Rural youths to have access to IT

Techno Revelation Centres (TRC) was formed in March last year by nine women who are using their own resources.
Speaking to Chronicle recently, Mrs Farai Jabangwe-Siwela the founder and chairperson of TRC, said the organisation was a first of its                kind.
“I spent the first eight years of my life in the rural areas and later went to the United Kingdom in 1976 for my primary and secondary school education. The first eight years of my life in the rural areas revealed the emptiness of the country life style and I recognised the challenges the rural child would encounter if they were brought up in a blank and uninspiring environment without facilities of play and awareness,” said Mrs Siwela, a holder of a Masters in Education.

“I am proud to have started an organisation that is purely Zimbabwean to help our rural children. If a child is unprepared for the outside world, change can be quite a traumatic experience.”
She said the mandate of the organisation was to bridge the gap between rural and urban youths in Zimbabwe.

“We believe this can be done only by creating centres that could give access to the activities that urban children take for granted that is music, games, information technology and networking,” said Mrs Siwela.
She said the centre would also run a number of projects that would assist communities with employment as well as sustain the centre’s basic requirements.

“Given that between 60 to 80 percent of Zimbabwe’s population live in the rural areas and base their livelihood mainly on crop production and livestock farming, the centres will introduce another way of lifestyle by providing recreational facilities for the youth,” said Mrs Siwela.
She said her organisation will start by constructing two pilot centres in Lupane in Matabeleland North and Chivhu in Mashonaland East province.
Mrs Siduduziwe Mhlanga, the marketing manager for TRC, said the main objective was to ensure rural youths have access to modern technology.
“The TRC centres will be used primarily by the rural youths. These centres will have libraries, music rooms, cinemas and play-parks for pre-scholars,” said Mrs Mhlanga.

The organisation’s motto is “Our Past Is not our future: We aim to transform, empower and uplift the rural children of Zimbabwe.” Of the nine women that are directors for TRC, only one is South African while the rest are Zimbabweans.

Mrs Mhlanga has spent more than 20 years in education and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, which she completed in 1988. She also holds a Graduate Certificate in Education from UZ.
One of the eight directors Margareth Hlatswayo holds a Bsc (Hons) Sociology and Gender Studies. She has been in the teaching field for more than 20 years.