All i want is YOU!

All I want is someone to to talk to
Someone to listen to me

All I want is someone to to talk to
Someone to share my troubles with
Someone to pour out my hear to

All I want is someone to to talk to
Someone to give me a hearing ear
Someone to say, i am lietening
Someone to oh, sorry that happened to you

All I want is someone to to talk to
Someone to say i " i share your troubles"
Someone to say " i share your dissappointment
Someone to listen to me
Someone to hear me

All I want is YOU!

Electronic waste

Reading through a story written Emmanuel K. Dogbevi on
http://ewasteguide.info/e-waste-campaign-gra
has kept me thinking about the future of telecentres and e-waste.

Look at the pictures on the link where Emmanuel wrote his story. What are we going to do about those? There are several computer schools and Internet cafes springing up in Ghana and especially in Tamale where i live and work. This is good new to me because gradually the myth surrounding computers is being broken as people will not think of computers as some "magic" in the sky. Gradually, the digital divide will be broken. The sad part of this happening though is the fact that these computers are almost "dead" computers. These raises the question of e-waste. Are we embracing these "slightly used" or "home used" computers while thinking of the environment and the future generation? These things do not decompose and have their own effects.

The good news though is that, the three telecentres (Salaga CIC, Yendi CIC and Bimbilla CIC) that i have had the opportunity of working with in Ghana, are all using brand new computers. The use of brand new computers at the Community Information Centres/telecentres established by the Government of Ghana in the various districts in Ghana is one that should be applauded. Assuming all of the 210 district CICs were using the "home used" computers. What then would happen to our environment?

The vision of the Community Information Centre (CIC) concept is to create rural access centres and use the medium of ICT to promote community-based ICT applications that will promote operational efficiencies delivered through effective and timely availability of information. The purpose is to provide community development information and business services to remote communities. CIC’s will provide access to: Internet-enabled computers, software based on the local information needs, Fax machines, Printers, Copiers, Telephones, Television and Radios. In addition there will be an adjoining library with books and daily newspapers and magazines.

The International Institute for communication and development(IICD) is partnering with GIFTEL to support the Community Information Centres (CICs) in the the north of Ghana.

Let your comments come in.

Cheers!

My Electronic girlfriend receives an award!

Kudos to computer company ASUS, which just received the world's first EU Flower Eco Award for its N50, N80, N20, and N10 notebooks.

The EU Flower Award was developed under the Eco Label Scheme in 1992 by the European Union, and is one of the strictest standards for green computing.

The award assesses computers based on a variety of criteria, including energy savings, packaging, product design, noise, and labeling.

It's no surprise that ASUS is the first computer company to receive the Flower Eco Award—the company initiated a massive sustainability drive in 2000. Additionally, the ASUS N Series has already been given the prestigious EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) Gold award earlier this year.

Here's hoping other computer companies follow in ASUS' footsteps—a new standard in sustainability has been set, and it's time for the entire electronics industry to pay attention.

Too tall

Hello all,
I read this on another blog ( http://www.singleyouth.blogspot.com) and i fell truly in love with the piece. Now i want to share it with you all. read on!


Too tall, too short, too dark, too light, too skinny, too fat। Too this, too that:

One of the greatest problems relationships have these days bothers on complex. Complex about how we are and how we are not; what we are and what we are not; what we have and what we have not. We hate people laughing around us because we feel they are laughing at the way we are; we are afraid to mingle or participate in certain kinds of activities, because we are too timid to be ourselves. A lot of us carry this behavior into our relationship(s), such that we are unnecessarily cautious and touchy with people we love:
He didn’t talk to me like that because of what I did wrong,
he just can’t stand my size (or my looks)…everybody hates
me. Am just not good enough…
If you feel this way, don’t bother about going into a relationship yet. Let us deal with that complex before it destroys both you and every other thing you love, cherish and encounter.
Most of the times we feel that people treat us the way they do, because of the way we are, or because of the things we are not, so we build a defense for ourselves, which culminates into aggression that most times are misplaced. Once the greatest appraisal of yourself is based on people's opinion of you, you will always take the backdoor even when you are not asked to; and even when there is no back door, you will create one, big enough to contain you.
Now you want to be like somebody else, because you feel/believe that it will make you more acceptable to people.
It is not about whom people think you are
It is not even about who you think you are
It is about what God can make you-Ogo’s nuggets
So how about paying more attention to what God thinks of you?

