MEPI Tomorrow’s Leaders

Capstone Project

Developing IT Skills in Orphans

Raffoul Nemer Francis

200900779

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Acknowledgment

I want to take the chance to express my sincere gratitude to all those who helped on getting this project done. First I would like to thank Dr. Marwan Rowayheb for his encouragement, guidance, and help all through the period of my capstone project. I would also like to thank Dr. Ramzi Haraty and every member of the MEPI TL administration team for their tremendous motivation and support for me since I began work on the project. This project is dedicated to orphans in Lebanon.

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Table of Contents:

Abstract: ................................................................................................. 4

Introduction: ........................................................................................... 5

Problem: ................................................................................................. 7

Background: ............................................................................................ 8

What have other countries done to solve it ? ......................................... 9

Rwanda : KIST, Unity Club: ................................................................... 9

Vietnam : Ho Bung Orphanage Computer Literacy Center: ................ 10

Vietnam : Orphan Impact ................................................................... 11

Uganda : Child Support Uganda ......................................................... 13

The Project ............................................................................................ 14

Funding: ................................................................................................ 16

Results: ................................................................................................. 17

What’s Next: ......................................................................................... 18

Conclusion: ........................................................................................... 19

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Abstract:

A big number of children all over Lebanon are abandoned and left at

orphanages when they are born, a small time after that, or even at a

later stage of their childhood. These orphans come from a poor

environment and are very vulnerable parts of the society. They need to

be taken care of more than anyone else because their parents (who are

supposed to be the two people to take care of them the most) are not

there for them. “These children are not somebody else’s responsibility.

They are our responsibility”- Dave Thomas.

The high cost of education to acquire computer related skills in

Lebanon prevents the orphans from receiving the preliminary

knowledge which is of high demand when they go out to the industry

and is a main requirement in almost any position they could apply for.

This deprives the orphans from their righteous fair chance to be as

competitive as any other child when they grow up.

In this project, I present the reasons which are preventing these

orphans from receiving this proper training and I provide some

information about orphanages and orphans in Lebanon. I will also

present what has been done in other countries such as Rwanda,

Vietnam (two places) and Uganda in this issue which are very important

and have proven to be effective and worth doing, and which I think we

should learn from in order to develop a project like the one I am

planning on developing. This will not be a descriptive paper only as I

will be providing my solution which will be starting an institution that

will solve this problem through either providing training for orphans on

IT skills or through helping orphanages acquire the computers and

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necessary equipment, so that the orphans could be in a phase of

continuous learning as long as they are inside the orphanage.

Introduction:

One success story is what USAID did at the Home of Harvest Orphanage

in Lebanon. “USAID assistance had a noticeable impact on the lives of

the orphans residing at the center. Forty-five children now benefit from

the enhanced facilities, better quality educational materials and

resources, as well as access to information technology. The children are

now learning basic software skills on the new computers, which makes

them better equipped to face the challenges of today’s world. When

the computer library was first installed, the children were so excited

that they ran to the computer room, raced to grab a chair, and started

clicking on the keyboard even when the computers were shut off.”

(USAID Report, 2009)

Starting with this story and after seeing that what we are going to do

will have a huge impact on these orphans’ life, our faith in the project

increases. Many orphanages in Lebanon like the one here need massive

help, and need a lot of assistance to introduce information technology

to the lives of the orphans. The goal behind the project is to help

orphans be as competitive in the job market as any other man, and not

let their misfortune affect their future.

The importance of IT Skills:

In public schools, we receive trainings on computers. Orphans lack

these types of trainings which are essential in today’s world. IT skills are

needed in every sector of the industry. If we look around in Lebanon,

there is no business that is currently operating, that has no computer.

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Here we are assuming that the least which a company could have is a

computer. Most businesses running nowadays would not be running

unless they have a complete IT infrastructure consisting of hardware,

software, facilities, network, etc. In order to keep up with the

modernization of today’s world, it is very important to be equipped

with the necessary IT skills. Offices nowadays do not use paperwork

like they used to do before. Everything is electronic and the need to

know how to deal so easily with email and editing tools (such as word,

excel and many others…) is a necessity because most of the work will

probably include using these tools.

