schools countrywide and in every school it buys uniforms, pens, books, and provides stipends for teachers who are not on Government payroll.