Promoting Agriculture through Tech Savvy and Access: Training the Bambui Farmers of Tomorrow

I notice that young farmers were generating a lot traffic on social media but were not doing anything particularly beneficial for themselves or their environment. So I founded my centre to train farmers also and to reach out to young people in my community by helping them learn about the opportunities that would open up for them if they were to study ICTs then pursue careers in agriculture, further their education either in the arts or sciences.

The “Ngong” Project in Bambui which trains the Bambui farmers of tomorrow is still expecting funding for the training of these farmers in ICTs. ICTs are very important because they are enabling the results of agricultural research to be delivered to an increasing number of end users some of whom are, in turn, suitably empowered by ICTs so that they can provide researchers with updated information on progress of their crops, appearance of pests and diseases.

I have been working at Tobby Vision Computers, an ICT school for 14 years now and have partnerships with Mendel Foundation a community- based organization for educational support to the underprivileged and protection of the environment, collaborating with Reignite Action for Development (RAD) Cameroon, a local branch of a UK charity, providing a multi-sectoral and holistic approach to natural resource management to the local community and Community Based Extension Common Initiative Group COBEX) all involved in agricultural practices. Since ICTs are now being applied to all parts of agricultural research in the development sector, connecting Tobby Vision Computers programmes with agricultural and rural change is a programme that is struggling to gain momentum when funding would be available for the Bambui farmers of tomorrow.

Many Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in Bambui and environs carry out their work at remote sites and collect field data manually, processing this data only when they return to their offices and this process naturally increase the risk of error. Today, more and more researchers are able to access data sources remotely using a mobile phone, notebook or tablet, for immediate submission via internet to a project data repository or sharing with collaborators.

Bambui–Tubah small farmholders are turning to the mobile phones to connect to agricultural and information services and markets. They are in need of smart phones, notebooks, tablets and hand held data capture devices. Tobby Vision Computers partner CBOs are using its centre to facilitate research by providing information to scientists about the condition of the land and crops. The increasing need for access to accurate geospatial data for application in diverse range of development activities (agricultural, disaster, conservation, climate change and economic development) has resulted in the advent of Geographic Information System (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies.

We believe access to ICTs is a human right and its skills can enable communities into seeing that working together helps them to discover and put in place better, more sustainable solutions for a more food secure future. It is important that agricultural researchers’ work is disseminated to as many end users as possible and ICTs are an important tool for doing this.

There is no community radio in Tubah Sub Division broadcasting for the community even though traditional.

A management expect explains that several research studies are done without including farmers, who in the final analysis are the intended beneficiaries of the research results. Tobby Vision Computers and a community based radio can address this disconnect as the Tubah community radio will provide an excellent opportunity for mutual collaboration between agricultural research and development experts and farmers.

ICTs can help researchers to interact with farmers. The challenge lies in finding the traditional and new communication technologies, trainings, for stakeholders to be interactive, through using facilities like call–ins, call–outs, SMS, voice messages, interactive voice response, facilitated listening and web base platforms. Hearing about #DevicesforGood – a project of #MentorNations we believe visualize devices for good agripreneurs which would include a community radio in Tubah Sub Division.

Coding:Cameroon Getting Started Is The Most Important Part

Check out where MentorNations will be sharing their skills forward in Cameroon. Looking forward to launching our digital literacy and coding camp series in partnership with Tobby Vision Computers Bambui. Cornelius Tawong Brice William Boum

 MentorNations Excited to launch their digital literacy program in Cameroon to truly live the vision of ‪#‎CSforAll‬. See you in August, Cameroon! See https://www.facebook.com/mentornations/?fref=ts

Melissa and Brice Updating 364 #HP laptops headed to North Africa to empower Tunisian teachers and youth to transform their lives through technology #MentorAfrika

These ‪#‎Tunisian‬ kids in ‪#‎MenzelBourguiba‬ have new ‪#‎HP‬ laptops and are beginning to have  ‪#‎ICT‬ skills! Thanks to MentorNations

Tobby Vision Computers Bambui, cross section of a six-month course students in lab studying grading in spreadsheets

The launch of Cameroon's Computer  Science for All ‪#‎CSforAll‬ is here in August 2016

Excerpt: It is unique to always share what you know best to various people around the world because it may enable social awareness and economical sufficiency, particularly among the under served. 

