Ramona Maye – Management IT Adviser - Tanzania
Improving income opportunities for poor people is a crucial aspect of VSO’s secure livelihoods work. That might involve developing people’s marketing skills so that their small businesses can thrive, or equipping students with IT skills so that they can become more employable. Former IBM management consultant and VSO volunteer Ramona Maye is currently doing both in Dodoma, Tanzania.
At the Dodoma Business Information Centre and Internet Café, VSO volunteer Ramona Maye is greeted warmly by long standing customer Dora Lyimo. ‘Before I came here I was so scared of computers!’ says Dora, who is a matron at Dodoma Regional Hospital. ‘But Ramona was a great teacher; she treated me like an adult. Knowing about computers has helped me a lot in my job – I even do lectures with PowerPoint now.’
When Ramona arrived in Dodoma in December 2006, the centre – a branch of the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA) – was barely functioning. Thanks to the hard work of Ramona and her colleagues, 18 months on it is a busy, self-sustaining business service provider helping people develop IT skills and run their businesses more effectively. Among its customers are a grape farmer, a kitchen shop owner, a hotelier, a café proprietor and of course health professionals like Dora.
So far 100 people have received training in entrepreneurship and business skills, and 250 people have been trained in IT. The centre assesses each individual’s needs so that the training they receive will really make a difference. ‘If someone comes in and says they have a problem with budgeting and financial reporting, we’ll train them in Excel so that it can help them to keep track of their monthly expenses,’ says Ramona. ‘One of our first students has a small store in town and he had never used computers before. He has bought a computer and uses it for all his stock keeping. That’s how he manages his store now.’
IT training at the centre has proved so successful that Ramona has taken it out to the surrounding villages. The Veyula Training Centre is a vocational school 12 bumpy, dusty kilometres from Dodoma. It gives teenagers practical skills that will enable them to make a living and support their families. Boys learn carpentry and girls tailoring. But a new partnership with the TCCIA means that all students can now learn to use computers. Ramona has had eight installed at the centre and has trained teachers in how to use them. The teachers are now passing their learning on to the students.
In a country where 40% of the rural population are living in poverty, developing basic IT skills can be a fast track to an income. ‘In some ways Tanzania seems so behind the times, but in other ways it’s not,’ says Ramona. ‘Bit by bit things are moving towards IT. So in some ways people have to learn how to use computers to survive in business – maybe not today, but in a couple of years’ time.’
Back in Dodoma town, Ramona has taught one local student how to edit film. He’s now putting himself through college by editing music videos and documentaries. Children as young as seven from a nearby orphanage are also benefiting from IT training at the centre. Soon they’ll be as familiar with computers as their Western peers. So thanks to Ramona and her colleagues, Dodoma’s younger generation will use IT not just to survive in business but to thrive in it.