An interesting article by BBC News show us how important information

technology skills have become in today’s world, and how much they are

appreciated in the boardroom. They tell us that according to a statistic

made by Microsoft, information technology is the 7th most essential

skill to know when you are in the workplace. It ranked after teamwork

skills and interpersonal skills. According to Bill Gates, information

technology skills are needed in every single position in a company from

the lowest and up to the CEO. Organizations all over the world use

software to enhance the efficiency of their companies. (BBC, 2007)

As a matter of fact, skills which ranked before information technology

skills all depend on IT skills. They are very crucial to succeed at any of

them. How can you succeed at team working if you don’t know how to

use the e-mail to contact other members of your team? How can you

succeed at analyzing without powerful analysis tools (such as Microsoft

Excel)? How can you be flexible if you don’t know how to work

remotely from your home? Information technology skills will always be

essential to excel at any other skills required at the workplace. (BBC,

2007)

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Problem: How could you survive if you have been abandoned, willingly or not, by

the two people who are supposed to care of you more than anyone

else in the world? How will you survive if you are raised at an

orphanage whose financial capabilities are so limited, that you are lucky

if you get out with any education at the end of your years inside there?

How will you survive if you are judged and treated like you are not a

normal part of society just like everyone else? How will you survive if

every other child is getting a much better education than you at school

and then at college, and is taking the job which could have been for

you? What would you do if you were never given the chance to learn

skills which would benefit you in the job market when it is time to

compete with other, very equipped children? There is really not much

an orphan can do, but there definitely is a lot that we could do.

Through my visit to two orphanages in Jbeil and in Amchit, I was

surprised by how much these kids are deprived of. The two orphanages

were not equipped by any facilities that would help the orphans

develop their skills. This would lead us to orphans who are meant to fail

in their societies, and some will diverge into wicked ways to maintain a

life. This is definitely not a society we would want to live in, knowing

that we could do something for a change, do something to help these

orphans out and help them help themselves seek a better future.

According to studies made by USAID, there is a big number of orphans

in Lebanon. They suffer deprivation from education while we lead to a

devastating decrease in their chance of living a normal life in Lebanon.

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(Allouche, 2005) This will direct them towards crime and drugs if we

don’t prevent it and help them in a way or another. The Lebanese

society has always looked at orphans differently and disregarded them.

They have some sort of fear from hiring an orphan, due to pure

paranoia. This puts orphans in front of a very difficult situation since

they are about to go out to the real world and not be accepted, not

have the necessary skills and not be given a job.

Background: Though being poor should not be a reason to abandon your child, we

see many families all over Lebanon abandoning their children because

of it. We see this prevalent in the cases where the mother is single and

can’t support the child on her own. Poverty in addition to all the major

problems in Lebanon, being social or cultural, makes the situation much

more devastating. There is a general expectation in Lebanon, that a

woman who is divorced or widowed will abandon her child in order to

get married again. Children which are put in this condition will have no

money to live or to get a proper education, and will end up having to

work in very unsafe places thus exposing themselves to crime and other

wrongdoings. (Allouche, 2005)

In spite the lack of accurate number in Lebanon, it is estimated that

there are around 40,000 orphans. Many of these orphans are put in a

situation where they have to leave school in order to work, for the

purpose of providing financial support to their caretakers or their

brothers and sisters. There is a big number of children at risk of being

abandoned at any moment by their parents, and this number is

approximated to be 90,000 children by the Ministry of Social Affairs.

(Allouche, 2005)

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What have other countries done to solve it ?

Rwanda : KIST, Unity Club:

387 children were chosen from orphanages all over Rwanda to do the

training with RITC (The regional ICT Training Centre), in order to

develop their information technology skills. The first phase consisted of

10 days of training, where 60 orphans were picked to undertake basic

training in information technology. These orphans are part of the bigger

group, which got divided in two groups, depending on whether they

were going to undergo basic or advanced level training. This also

depends on their previous knowledge of information technology and

their age. The training was done in eight different places in Rwanda.