If God would let us take a small peep into the future, we will be shocked to discover how perfectly the way we are, fits into His plan for our lives. So anytime you try to do something to change the way you are just because you are ashamed of it, you are actually saying that God is not as wise as He says He is. You will always get into trouble when you try to be somebody else, and anyone that tries to reduplicate himself/herself or anyone else in you, does not attach value to who/what God has made you.

You have a complex problem when you
cannot celebrate yourself; when you feel
that everyone is better than you are. Soon,
if you don’t already, you will hate yourself,
then you will begin to blame God-Ogo’s nuggets

Instead of trying to change how God has created us, perhaps we should work and pray to change, by the constantly renewing of our minds, certain characters and traits that we have, which are unacceptable to God, and are potential destroyers of our relationships.
…and be not conformed to this world:
but be ye transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that ye may prove what is
that good, and acceptable, and perfect will
of God. Rom 12:2 (KJV)
Let us build ourselves to the level where we become trustworthy and reliable, then you will be in yourself a MIRACLE; and believe it or not, a miracle no matter the imperfections it may seem to have, is still a miracle, and someone will love you enough to sincerely thank God for his/her miracle, despite those things you see as flaws-Ogo’s nuggets
Anyone that cannot stand the way you are neither understands nor appreciates the wisdom of God in your life; and if you continue to hang out with them, they will eventually kill the very essence of God in you.
He that walketh with the wise men shall be wise:
But the companion of fools shall be destroyed.
Prov.13: 20(KJV)
Stop associating with people who are ashamed of the way you are, what you are, how you are, or what you do (as long as it is godly), because you will continue to feel inadequate, as though you have to be like them to be acceptable or respectable.
Anyone who doesn’t attach value to who you are
or how you are, does not deserve your companionship
because he will definitely derail you from the plan and
purpose of God for your life-Ogo’s nuggets

More so, all you ever need in this world to be successful, is God’s approval. Once you have that, nothing else matters. Never wish you were somebody else. Do not exchange the Michael Jackson that God has made you for an equally imperfect Elizabeth Taylor. Stay dark if you were born dark. Do not starve yourself to death because you want to be as skinny as Celine. Stay away from those drugs you are taking in order to alter certain things about yourself. Feel good about yourself. God is all knowing! Do well not to challenge Him.

Be bold, be strong for the Lord your God is with you, raring the GIANT in you. Let that giant grow for God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love and sound mind.
Oh what a wonderful God we have!
How great are his wisdom and knowledge
and riches! How impossible it is for us to
understand his decisions and his methods!
For who among us can know the mind of
the Lord? Who knows enough to be his
counselor and guide? And who could ever
offer to the Lord enough to induce him to
act? For everything comes from God alone.
Everything lives by his power, and everything
is for his glory. To him be glory evermore.
Rom 11:33-36(Living Bible)
He that will climb to bring down the coconut must first count himself deserving. CELEBRATE YOURSELF! You are all you have got.

GINKS Launches Northern ICT4D Series Bridging North-South ICT Disparity

The Ghana Information Network for Knowledge Sharing (GINKS) has moved a step further in its quest to promoting Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as a tool for development. In this direction, GINKS has launched in Tamale, a second of its regular monthly Cyber series run in Accra, the nations capital. The Tamale launch, dubbed “Northern ICT 4D Series” or Northern Information and Communication Technologies for Development Series, was witnessed by a cross section of the academia, teachers, ICT specialists and development-oriented individuals and organizations among others.

