Post date: Apr 16, 2012 2:42:59 PM
In northeastern Liberia people travel for miles to use the facilities of a battered tin roof internet cafe, their only gateway to the world wide web. As the post-conflict country continues on the road to recovery, demand for computers and connectivity is soaring but supply simply can't keep pace.
SACLAPEA, NIMBA COUNTY, LIBERIA (REUTERS) - Seclepea community computer centre might look like a tin roof shack on the side of a dusty road in remote Liberia but to the people of Nimba County in the northeast of the country, it's a life line.
One of only a handful of places with regular internet and a generator for power, its become a one-stop-shop for anyone looking for connection to the world wide web, including local businesses, college graduates and teachers. Many like Teelay Taewon, a 24-year-old from Nimba County come to practice IT skills and learn different programmes in the hope of improving her chances of getting a job.
"I am studying here so that I can get a place to work so that I can help my parents," she said.
Demand for computers and access to the internet is on the increase in Liberia as the country rebuilds itself after decades of civil war. The current generation of university educated entrepreneurs and business leaders are more prosperous and ambitious than generations past but on connectivity their country lags behind the rest of the world.
At present there is no operational fibre optic cable serving Liberia, although the country is in the process of having one fitted. Until its working, all connectivity is done through satellite which is expensive and slow.
In Liberia, a 1 million Bits Pers Second (1 Meg) internet connection (the typical size for an average American household) could cost up to 10,000 US dollars a month compared to just 50 US dollars a month it would cost for the same in the US.
When the fibre optic cable currently being laid goes operational at the end of this year, it will vastly improve internet speed and bandwidth in Liberia and a host of other nations in West Africa. But it won't cover the whole country and rural areas like Seclepea are likely to have to wait much longer to see any benefit.
The impact will be particularly limited in communities without computers, which is why as Ernest Young, a local high school graduate explains, they are more reliant on NGOs and charities helping them with access to computers and the internet, than the government.
"First there were no computers around that we could go to and then learn computer, but as for now we can see some donors, some other NGOs giving hands to make it possible that we get access to computer here. So I feel very fine and good about this idea," he said.
Jumah Morris runs a small business several miles from Saclapea but comes into the town as often as possible to send emails and use social networking sites she relies on to spread info about her company and connect with possible clients.
"Even though I am not from here, I often come to this cafe to check my Facebook, even I mailbox also. I am so glad that at least we have access to internet in Saclapea," Morris said.
But it's not just the number of computers and connectivity that needs to improve. Electricity is also a major hindrance, cutting out regularly and sometimes for hours on end.
Adebayo Shotonwa mends mobile phones in Saclapea, another means used by people to access the web.
He says customers often have to leave their handsets with him for days on end while he waits for the power to come back.
"When there is no electricity, there is no way I can work, but because most my customers know that I am a professional, when there is no electricity, they usually bear with me and leave their phones here for one or two days, then that time I will have electricity," he said.
Mobile phone signal is also a problem and residents have lobbied the government and phone companies to provide more phone masts in the region. Under current conditions phone users are often seen searching for high ground or a place where the signal is strong enough to make a phone call. Some travel for miles to reach these points.