(New Times, 2009)

Unity Club, which was a co-organizer of the event, is an NGO which

seeks to bring together elders who are currently in the government or

who were before. In the graduation ceremony, the prime minister’s

representative greeted the graduating children for their diligence and

vowed to continue his support for them. The Minister of Culture and

Sports pointed out that respecting culture is a primary point in order to

develop. (New Times, 2009)

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Vietnam : Ho Bung Orphanage Computer Literacy

Center: In 2005, Ho Bung Orphanage was equipped with all it needed in order

to be able to supply the orphans inside of it with the necessary skills

they need to be able to keep up with their fellows in other high schools,

or even be more knowledgeable than them in some cases. The

orphanage was supplied with the necessary computers, multimedia

systems, and power systems (UPSs), and other basic equipment. This

gave them the chance to develop information technology skills and be

capable of looking into a more successful future. (Hands-On Saigon,

1998)

With all the technology put in their hands, they became capable of

keeping up with the rest of the world. They learned fast just like all

children, all over the world, and they were eager for learning more and

mastering their skills. The orphans attended regular classes every day

twice, in the morning and in the afternoon, were they were taught how

to use programs like Word, Excel, and several other programs. The

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children who were older received special more detailed trainings on

hardware and software. (Hands-On Saigon, 1998)

The children are thankful for the opportunity that has been given to

them. This opportunity allows them to be on the same level with other

kids which are lucky to have an education at a high school that provides

such trainings for them. Information technology skills are required in

almost all jobs nowadays, except the ones where a minimum salary is

paid. (Hands-On Saigon, 1998)

Vietnam : Orphan Impact Orphan impact was started by a guy called Tad Kincaid in Vietnam in

order to save the orphans from a destiny which was almost

unchangeable. The fact that most orphans won’t get adopted and will

get out of orphanages without enough experience, leads them to just

accept their fate and surrender to their poverty. This organization is a

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social entrepreneurship, and it seeks to teach computer skills to these

orphans so that when they become old enough to leave their

orphanages, they will be able to find a job and make a living. Orphan

Impact provides the orphanages with the computers and the trainees

who are specialized in information technology trainings. Tad believes

that an atmosphere of motivation and knowledge was created. Kids

were taught how to use analysis tools like Excel to make bar graphs,

and charts. They were also taught how to produce videos and how to

use video chat software like Skype. Tad believes that it’s not enough

nowadays to just have an NGO with a noble cause. He believes that

everything about the NGO should be innovative. He believes in

transparency and that having a good website for the project will

definitely help the people get to know the staff and the children being

helped. He believes that in the challenge of being a successful social

entrepreneurship one should do everything better, and even the videos

are important because they are the way to tell your people who you

are and what you are doing and it is the way to connect with them

most efficiently. He believes that anybody would want to change lives

and work on a project that will impact the society greatly. Tad’s wife

once told him that once when the children were sending their first

email, she saw a kid jump and scream from joy after his friend got his

first email. It is such a pleasure to see the happiness in these children.

(Strauss, 2011)

We are in the twenty-first century and kids should be more equipped

now than they were 10 or 20 years back. There are skills that are

necessary for them to succeed in the future and orphan impact is

providing them with every last one of them. (Strauss, 2011)

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Uganda : Child Support Uganda The initiative took place in Kampala city in Uganda where orphans and

other misfortunate children were trained on computer related skills.