Most participants described the launch as opportune and timely considering the fact that the north (Northern, Upper East and Upper West) continue to remain at the lowest ebb of development and as the most poverty-endemic area of the country.

In the last couple of years, efforts by individuals and organizations to bridge the yawning information gap between the north and the south has yielded little result due to myriads of justifiable and unjustifiable reasons. For instance the least said about social amenities in most parts of the largely rural three northern regions the better not to talk about road networks and lack of electricity and telephone facilities in most rural areas. A typical example is Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo district where neither electricity nor telephone facility exist not to talk about poor road network especially in areas called overseas, where one has cross rivers before reaching. This ostensibly makes it almost impossible for service providers to extend ICT services to these and invariably thwarts efforts at making the people abreast of modernity.

The few ICT knowledgeable residents do not have a common platform to share and brainstorm to improve upon their knowledge, therefore the coming into effect this monthly Northern ICT 4D Series in Tamale, has been embraced by many with widely opened alms. The participants commended GINKS for such a programme, saying it would not only serve as a platform for knowledge sharing but also for knowledge improving. The participants described the launch as successful due to the number of people that attended and pledged to be part of the subsequent series.

Launching the programme, the Chairman of GINKS, Mr Jonnie Akakpo, whose ICT-based organization, CITRED, happens to be operating in Tamale and a pioneer in the north for that matter, expressed gratitude to the participants and all stakeholders who made the programme come to fruition. According to him, GINKS has been pondering over such a series in the north for some years now but could not implement it due to inadequate commitment from partners. He said GINKS has finally gotten Institute of Local government to provide venue for the programme and Fiila FM, a private radio station in Tamale for publicity as partners to start with, hence the launch. Mr Akapko urged all and sundry who have the development of the north and the country at large at heart, especially residents in Tamale and the Northern region, to put hands on deck to keep the series running unabated.

There were pledges by most participants who were non-members of GINKS to be part of the network to benefit from its exploits.

Mr Andrews Sayibu, who aptly chaired the function could not but express unwavering commendation to GINKS for the initiative and added that it would go a long way to bridging the ICT gap between the north and the south.

The Northern representative of GINKS, Mr Stephen Agbenyo announced that the first of series to take place after the launch would take place every last Thursday of every month. He disclosed “Cyber Crime” as the tentative topic for the upcoming series scheduled for 29th November, 2007.

By Osman Dawda (podMEDIA)

ICT4D series launched in Tamale

NORTHERN ICT4D SERIES LAUNCHED

The Northern ICT4D series, a monthly community ICT forum that would afford stakeholders an opportunity to interact and share ideas on various topical issues in the digital economy has been launched in Tamale.

Speaking at the launch on the topic ICTs and Teacher Training in Ghana, Mr. Rashid Tanko, head of the ICT department for Tamale Teacher Training College applauded the new reforms and the efforts of Government in deploying ICT tools, especially computers in the teacher training college. He however lamented that the one credit hour allocated for the training of trainees per week was woefully enough to give the teacher trainees the relevant skills needed to integrated ICTs in their work as teachers especially that some of them were only seeing computers even for the very first time in their colleges.

He mentioned some of the challenges facing the training of the teacher as inadequate infrastructure and E-readiness.

“The advantages of ICT improving upon the skills of the teacher cannot be quantified but the real challenges must also be tackled” he said.

Alhaji AYMB Ibrahima, an Assistant Director at the Regional Education Office and the Director of Baobab group of Businesses in Tamale led a discussion on the relationship between humans and ICT tools and the need to be value adding people and not back end users of the tools. “In 5 years time, we should make some progress by adding value to the stock of ICT infrastructure by manufacturing and developing software that we have and not only be users” he said. He urged the teacher training institutions to training institutions to train teachers who would train pupils to become value adding people and not just users.