Born and raised in ‪#‎Cameroon, I could have never dreamed to become a software engineer because of the lack of infrastructures concerning the study of computer science. Albeit becoming a software engineer, the idea to be a help toward achieving digital literacy in regions of low technology access could not have become a reality without the involvement of ‪#‎MentorNations, a non governmental organisation that serves the same honorable purpose still in many places around the world such as Jordania, Tunisia, Pakistan and now Cameroon. ‪#‎TobbyVisionComputer Cornelius Tawong and MentorNations Melissa Sassi have agreed that digital literacy is a human right. Although the dates are still in workings, We MentorNations will provide coding camps to the young females and males in Bambui Cameroon in partnership with Tobby Vision Computers. we will bring our savoir-faire and share our experience in technology for the specific purpose to create passion and build the next generation of engineers in that region. As getting started is the most important part, It is time to move Cameroon in particular and Africa in general toward this new era of vast transformation. And in that, we will be successful. 
Alain Boum Gino Boum Liz Sidney Share it . heart emoticon

Boum Brice

Shalom.

Head Teacher 2015 Award Nomination

1. School Name: Tobby Vision Computers

2. Nominated Head Teacher’s Name: Mbaya Vera Titu

3. Head Teacher Nominated by: Cornelius Tfurndabi Tawong (Founder/Managing Director)

Miss Vera

 Miss Vera studied at Our Lady of Lourdes College Mankon, GBHS Bamenda, ENS Annex Bambili & Telebusiness Consulting College Bamenda. She holds a DIPES I, BA in English Modern Letters & a diploma in Computer Studies. She taught English to French speakers in Congo Brazzaville. She co-founded a computer service business with Prof.  Anthony Ndi where she served as manager. Founded alone a successful computer shop in Bamenda city where she is presently manager & head teacher at Tobby Vision Computers. When she heard about the school Enterprise Challenge, she was super excited and took it to discuss it with Prof. Ndi who is currently working with her to incorporate entrepreneurship lessons into our curricula. She gave us the needed computer skills to take part in the competition, is selling our computer manuals in the city, spreading news of the competition there & encouraged her colleague and us to participate in the competition. She is a great teacher, providing bilingual skills support, and advice at Tobby Vision Computers.

Miss Vera

Teacher’s quote: “Miss Vera Mbaya Titu, the lady who put so much Computer skills into our beings and inspired us to higher levels to loving hands on experience learning. She and our director took time and sacrificed material resources downloading all the guides when we completely understood the School Enterprise Challenge Competition. She at times used her private money to load the school modem or sometimes printed the guides for us from her pocket money. At the Youth Employment Service Entrepreneurship Workshop where our school was invited, she was of great help explaining in French to francophones the School Enterprise Challenge Competition”.

Student’s quote: “Miss Vera Mbaya Titu alias ‘Mme union faire la force’ has been very supportive, caring and patient from the beginning. She made sure everyone in our team understood what importance the school business will have in our future lives. She stressed on team work explaining that team means together everyone achieves more and advised us not to carry the self-centred examination practices from our schools into professional lives as that will harm our output in the professional world in future. She told us competing as a team in the School Enterprise Challenge was a great preparation for a future team spirit given to us.”

 Miss Vera Mbaya Titu worked very hard to promote the sale of Practical Computer Education textbook through her shop in the city and to her friends. She also initiated the idea of taking it to Prof. Anthony Ndi to see with him how it can be incorporated into our curriculum. She has spread word of the school enterprise challenge to Bamenda city where she doubles as manager of Princedale Pekumpte Nkwate (PPN) Computer systems and used her experience teaching French to francophones to explain the school enterprise challenge to francophones in her community.

