Eunice Owino, the co-founder of Center for Women Empowerment in Technology (CWE-TECH) is intentional on bridging the technology gap in rural areas through various initiatives she carries out with the support of her partner Dr. Judy Makira, her team and collaborators.
She is also a Judge Advisor for Technovation Girls challenge, a global training geared towards equipping girls aged between 11 to 18 years, with skills to develop apps. The girls are given virtual trainers and mentors who guide them through the development of apps for the problems they identify in their respective societies.
“I was amazed with how girls came out and developed very powerful apps that have the capability to change the world. What also elated me most was, in both 2020 and 2021 competitions, Kenya was the first country in Africa to emerge among the top three best apps,” Owino states
Girls in the urban setups according to Eunice are really trying to embrace technology and her hope is that the same will be replicated in the remotest parts of Kenya.
“I want to celebrate girls from Samburu who have innovated great things. I want to encounter girls from Remba Island in Homabay who can develop apps. This is what we are focusing on as CWE-TECH. We want as many young women and girls to embrace technology,” she states
CWE-TECH according to the human rights and gender activist was founded in 2017 and is registered with the NGO board in Kenya which authorizes them to operate in four counties (Migori, Homabay, Murang’a and Nairobi).
Her partnership with Dr. Judy Makira was due to the fact that they have a lot in common as regards to what they believe in. They both are passionate about education, women and technology.
“We started the program way back in 2017 with the women of Kasipul Kabondo, where we empowered them on matters of technology. The women in Kabondo do table banking, rear goats, and do potato farming and selling. We realized they kept their money in banks which is good but the downside was that they had to travel almost 16 kilometers to access banks in Oyugis town,” Owino says
To save them the cost and hustle of going to town every month, Eunice and team trained them on basic mobile banking, where they could deposit money through mobile phones and just wait to do the withdrawals they do twice a year from the bank.
They also had to be trained on basic computer skills to enable them to type their minutes. CWE-TECH is now in the process of training them on proposal writing something that will open them up for opportunities in E-commerce (marketing and selling online).
“We also in conjunction with partners run the Ajira-CWE-TECH program in Kasipul Kabondo, Homabay and Murang’a, where we train the youth on how they can tap in the opportunities online and make money from them. We have piloted the program in Murang’a,” she states
The technology enthusiast notes that they see a lot of potential for tapping in the current technologies and their central focus is in the rural areas where information access is still very minimal.
“Many people think that their smartphones, computers, laptops or even the basic phones they have are only meant to serve the purpose of receiving money, receiving calls and sending messages. We are encouraging them to look beyond that,” Owino notes
With the great focus on bridging the technology gap, Eunice and her partner Dr. Makira carried out several researches especially on education and technology during the Covid -19 period in the rural setups with the case studies being, Homabay, Murang’a and Migori, and the findings weren’t rosy.
According to the findings, there is very little integration between education and technology in the rural areas, which paints the picture of the fact that technology hasn’t been embraced as it should. The long 9 months break of Covid – 19 brought this reality to the fore.
“So we wanted to highlight these gaps so that we can bring in partners to help us really penetrate the rural setup in terms of technology. We are in the 21st century where our youth and our children need the 21st century skills, and that is why CWE-TECH is coming in to bridge this technology gap,” she says
Also touching on the crucial aspects of well-being of both boys and girls, CWE-TECH conducts a program on sexual reproductive health where their central focus is Homabay and Murang’a. According to Eunice, this program has seen many partners come on board.
Partners like Ahadi Trust and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have supported the program with dignity packs of reusable sanitary pads, lesos, underwear, notebooks, torches and bags, to support and cushion girls especially in the Covid-19 period.
“Apart from the material support, we use the program to empower girls and boys on sexuality and we go deeper with it, to really unveil the issues that the girls and boys face. As it is well known, issues of sexuality were not openly discussed. CWE-TECH is covering this very crucial subject,” notes Owino
As challenges are inevitable, Eunice notes that firming up the project in the four counties is not an easy task for resources are needed in plenty, yet they are minimal. Sometimes Eunice and team have to dig into their pockets to keep the programs afloat.
However, Eunice is glad that some partners have come on board to support them. She calls upon likeminded partners and individuals to help keep the program moving for when youth are engaged, some vices they engage in are interrupted.
“After training them, sometimes the youth need startups and this becomes a challenge for us for we currently don’t have the capacity to support them fully. If we could therefore partner in setting up the startups, I think we will be better placed and we shall start seeing impact for the trainings conducted,” the educationist posits
When asked what inspires her to keep going despite the challenges which are inevitable, Eunice cites her upbringing as her greatest inspiration. Having grown up in the rural setup and having braved all the odds, landing direct admission to one of the biggest universities then, and then rising through hard work to who she is today, is something she doesn’t take lightly.
“If I was able to rise from a rural setup, I feel it is my responsibility to mentor young girls and boys, so that they can also become great in society. So the fact that I am actually reaching out to the young people and will keep reaching out to them, really keeps me going,” she says
Eunice is also inspired by great women like Jensine Larsen, founder World Pulse, and she says, if Jensine can inspire thousands of women globally, then she too, in her small ways can inspire women in Kenya and beyond.
CWE-TECH is now three years old and has created impact. According to Eunice, centers have been initiated in Homabay and Murang’a, and the vision with them is that they will be a one stop place for young women, girls and the youth to be imparted with skills and knowledge on technology.
“We envision touching thousands of lives of young women, girls and the youth and I reiterate that we are looking for supporters and partners who will walk with us on this journey. We believe when we bring resources and skills together, we shall be able to create a huge impact that will supersede what we would have achieved on our own,” Eunice notes
To young girls and women in rural areas, slums and disadvantaged backgrounds who have dreams and aspirations, her encouragement is that they should believe in their dreams, look ahead and never stop at anything, for there are many interruptions for the disadvantaged and vulnerable girls.
“Even if you don’t understand your dream at your level, just build it. In the next 10 years, you will never be the same. Don’t be discouraged by where you come from. The next stage leads to a greater destination. Keep moving!” She concludes.