He said the new reforms, despite the lack of preparedness and the unavailability of infrastructure provides a window and foundation for the gradual development of the country and the individual self.

Doing the launch, Mr. Jonnie Akakpo, the GINKS chairman expressed his delight about the efforts of the Northern Node of GINKS in keeping the flame of knowledge sharing burning in the north for “knowledge residing in one person is less valuable than residing in the many persons” Mr. Akakpo said.

He took participants through the genesis and the work of GINKS and expressed his delight to be present at the launch of the Northern ICT4D Series. He called for more individuals and organizations to partner GINKS in organizing the series to broaden and deepen discussions on ICT4D

Upon his call, northernghana.com pledged to partner by publicizing all activities regarding the Series on their website northernghana.com.

Participants urged GINKS to partner with the Northern Network for Educational Development (NNED) to study and track the progress of the ICT component of the new educational reform in the three northern regions.

Mr. George Nego Fugluu a teacher of St. Charles Minor seminary senior secondary school (first runner up best teacher award recipient in 2006) urged for the organization of such fora. He called for resource sharing among the well endowed schools and the less endowed schools in the regions for the sake of equity.

Participants called on government and other stake holders to ensure the existence of the enabling environment to enhance effective utilization of ICTs such as the provision and accessibility of electricity,

The Northern ICT4D Series is a joint effort between Filla FM, Ghana Information Network for Knowledge Sharing (GINKS) and the Institute for Local Government Studies to encourage knowledge sharing on ICTs for Development in the Northern Region. The series would be organized on the last Thursday of every month.

so why the irony?

Facts & Figures

ITU statistics paint a stark picture of the information gap separating rich and poor.

• In 2005, fewer than 4 out of every 100 Africans used the internet, compared with 1 out of every 2 people living in the G8 nations.
• The G8 is home to less than 15% of the world’s population, yet it is home to 45% of the world's internet users.
• At present (2004-2005) growth rates, nearly 25 % of people living in the developing world will be online by 2010.
• An estimated 30% of all villages worldwide still have no access to telephone services.
• 79% of Africa’s 27 million fixed phone lines are located in just 6 of its 54 nations Broadband penetration has reached 13% in high-income countries, it remains as low as 2% in middle-income countries and close to zero in low-income countries. An estimated 30 countries still rely on a single 10Mbps international internet connection (or less) to serve their entire population; in wealthy countries, consumers can now buy their own personal 10Mbps connection at very affordable prices.

