The IT hub is based in the Orange Farm library

Using the technology

RELATED LINKS: Orange Farm logs on THE City of Johannesburg and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research have set up an information technology project to develop and attract business to Orange Farm, the largest and most populous informal settlement in South Africa. Read more Joburg plans to lead ICT field THE City has launched several projects and partnerships with business and the information and communications technology industry in its quest to become a world leader in the field. Read more Economic development unit IN FEBRUARY 2002 the City council launched a long-term economic strategic called Joburg 2030. The aim of the strategy is to expand the City's economic base while creating new opportunities for economically disadvantaged residents. Read more Region 11 KNOWN as the Deep South, this region developed mainly as a result of two phenomena. The first was the apartheid legislation that created an Indian residential area in the northern part of the region, known as Lenasia. The second was the influx of work-seekers that resulted in the creation of large informal settlements, especially in the south. Read more

Construction is underway for new facilities in Region 11

Orange Farm gets connected ALREADY 15 community members have been trained in computers at the Orange Farm ICT Hub. Now, Internet Solutions has decided to use it as a test bed for its wireless voice over technology. July 4, 2005 By Anish Abraham FROM a group of brick buildings surrounded by clusters of shacks, a number of community members are trying to take Orange Farm from a low-tech informal settlement to a high-tech centre of modern technologies. The Orange Farm Hub - for information and communications technology (ICT) - is housed in the settlement's library. Through it, 15 community members have already been trained to use computers for office and administrative purposes. The ICT hub will share new premises, still under construction, with other Region 11 facilities The hub forms part of the ICT sector support programme in the City's department of economic development, marketing and tourism. Aubrey Cwathi, the centre manager, has been at the hub since its inception. He had basic computer skills to begin with, which he has been able to expand through working at the centre. The hub is promoted mainly through leaflets distributed to community members, by posters and by word-of-mouth. "There are two three-hour classes daily, from Monday to Thursday," Cwathi says. Computer literate Most of those who completed the six-month course have matriculated, but would like to become computer literate and increase their chances of finding employment. According to Kabelo Mphafi, the operations manager for poverty alleviation in Region 11, the hub also secured a sponsorship from American company Computer Science Corporation, to assist with items like furniture, stationery, office equipment and projectors. Region 11 includes Orange Farm, Ennerdale and parts of Lenasia. "We want to create a professional environment within the Orange Farm ICT hub - to make it totally different from what you will see outside the centre," says Douglas Cohen, the programmes consultant at the City's department of economic development, marketing and tourism. James Sekhonyane has been a trainer at the hub since December 2004 and says students are taught various skills, from a basic introduction to computers and using Microsoft Office, to using the Internet and learning about desktop publishing. Taking Orange Farm to high tech are Douglas Cohen (project consultant, ICT support programme), Francina Khabane (DTP operator), Aubrey Cwathi (centre manager), Emily Poo (DTP operator), Abel Phuthi (business advisor) and James Sekhonyane (trainer) "We are also working towards getting accreditation from the Isett seta [information systems, electronics and telecommunications technologies sector training and education authority]," he says. Wireless Internet and voice over Internet protocol In a boost for the hub, one of the country's major Internet service providers, Internet Solutions, has decided to use it as a test bed for wireless Internet and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP). VoIP is a technology that allows voice to be sent using an Internet connection rather than the telephony technology now being used. This could lead to cheaper calls. Internet Solutions has decided to erect a base station at the hub that will provide connectivity to centres located within a 15km radius. A company report states, "Initially five separate locations within Orange Farm will be connected back to the base station to provide Internet connectivity and VoIP services to PCs and phones at these locations." Those members of the community who help run the centre are excited about the prospects that such a development will bring. The number of people who want to enrol for the courses, which only cost a reasonable fee, is growing and the next group of 15 students began lessons today. For more information, contact Douglas Cohen on 011 358 3870. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za