SOLOY Community Technology
& Learning Center Growth

2006 CTLC Microsoft® Curriculum Successful

“The CTLC monthly computer course is being very successful as we now teach the Microsoft® Curriculum that provides the particpants with a unique technique to acquire confidence in the software,” reports Adan in June 2006. “It was of great importance to the CTLC to launch a free computer course for women. The first monthly group of women were very enthusiastic in taking advantage of this opportunity and expressed that it was something they never imagined to be possible. The CTLC staff has shared with the women that it is important to have as many women as possible train and become capable of managing basic fundamentals of computer and the internet. We truly think that having a computer course specifically for women will help them expand their skills and empower them through education.”

Nineteen women enrolled in this course after hearing it announced on Radio Bahá’í. Ten were able to complete the full course. They had requested training in Microsoft® Word® and in use of the internet. The CTLC report shares, “It was interesting to see these women since they all expressed their joy in being able to learn these things such as typing letters, sending emails to relatives in Panama City, etc. These women intend to continue taking these courses until they feel confident using computers.”

Another course was held during June for the Municipality employees in Microsoft® Word®. Most of these participants had taken a course before and were reinforcing their training. Courses are planned to continue each month.

Training statistics for April 2005 to April 2006 show that courses have served students, teachers, craft organizations, coffee planters, the general community, municipalities, institutions, and health centers. 179 participants have been served by general CTLC courses, 143 people use the internet, 50 school students regularly use the internet, 600 students have taken an I.P.T. course, and a grand total of 922 people have been served by this computer laboratory in the past year.

top

2004 Internet Access

Yahoo! Soloy Children access the Internet

Greetings from warm Panama! The computers are connected to the Internet and the children are seeing and talking to the world! In a recent report from Adan Berjerano we learn that 13 computers are running effectively and he is active in new maintenance skills, working on the computers through diagnosis and instruction over the Internet! The Windows® operating system is new and it will take a while for students to become familiar with it all. They are also making progress with learning other software such as Microsoft® Word®. The solar power is operating well.

2005 Microsoft® Training grant

The Microsoft® grant through which we applied for training for Adan Berjerano has been approved. We now have confirmation that Adan can attend training for two more years on this $12,000 grant. he will then be fully qualified as a technical trainer for the lab. With the use of the newly offered Microsoft® Unlimited Potential Curriculum, Adan will be enabled to provide training for Technology Certification in all of the Microsoft Software. We are deeply grateful for these opportunities from Microsoft®.

2005 Training Opportunities

New Opportunities for Adan

The Technological University in Panama is offfering an on line educational course by Dr. Schank, a Distinguished Career Professor at Carnegie-Mellon University. Dr Schank has offered a scholarship to a representative of the indigenous people and FUNDESCU is interested in enabling Adan to take the course!

Mr. Adan's month long computer training at Microsoft® Panama is going very well, and he is the ‘shining light’ in the class. He has put a lot of work and enthusiasm into the class and has proven that trust in him is well placed.

Mrs. Sanchez, Mr. Victorino and Mrs. Maria Teresa have recently attended graphic design courses given at the request of Microsoft. All were delighted with the course and have sent letters of appreciation to the Fundacion. Our hope is that in due time Mrs. Sanchez and all of the teachers in SOLOY will be fully qualified technical trainers.

top

2004-5 Teacher Training

Fourteen Ngobe-Bugle attend teacher training sponsored by FUNDESCU and the Mona Foundation. Approved by the Ngobe-Bugle Institute Council and the only courses accredited by the Ministry of Education, Mona provided computer, mathematics and English instruction.

In the morning computer class, Adan Bejerano taught an excellent and wellorganized forty hour course on the Internet: introduction, basic characteristics and uses, connectiong to the Web, toolbar and menus, search engines, email, and avoiding viruses. The teachers were excited to receive their own email addresses, send email, and chose a weighty research topic to investigate, “globalization and its impact on Indigenous cultures.” Several participants offered comments. Alexi shared, “It was like a miracle to me.” Martire said, “This is a tool that can stimulate the development of the entire population of the Comarca. It helps us to realize our highest potential of knowledge.” Victorino offered, “This technology center is an open window to the world of knowldeg for our noble homeland.”