The children picked were mostly from families who have lost a parent

or both because of AIDS or other reasons and have no financial source

to be capable of supporting themselves to acquire such skills and

knowledge from any other place. (Child Support Uganda, 2002)

Child Support Uganda known (CSU) organized the training and is

looking for trainers who would want to participate in the upcoming

events and in any future events. The training was divided into 3 phases

consisting of four months each (which would constitute a full year). The

training will end up with 240 orphans in the full year cycle, as they will

pick eighty orphans in each phase. The children receive trainings on

Microsoft Windows 7 and other Microsoft software like Excel, Word,

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Access, Outlook, in addition to the web. This would help them support

themselves on the long run and live a satisfied life. CSU consider

information technology to be the basis for a successful

entrepreneurship nowadays. (Child Support Uganda, 2002)

The Project The project I am proposing differs from the above approaches in many

ways. I am proposing to start an NGO that will take care of the issues

mentioned above. This NGO will make sure that the orphans will get

out of their orphanages equipped with the necessary skills needed in

their workplace. My project is divided in two parts. The first part will be

assessing the general condition of orphanages in Lebanon. The second

part will be helping the orphanages to be equipped with the necessary

equipment for the training to occur. The third part will be providing

software and internet access. The fourth part will be doing the training

ourselves for these orphans.

a- General Assessment of orphanages: Field trips are to be made to

all orphanages in Lebanon, and statistics are to be made about

the exact number (if any) of equipment find inside each

orphanage, and about the level of knowledge of computer skills of

both: the orphans, and the people responsible for them inside the

orphanage. This will be used an assessment for their needs for

equipment and for future help in supporting the system.

b- Providing the orphanages with the equipment:

Many huge companies and institutions have computers that they

are willing to give away for any charitable reason or educational

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purpose. L.A.U for instance gives away its old computers for

schools which are of need for these computers. Orphanages are

of high need for these computers. Through the visits I did to the

orphanages, it appears that most of them have zero to only one

computer. This will not do the job, since no training could be

performed on one computer only. A minimum of 15 computers or

more (depending on the number of orphans inside the

orphanage) will be needed.

c- Providing the software and the internet access: Big companies

for both software and internet will be created. Companies like

IDM and VISP will be contacted in order to try and provide free

internet access to these orphanages. Microsoft will be also

contacted to try and provide free software for these orphanages

as well.

d- Doing the training ourselves:

Many computer skilled people are willing to do such training for

orphans, and I am on the top of that list. Through my experience

in the IT department at L.A.U I plan to be heading the trainings

when this project will be implemented hopefully. I know for

certain that many others would be as interested in giving such

training for the orphans. They will be trained on using software

that they will most probably need in the workplace. Software they

will be learning includes Microsoft word to edit text and tools like

Excel for powerful data analysis. They will be trained on internet

access which will be filtering inappropriate content from.

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The orphans are underprivileged members of our society and

deserve all our care. A group of trainees will be doing the

trainings, and these will either occur in the orphanages where the

equipment are already installed, or it will be done at other

institutions which already have all the equipment or the labs to

support the number or orphans coming.

Funding: The organization I am planning on developing is a non-profit

organization meant purely to deliver a humanitarian duty towards the

underprivileged orphans. Funds will be needed in order to achieve the

goals of the organizations. As money will be needed to pay some

trainees (in case they are not doing it as a volunteer work), and it will

be needed to buy the equipment (such as computers are other devices

helpful in the learning procedure), and it will be needed for various

events which will be done for the orphans.

We could provide these funds through various sources. My first source

will be donations. A website will be created for this purpose and

advertised for through different methods (such as social media). Some

people are really moved by such initiatives that serve to help the weak,

and these people will donate good amounts of money to support these

orphans. Advocating for this could be through ads in the street, ads on

Facebook, small advertisements in the newspaper, Lebanese TV shows

which serve humanitarian goals (such as Nehna La Baad and many

others). My second source is universities and companies with old

equipment (such as PCs and laptops) that are no longer of use to them,

and which they would donate to such a cause. I know for sure that

L.A.U does this, from my experience at the IT department, since they

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are always sending computer donations to educational institutions. I

think orphanages deserve these equipment just like any other

educational institution.

Results: At the end of the project, orphans are expected to develop IT skills, be

able to use the computer for several reasons some of which are:

Communicate with the world: They will be able to use the social

media available on the World Wide Web to communicate with

people from all over the globe. They will feel part of a larger

place, definitely one larger than the orphanage they were raised

in. They could make their voice heard by the whole world.

