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ShareOur Community Stars: Nabil Eid talks about Salamieh telecentre
Created By: Esther on 19-Mar-2008 10:54 PM
Salamieh Telecentre's Nabil Eid during the TLF in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: Esther Nasikye
I had seen numerous pictures of Nabil Eid before and they portrayed a different picture from the person I met during telecentre.org’s Telecentre Leaders Forum (TLF) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last December. He looks much bigger in the pictures than he does physically.
Nabil needs no introduction if you are an ardent reader of telecentre.org’s News and Blog section. His name is synonymous with Salamieh telecentre, a rural knowledge network consisting of 22 telecentres and 32 community portals in Syria.
Syria has a population of 19,435,000 with a literacy rate of 76.9%. The major economic activity is agriculture and a section of the population engages in traditional handcrafts.
The critical living conditions of the people in the countryside necessitated the development of Salamieh telecentre in 2004 in order to insure the needs of the local community and to render all possible services and help to the local people.
Salamieh telecentre aims to help the rural and marginalized people to access Information and Communication Technology (ICTs) for development.
The telecentre assists farmers access market information and helps the unemployed access the job market.
“I wanted to install a new reality for rural people, women, poor people, youth, children, the marginalized and persons with disabilities to elevate their living standard and help them create income generating activities and revive their hopes,” Nabil explains.
Salamieh telecentre has succeeded in making tangible change in the community. People are fully aware of the telecentre’s noble goals and efforts.
“We were able to install ICT training programmes for children and after the course they are able to design websites among other things. Also marginalized and disabled people could make their own success by using the ICTs skills acquired here to improve their roles,” Nabil says.
Salamieh telecentre is a pioneer in providing ICTs in Special Needs education (SNE) not only in Syria but also in the Arab region. Through this programme, they have registered tremendous success.
Basem Yazgi a visually impaired student is able to train his fellow visually impaired people after he got all possible help and special ICTs training (screen reader and speech recognition) in Salamieh telecentre.
Many women and young men have graduated through Salamieh telecentre and got (ICDL , MOS Graphics design ) certificate which help them to get new jobs and make changes in the community.
Fatema Kanaan, 26 is a beneficiary of this programme.
"The ICTs courses have really changed my life. I have a job now. It has helped me get a good career. I am over the moon,” she said after graduating from the telecentre.
The Salamieh telecentre project is monitored through joint collaboration between the Ministry of Communication and Technology and the UNDP/Syria
Whereas the success stories are many, Salamieh telecentre has faced its fare share of challenges.
“The main challenge we face is the lack of transportation and means of communication. We want to have an access to remote locations to transplant our experience,” Nabil explains
“Secondly, the rural areas are deprived of ICTs assistance in that they lack computer systems and other aids to spread knowledge, so the lifeblood of technological assistance is not available,” he adds.
Salamieh telecentre has done a great job in promoting ICT for rural development but the fact that their success story has remained unknown by Syrians is another challenge.
As a person involved in ICT for development, Nabil has his own frustrations.
“Aspects of frustrations mainly accrue from lack of funding, the thing which sometimes foils our efforts to implement a deeply rooted project. For example we don't have any transport vehicles to outreach remote rural areas, we don't have an independent building,” Nabil explains
“Another frustration is that some newly formed volunteering teams are forced to drop out due to lack of funding. However, we are persistent to achieve our goals. We believe that where there is a will, there is a way,” he adds.
Working with global and local partners has helped Nabil and Salamieh telecentre overcome some of these frustrations.
His biggest support has come through partnerships created from participating in events organized by telecentre.org for example the Middle East and North Africa Telecentre stakeholders consultation workshop October 2006 and the Telecentre Leaders Forum that was hosted prior to the Global Knowledge Partnerships 111 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in December 2007.
Nabil agrees that once the resolutions of the community charter created by the participants of the TLF are implemented, then his frustrations will be watered down.
To ensure Salamieh telecentre remains sustainable, the management of the telecentre ensures a mix of services including traditional telephony, mobile, fax, photocopy, training halls rental, video projector, languages training courses, in addition to training students on ICTs programmes, courses in accountancy, graphics and web design.
“We also make financial reports and statements for private sectors and state firms. Also we provide e-mail and translation services for people – at reasonable prices. This supports the telecentre with some funding to cover the daily expenses and help support the needy marginalized and disabled people.
“For long term sustainability, the management plans bigger investments. Donations and grants from NGOs, individuals, stakeholders and government should be provided to carry out our goals to create a brighter community of oneness, harmony, and elevated values.
Nabil believes the telecentre has bright days ahead. In his words, “The sun still rises,” he concludes.
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telecentre,org and UgaBYTES have bright days ahead
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Posted: 22-Mar-2008 1:50 AM
I am very proud to be a part of telecentre.org, UgaBYTES and the telecentre movement. Thanks to editors and all staff at telecentre.org and UgaBYTES. Together we will work for community service and development. telecentre.org and UgaBYTES have bright days ahead. And “The sun still rises". Nabil Eid
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