The SOLOY computer lab is well used by the community. Adan reports on many training opportunities. These computers are used by 200 students daily who have learned to do investigation on the Internet. During the school season the community center and computer lab are always full! 4th, 5th and 6th graders come twice a month to learn the skills. A 9th grade teacher conducts classes on computer with a CD in each so students can listen, pronounce words and see images explained. Professor Vielka Gonzalez, the principal of the Junior High School, says her teachers and students use it daily for research and email, rather than rushing home after class, and that the whole school environment is more positive as a result. These are only some of the everyday changes in people's lives from this computer lab.

The community has also been served by an eleven person seminar in use of the computer in September. Monthly courses are given. Future courses are also planned for summertime there, in the next few months.

Four of the five teachers will complete their studies in March and be certified. Adan Berjerano also received more training from Microsoft in October.

Five of the teachers are also studying for their GED, taking a 6am bus on Sundays to a nearby city for English, French and Political Science courses. Though people first laughed and said, “How could there be a computer in the jungle?” these teachers have impressed the others with their more advanced knowledge of computer skills.

top

2004 Email Greetings

Hola Mona! Ngobe-Bugle Children are on the Web!

“Greetings from CTLC Soloy!” “Today we want … [to] greet you all from Mona Foundation and wish you the best. Also to thank [you] for your effort in helping the Ngobe Bugle People. We are doing very good so far. Our greeting to all,” wrote Adan Bejerano, a computer teacher at CTLC.

Tears of joy accompanied the receipt of the first email message issued from the Community Technology and Learning Center (CTLC) in Soloy, Chiriqui Province, Panama and sent to The Mona Foundation on April 7th of this year. Through a partnership with the Foundation for Development and Culture (FUNDESCU), and the generous donation of 15 solar-powered computers by Microsoft® Corporation, Mona Foundation's support facilitates training in basic computer skills and technical training to indigenous teachers such as Mr. Bejerano and their students at CTLC. In addition to learning electronic communication via email, teachers and students are learning to access information on the Internet, as well as acquire basic computer competency skills, utilizing such software programs as Word®, Power Point® and Excel®.

The SOLOY CTLC is the first computer and technical center available to any indigenous people in Panama, and through its educational programs provides the first step in bringing the isolated Ngobe Bugle people who live in this region into contact with the rest of the world.

2003 Unity & Connection

“Now is the time for unity in the world. With this technology, you have given us a tool to connect to people everywhere.” Mrs. Sanchez, director of the New Community Technology and Learning Center in Soloy, Chiriqui Province, Panama offered these thoughts. She also noted the role that women are playing in this venture, “I am especially pleased that there are so many women involved in the project. There are five women here from Mona; the team in Panama that worked so hard to make this a reality is mostly women; and as the director of the lab, I am also a woman. I think it's significant.”

The true miracle of this new solar-powered computer lab is indeed the harmonious collaboration of all the institutions involved, throughout North and Central America. Rita Egrari, a representative from the Mona Foundation to the inauguration shares her feelings, “One of the most striking features was the collaboration between the various institutions involved in establishing the Community Technology Learning Center (CTLC) in Soloy. The numerous institutions involved worked together harmoniously and arduously to bring the CTLC to fruition.” Mona Foundation and FUNDESCU worked hard to bring these institutions together to establish a technology lab with the objective of assisting in the development of the entire Ngobe-Bugle community. “The inauguration itself of the CTLC was a remarkable experience, one that was filled with joy, excitement, and curiosity. The spirit of unity was palpable throughout the entire event. Mrs. Tahereh Sanchez conducted the ceremony with dignity. The fact that so many local leaders were present illustrated the excitement and impact on the local community.”

The Community Technology and Learning Center (CTLC), made possible by a grant from the Microsoft® Corporation and located at Primer Ciclo Joaquina H. de Torrijos, the public junior high school in Soloy, was inaugurated on Monday morning, November 24th, 2003. In attendance were the President of the Ngobe-Bugle Indigenous Council, the General Manager of Microsoft Panama, three members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Panama, the Mayor of Soloy, two representatives from the Chiriqui Ministry of Education, the principal of the school, the director of Radio Bahá'í, members of the Institute Council, hundreds of students from the junior high, their 30 teachers, our tutorial school teachers, three students from Molejon, several members of the Foundation for Development and Culture (FUNDESCU), and a delegation of five representing the Mona Foundation. The presence and active participation of so many different organizations provided ample evidence of the widespread acceptance of this project, and of the spirit of collaboration it has engendered. Many in attendance commented on this spirit, and some expressed surprise that so many institutions could work harmoniously together, in service to others, without one group trying to take credit or take over the project. Download the January 2004 issue of the Mona Newsletter for the full story. Full Story

top