Crossing the Digital Divide

The internet has become a part of my every day life because it offers a whole range of benefits that help me in several areas of my work and home life. When I realised that the grassroots community often lack access to this range of benefits readily available on the internet, Christian Action took steps to do something about it.

Who could have dreamed fifty years ago that a charity would one day think about offering marginalised people access to a Cyber Centre!

In 2007 Christian Action opened a Cyber Centre which has proved to be a great blessing to people of all ages and nationalities. The facilities at the Centre are either affordable or free of charge. It offers training courses on how to use the internet as well as software packages, and also how to use the advantages of the internet while avoiding the pitfalls.

One of the people who are thoroughly enjoying the Cyber Centre is Mrs. Zhao, a retired bookkeeper.  She’s in her 80’s, but without hesitation, Mrs Zhao grabbed the opportunity to surf through cyberspace!  Unlike many of her peers, she has embraced computers and technology, particularly because it has brought her closer to her grandchildren!  Since she took one of our training courses on how to use photo editing software, she spends a lot of her spare time in our Cyber Centre, practising what she’s learnt.

But Mrs. Zhao is more than just a ‘service centre user’. With her larger than life personality, she embraces everyone around her, building bridges between people, and creating a sense of community. At her recent secondary school reunion, she delighted her classmates with a Power Point presentation of their childhood photos. She wouldn’t have been able to do this without the skills she’d learnt at Christian Action’s Cyber Centre!

The cyber centre has helped Mrs. Zhao cross the digital divide and narrow the generation gap. She is no longer an out of touch granny, but a peer to her grandchildren and a resource to her friends! Because of the community that has grown around the cyber centre, there is one less lonely person in the world, all thanks to your donations which keep this cyber centre going.