Expand their knowledge: Surfing the web will give them a chance

to learn about every single thing that might ever come to their

mind. There is a lot of knowledge on the internet nowadays that

might eliminate the need for any book ever again. Any child with

such an access to information could become a brilliant. Only when

used correctly will this access to the internet give these orphans a

great bright future.

Learn new skills: Having access to computers will give orphans the

capability of developing new IT skills. They will be exposed to

many software that will expand their knowledge of how things are

done electronically. They will use editing programs such as

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Microsoft word and this will help them transform their thoughts

to files. They will use files to do the math (such as Excel) and that

will simplify things for them. They will use graphical tools to

develop drawings that can’t be as accurate when done by hand.

They will be developing day by day these skills they are learning

and they will become more professional at it by learning

something new every day.

Be able to surf the web for job opportunities: Orphans will be

introduced to web browsers and they will be taught how to use

Google search engine in an efficient way that will allow them to

get the right results for exactly what they are searching for. They

could use this knowledge to search for job opportunities once

they are done at the orphanage and need to get out to the real

world. Web searching for jobs is a very effective way and should

definitely be utilized.

Learn about their rights: Orphans are not aware of their rights,

and having the internet will help them in learning more and more

about their rights. Learning how to use search engines effectively

will widen their knowledge about their rights.

What’s Next: The project does not stop here in its results, as it also has future effects,

long term ones. Orphans leaving the orphanages will be equipped with

IT skills and a wider knowledge of world issues, and they will be able to

integrate better in the world. They will be equipped with the power of

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using search engines efficiently to find jobs, and the IT skills they

learned will help them get the job. They will be able to communicate

with each other, unite, and be able to use social media in order to

demand their rights, make their sound heard all over the world.

Conclusion:

As a conclusion, orphans are a basic part of our society, and they are a

vulnerable one. They are incapable of doing any changes to their

situation and future without our interference. We are responsible for

what they turn out to be when they leave their orphanages. We want

them to be a positive factor in society, and we do not want their

misfortune to change them into unproductive members of their

community. We should guide, teach them, and equip them with

whatever they need in order to become as competitive as other people

seeking jobs. Orphanages in Lebanon lack computers and other

equipment that are necessary for these orphans to be equipped with

the IT skills needed. My project tackles this issue and is an initiative that

i am sure will trigger many other initiatives. I see positive change in my

society through this project. If we want to inflict big change in a society

we need to start with small ones that will add up to the big picture. I

hope I get to implement this project because I have a passion for

orphans. I believe they are a very weak uncared for part of the society

and they deserve a better life. Whatever we could give them is not

enough in my eyes.

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Bibliography:

“Children without Parental Care”, Committee on the Rights of the Child

, Day of General Discussion,Friday 16 September 2005 Prepared by:

Zeina Allouche. Retrieved from:

http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.40/GDD_2005_List_of

_registered_participants.pdf

Child Support Uganda,2002.Retrieved from:

http://www.childsupportuganda.org

Hands-On Saigon, “Ho Bung Orphanage Computer Center”,1998.

Retrieved from: http://www.handsonsaigon.org/computer-

education/ho-bung-orphanage-computer-literacy-center

John Mell, “How important are computer skills in the workplace?”.

December 16, 2007.

Retrieved from: http://jonmell.co.uk/how-important-are-computer-

skills-in/

“KIST, Unity Club Offer IT Skills to Orphans”, The New Times (Kigali,

Rwanda) , Dec 19 2009 Issue. Retrieved from:

http://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/index.php?i=14114&a=23899

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Stress Strauss, “Giving to others with social entrepreneurship”, 2011

Retrieved from:

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/stra

uss/story/2011-12-20/strauss-social-entrepreneurship/52100644/1

USAID Report, “Making a Difference in Lebanese Orphans’ Lives"

Retrieved from:

http://transition.usaid.gov/stories/lebanon/fp_lebanon_orphan.html