By Luminous Jannamike

A non-profit organisation, KIEK Foundation, says it will train 100 girls in the use of information and communications technology to solve social challenges and become economically self-reliant.

Its founder, Barr. Mrs. Ebele Iyiegbu, who spoke at a briefing ahead of a training programme tagged, ‘Rural Area Children and Teenagers in Information and Communication Technology (Ract-in-ICT) programme, said technology was critical to economic breakthrough and women empowerment.

She said, “With the rising rate of poverty, insecurity and unemployment in Nigeria, the need to empower young people with basic ICT skills cannot be over emphasised.

“A teenager who has been empowered with ICT skills will not only be able to fend for herself, she will be able to assist others in the long run, set some money apart for investment purposes and in the long run contribute to the nation’s economy.”

Iyiegbu noted that some of the beneficiaries of the first edition of the RACT-IN-ICT project were now leveraging on the training they acquired to find expression in their chosen field of endeavour.

She said the mission of the programme, themed: ‘Bridging the Gap through Sustainable ICT Skills’, is to restore hope to the less privileged children by combating global poverty through quality education, healthcare, and nutrition.

Also, the Foundation’s Programme Coordinator, Mr. Chukwuemeka Eze, stated that the beneficiaries will be trained by experienced facilitators using a syllabus that has been designed to ensure that the teenagers learn and understand the basics of computing technology and internet usage.