Nyakasimbi Maarifa centre
Nyakasimbi Maarifa centre is an
initiative of Family Alliance for
Development Cooperation (FADECO) with the support of various partners particularly the ARID LANDS INFORMATION NETWORK (ALIN-EA). Established in 2011, the centre is located in
Karagwe district in North Western Tanzania in Kagera region. The centre is
hosted and managed by FADECO .
The
centre was established with the main goal of responding to community
information needs and to catalyze documentation of local knowledge. The Maarifa
centre daily operations is the responsibility of an employed Field Officer who
offers technical services and enables communities to access information
resources. The Field Officer is supported by one or two volunteers’ referred to
as community knowledge facilitators (CKF) selected from the community and an
advisory committee selected by stakeholders.
The Nyakasimbi
Maarifa centre offers the following services:
Internet
access: A
VSAT is installed as a pathway to speedy access to websites, e-mailing,
development of websites, e-services, distance learning, blogs and use of other
Internet based tools. The Internet being a huge information resource offers
access to most of the community information needs including news, development
practices, Entertainment and much more.
A
depository of Development and educational Information resources: These include CD ROMs,
publications for schools and development issues, research reports, books,
educational DVDs and photographs.
Capacity
building on use of ICTs
and other development related issues. The centre is equipped with 5 computers dedicated
for training communities on various computer packages.
Participatory
Video documentaries and shows: The communities are trained on
participatory video development so they’re able to tell their own stories on
issues concerning them like climate change, livestock issues, farming and indigenous
knowledge systems. These are shown locally and also communicated globally
through YouTube, blogs and DVDs.
A platform for documenting and sharing local knowledge with other groups: Communities
document their experiences and local knowledge aspirations for future use. The
centre promotes citizen journalism that involves generation of community news
and info that is shared online or prints also involving individuals writing and
making comments on issues they feel are left out of mainstream media. Most of
the content generated is text / blogs, digital storytelling, images, audio
files, podcasting or video.
Platform
for exchange visits:
Communities plan joint activities at Maarifa centres to travel and learn from
others in a more practical way.
Community
outreach:
The centre offers advisory services and reaches out to build capacities of
communities to start various enterprises for livelihood improvement. This
involves facilitating communities to adopt sustainable agriculture and natural
resources management best practices that will enable them maximize their
production in a sustainable manner.
Enabling Access, Creating Knowledge,
Empowering People
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