Pac Web - South Edition
An Internet Cafe for the Grassroots People
Innovative Solomon Islands project grows.
The obstacles may seem at first glance insurmountable. Espe-cially with Solomon Islands' nine provinces dispersed over an area of 27,540 km (10,740 sq. miles) spanning a vast expanse of ocean. But technology overcomes where rugged terrain rules.
Rural communities tend to take the back seat when it comes to development, be it expanding infrastructure or bridging the communications gap. Communities equal people equals reason to better the quality of life in far flung populated areas.
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An interactive on-line service that is targeting grassroots people is the People First Network (PFnet), the website of the Solomon Islands Development Administration and Participatory Planning Programme (SIDAPP).
PFnet's focus is community and development and is aimed at all partners in
the rural development process:
- Rural communities.
- Solomon Islands government.
- Provincial governments.
- Development organisations.
- Aid donors.
- Non-governmental organisations.
- Public interested in the Solomon Islands.
PFnet's David Leeming says that the initial idea for PFnet was to create a website to act as a marketing tool for projects. It has grown into a broader concept.
"The website has sections for each province and a database of SIDAPP project ideas and is focussed on community and development," says Leeming.
The site is really a one-stop shop because there's space for community news, announcements and space for development partners to contribute report analysis.
"In fact we're trying to get all development partners to maintain a constant flow of news stories and announcements about projects. It's a way of finding out what's happening in development in rural areas other than their own. Currently it's largely Honiara centred. Because of the nature of technology we're planning to set up e-mail services initially using VHF and HF radio technology. It's going to be a messaging service initially.
"The website is supposed to be about information flows between the provinces and the centre so we can enable that to happen by burning information on CDs and sending them out to stations. Eventually they will be able to contribute directly to the website. You can think of these remote operators as community journalists creating an interface between technology and the local communities."
PFnet ( http://www.peoplefirst.net.sb) is a United Nations Development Programme-sponsored SIDAPP project. It's a partnership between UNDP-UNOPS and the Solomon Islands' Ministry of Provincial Government and Rural Development.
Implemented within the Ministry of Provincial Government and Rural Development, SIDAPP's grassroots participation involves needs assessment workshops with local community groups to gauge pressing issues and elicit suggestions for solutions.
The Internet Café, located on the ground floor of the Anthony Saru Building close to King Solomon Hotel, will eventually become a central post office where people can send and receive messages.
Leeming says that the Internet Café has proved itself to be fulfilling a demand. From its inception in February, the service has been running at a 70 percent capacity.
Form Six students of Betikama Adventist College, for instance, have been using SIDAPP's service to research for their Pacific Senior Secondary Certificate (PSSC).
Leeming anticipates 26 rural e-mail stations in all nine provinces. The PFnet Internet Café doesn't serve coffee or your favourite cappuccino. But if you're a visitor to the Solomon Islands and looking for a place to access e-mail, surf the net, print, zerox, scan or general desktop computing in Honiara then mark SIDAPP's Internet Café on your where-to check list. Charges are reasonable.