Africa, ICT Indicators, 2006

	Population 000s		Main tel. lines 000s p.100				Mobile subscribers 000s p. 100				Internet users 000s p. 100
Algeria	33'354		2'841.3		8.52		20'998.0		62.95		2'460.0		7.38
Egypt	75'437		10'807.7		14.33		18'001.1		23.86		6'000.0		7.95
Libya	5'968		483.0		8.09		3'927.6		65.81		232.0		3.96
Morocco	30'735		1'266.1		4.12		16'004.7		52.07		6'100.0		19.85
Tunisia	10'210		1'268.5		12.42		7'339.1		71.88		1’294.9		12.68
North Africa	155'704		16'666.60		10.70		66'270.50		42.56		16'086.9		10.34
South Africa	47'594		4'729.0		9.97		39'662.0		83.33		5'100.0		10.75
South Africa	47'594		4'729.00		9.97		39'662.0		83.33		5'100.00		10.75
Angola	15'802		98.2		0.62		2'264.2		14.33		85.0		0.55
Benin	8'703		77.3		0.89		1'056.0		12.13		700.0		8.04
Botswana	1'760		136.9		7.78		979.8		55.68		60.0		3.40
Burkina Faso	13'634		94.8		0.70		1'016.6		7.46		80.0		0.59
Burundi	7'834		31.1		0.41		153.0		2.03		60.0		0.77
Cameroon	16'601		100.3		0.61		2'252.5		13.80		370.0		2.23
Cape Verde	519		71.6		13.80		108.9		20.99		29.0		6.09
Central African Rep.	4'093		10.0		0.25		100.0		2.48		13.0		0.32
Chad	10'032		13.0		0.13		466.1		4.65		60.0		0.60
Comoros	819		16.9		2.12		16.1		2.01		21.0		2.56
Congo	4'117		15.9		0.40		490.0		12.25		70.0		1.70
Côte d'Ivoire	18'454		260.9		1.41		4'065.4		22.03		300.0		1.63
D.R. Congo	59'320		9.7		0.02		4'415.0		7.44		180.0		0.30
Djibouti	807		10.8		1.56		44.1		6.37		11.0		1.36
Equatorial Guinea	515		10.0		1.99		96.9		19.26		8.0		1.55
Eritrea	4'560		37.5		0.82		62.0		1.36		100.0		2.19
Ethiopia	79'289		725.1		0.91		866.70		1.09		164.0		0.21
Gabon	1'406		36.5		2.59		764.7		54.39		81.0		5.76
Gambia	1'556		52.9		3.40		404.3		25.99		58.0		3.82
Ghana	22'556		356.4		1.58		5'207.2		23.09		609.8		2.70
Guinea	9'603		26.3		0.33		189.0		2.36		50.0		0.52
Guinea-Bissau	1'634		10.2		0.76		95.0		7.10		37.0		2.26
Kenya	35'106		293.4		0.84		6'484.8		18.47		2'770.3		7.89
Lesotho	1'791		48.0		2.67		249.8		13.92		51.5		2.87
Liberia	3'356		6.9		0.21		160.0		4.87		...		...
Madagascar	19'105		129.8		0.68		1'045.9		5.47		110.0		0.58
Malawi	13'166		102.7		0.80		429.3		3.33		59.7		0.45
Mali	13'918		82.5		0.59		1'513.0		10.87		70.0		0.50
Mauritania	3'158		34.9		1.10		1'060.1		33.57		100.0		3.17
Mauritius	1'256		357.3		28.45		722.4		61.50		300		24.10
Mayotte	170		...		...		48.1		28.80		-		...
Mozambique	20'158		67.0		0.33		2'339.3		11.60		178.0		0.90
Namibia	2'052		138.9		6.84		495.0		24.37		80.6		3.97
Niger	14'426		24.0		0.17		323.9		2.32		40.0		0.28
Nigérias	134'375		1'688.0		1.26		32'322.2		24.05		8'000.0		5.95
Réunion	797		...		...		579.2		75.51		220.0		27.99
Rwanda	9'230		16.5		0.18		314.0		3.40		65.0		0.70
S. Tomé & Principe	160		7.6		4.74		18.0		11.51		29.0		18.11
Senegal	11'936		282.6		2.37		2'982.6		24.99		650.0		5.45
Seychelles	81		20.7		25.44		70.3		86.52		29.0		35.67
Sierra Leone	5'678		24.0		0.49		113.2		2.21		10.0		0.19
Somalia	8'496		100.0		1.22		500.0		6.08		94.0		1.11
Sudan	36'993		636.9		1.72		4'683.1		12.66		3'500.0		9.46
Swaziland	1'029		44.0		4.27		250.0		24.29		41.6		4.02
Tanzania	39'025		157.3		0.40		5'767.0		14.78		384.3		1.00
Togo	6'306		82.1		1.30		708.0		11.23		320.0		5.07
Uganda	29'856		108.1		0.36		2008.8		6.73		750.0		2.51
Zambia	11'861		94.7		0.81		949.6		8.14		334.8		2.87
Zimbabwe	13'085		331.7		2.54		832.5		6.36		1'220.0		9.32
Sub-Saharan	719'220		7'080.4		0.99		92'220.0		12.90		22'499.7		3.16
AFRICA	922'510		28'475.9		3.10		198'153.0		21.58		43'686.7		4.77