The Annual Conference will be an opportunity for me learn on behalf of Tobby Vision Computers other experiences and understand the more what the school business model is about and what the best ways to integrate it to the curriculum which I am currently working on with Prof. Anthony Ndi and the director. I hope we can learn universal competences like savoir faire, project management, new media, multilingualism, share our experiences with other organizations and network our school with others schools and organizations in a win/win partnership either for transfer of these competences or emulating other best practices.

2015 Enterprising Student Tobby Vision Computers

School Name: TOBBY VISION COMPUTERS

Student’s Name: MOFOR FUHNUI TIZAH

Student Age and Year Group: 13 YEARS, 2015

Mofor Fuhnui Tizah is 13 years old 2015 summer holiday classes’ student at Tobby Vision Computers, Bambui. He started studies with Tobby Vision Computers during the summer holiday classes of 2014. After his studies in 2014 at Tobby Vision Computers and going back to college, because of the computer and competitive skills he acquired was selected to represent his school Sacred Heart College Mankon in the first ever Spelling Bee Competition organized in the North West Region of Cameroon where he became first and was awarded. He has the courage and passion and intends competing in the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Cameroon and the Anzisha Prize next year.

Also, as a result of his computer studies at Tobby Vision Computers, participation in the School Enterprise Challenge Competition 2015 and our school business he has always been outstanding in the subject computer science back in his school. He also introduced Practical Computer Education text back in his college and because of his outstanding performance their teacher found out and got to know about our school, the school enterprise challenge and bought copies of the book.

Due to the outstanding performance of Mofor Fuhnui Tizah, his winning of the Spelling Bee Competition as a result of his studies in our school, last summer 2015 his parents Mr/Mrs. Mbizah Gilbert offered our school a personal computer, black board and all the GCE ‘O’ level science subjects textbooks.

• Entrepreneurialism:
   He is a passionate young entrepreneur and IT guru and stands out a contributor to the successful business because of his passion and practical demonstration of what he learned. This caused his parents to offer us didactic materials, financial support to compete in the Challenge, encouraged other parents to send children to us and spread the news of school, business and competitive spirit in the challenge.

• Enthusiasm and Energy: Mofor Fuhnui Tizah has demonstrated enthusiasm as shown in his initiative to take the practical computer skills not only to compete in the Spelling Bee Competition but introduce our book and the challenge as what made him different back in his college. He works very hard in school as well as in the house and is very sensitive and attentive to the happenings around his environment.
• Leadership: Mofor Fuhnui Tizah in orange as exemplified from the picture above, after a general lesson taught their class so well, would repeat the lesson to his mates, asked their teacher to search for them a game on the Internet and went on to work on another exercise alone while others were following what he illustrated. He is able to take down his notes and draw diagrams as teacher dictate and draw on the board directly onto his laptop leading and challenging mates to do same. His introduction of soft games that increased enrolment caused management to hire a volunteer football coach who coaches young students of our school on sports every Friday afternoon.



  MOFOR FUHNUI TIZAH

• Problem Solving: Mofor Fuhnui Tizah identified that all his mates needed to play after learning. Before his enrolling at Tobby Vision Computers it was not our custom having sports on Fridays or allow students to play games on the computer. Mofor convinced the head teacher to allow games after classes which she did and news of exciting games spread to children in the community and we notice an influx of students coming to enrol for the computer classes. Through this initiative the school hired a coach also who coaches the children during Friday afternoons.

He benefited a change of mentality uncommon in our community. He learned planning, focusing, communication, creativity, innovation and increased his hunger to learn, achieve, compete – hands on experience, soft and leadership skills after his involvement in the School Enterprise Challenge.