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EVERYTHING seems to be going
well for Habby Bugalama and
his project. Habby is the manager
of the Sengerema Multipurpose Community Telecentre, 35 km from Mwanza, one
of the second city of Tanzania, which lies near Lake Victoria.
Habby declares that he is the right man for the job.
Bugalama is not shy to reveal his
ambitious plans: he wants to set up a radio station; a video hire outlet;
and a small internet service provider (ISP). Through sheer hard work, he
intends to make the centre self-sustaining. Ideally the Commission for
Science and Technology, the current owner of the centre, should be in a
position to hand over ownership to the community by end of the year or early
next year at the latest.
“I am part of an energetic team that is
doing something to help the rural community,” he asserts.
The centre, which runs an internet café
and a computer training programme, and offers scanning, faxing and telephone
services, now employs 16 people each with their own computers. Currently
about 700 people a month make use of the internet café, while training
programmes attract some 50 community members a month.
“The centre should help poor people to
improve their living standards, education, health and even their lifestyle,”
he says. The centre offers low prices. “We charge for the services, at
prices about one-third of the going market prices.”
Donors supporting the centre include the
International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the United Nations
Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation (Unesco) and International
Telecommunications Union (ITU). Local backers have also come into the fold,
and include the Tanzanian Communications Commission and Tanzania
Telecommunications Company.
Bugalama worked for the Systems Training
Institute as a software engineer soon after completing his BSc degree at the
University of Dar es Salaam in 1999. He is also former web designer for
Green Growth R&D. His challenge remains to mobilise and sensitise the
community. “The key to the success of this project is sustainability. My top
priority is to get a reasonable number of clients.
“The government is giving us every
support. It is following us very closely. Early next month the Minister of
Transport and Telecommunications plans to visit.”
Bugalama spends 17 hours a day at the
centre, a commitment that is beginning to bear fruit. “There is a lot of
enthusiasm from the community,” he says, adding: “We are struggling to meet
increasing demand.”
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