All the people in Nata affiliated
with the blog decided that we needed to “launch” the website.
We invited all the community leaders, chiefs, and heads of departments
of government offices along with business leaders and church leaders
to the Northgate dining room to hear the story of the blog. The Mmegi printed an article the day before the launch. You can read the article here.
We are all so proud of the interest people are taking in our site and
their willingness to help.
This is the Mmegi article: Nata village gets website
FRANCISTOWN: Nata Village has established its own website to raise
funds for HIV/AIDS. Those behind the initiative say the only way for
the rest of the world to know about the village is to develop a
website. The small village, with mostly illiterate people does not have
much development. It has established www.natavillage.org. to raise
funds for HIV/AIDS support groups.
Melody
Jenkins, technical advisor for the website and a US Peace Corp based at
Nata was quick to point out that the website is not an initiative of
the Peace Corps. She said that the website has been developed by Jon
Rawlinson, a Canadian television producer and IT specialist. Rawlinson
has also donated a digital camera to the village which will help take
photos that are to be posted in the website. "I met Rawlinson here last
year as he was touring the country and he made a stop in Nata while
driving up north. At first, he wanted to produce a documentary about
the village. After being given permission by the elders of the village,
he then thought it would be a good idea for Nata to have its own
website and that is how it all started," said Jenkins. She added that
when Rawlinson went back to Canada, he started developing the website
which has been running for three months now. It has raised P20,000 for
the two support groups in the village.
Rawlinson has been able to
develop and maintain the website for free. Seloma Tiro, a local
businessman has donated his laptop and internet connection for Jenkins
and the other assistants to send their articles to Rawlinson in Canada
so that he could post them on the site. Tiro has helped the two groups
with transportation in and around the village and paid for all the long
distance calls to Rawlinson in Canada. Jenkins said that technology
could do a lot for people and that is why they wanted to take advantage
of it. She explained that the two beneficiaries, Mabogo Arts and
Culture and Ntwakgolo Support group teach the local community about
HIV/AIDS. Mabogo Art and Culture is a group that often has HIV/AIDS
dramas for Nata residents who mostly are illiterate, teaching them
about HIV/AIDS. Ntwakgolo Support Group is a peer education outfit for
people living with HIV/AIDS. Jenkins said they hope to register the
group with the funds that they are raising through the website. They
plan to buy sound equipment and generator for Mabogo Art and Culture
Group so that their message could reach many people in the village and
neighbouring settlements.
Already they have spent P3, 000 to implement
some of their projects and this week they will be taking members of the
Ntwakgolo Support Group to Francistown to buy them uniforms. Jenkins
said that residents who know about the website are happy about it and
very proud that their village is the first one in Botswana to have a
website. "Everybody wants to be a part of it and I am at the moment
recruiting people especially students to write some of the articles
that would be posted in the site. After a year, I will be leaving and
Martha has to have assistants who will be able to help her," asserted
Jenkins. She added that there are millions of things to be done for the
Nata village. She hopes that the donations from the website will
greatly help the village. She wants the website to include business
contacts for Nata business community. The website will be officially
launched tomorrow.
Nata village in the Mmegi newspaper.
All the people in Nata affiliated with the blog decided that we needed to “launch” the website. We invited all the community leaders, chiefs, and heads of departments of government offices along with business leaders and church leaders to the Northgate dining room to hear the story of the blog. The Mmegi printed an article the day before the launch. You can read the article here. We are all so proud of the interest people are taking in our site and their willingness to help.
This is the Mmegi article:
Nata village gets website
FRANCISTOWN: Nata Village has established its own website to raise funds for HIV/AIDS. Those behind the initiative say the only way for the rest of the world to know about the village is to develop a website. The small village, with mostly illiterate people does not have much development. It has established www.natavillage.org. to raise funds for HIV/AIDS support groups.
Melody Jenkins, technical advisor for the website and a US Peace Corp based at Nata was quick to point out that the website is not an initiative of the Peace Corps. She said that the website has been developed by Jon Rawlinson, a Canadian television producer and IT specialist. Rawlinson has also donated a digital camera to the village which will help take photos that are to be posted in the website. "I met Rawlinson here last year as he was touring the country and he made a stop in Nata while driving up north. At first, he wanted to produce a documentary about the village. After being given permission by the elders of the village, he then thought it would be a good idea for Nata to have its own website and that is how it all started," said Jenkins. She added that when Rawlinson went back to Canada, he started developing the website which has been running for three months now. It has raised P20,000 for the two support groups in the village.
Rawlinson has been able to develop and maintain the website for free. Seloma Tiro, a local businessman has donated his laptop and internet connection for Jenkins and the other assistants to send their articles to Rawlinson in Canada so that he could post them on the site. Tiro has helped the two groups with transportation in and around the village and paid for all the long distance calls to Rawlinson in Canada. Jenkins said that technology could do a lot for people and that is why they wanted to take advantage of it. She explained that the two beneficiaries, Mabogo Arts and Culture and Ntwakgolo Support group teach the local community about HIV/AIDS. Mabogo Art and Culture is a group that often has HIV/AIDS dramas for Nata residents who mostly are illiterate, teaching them about HIV/AIDS. Ntwakgolo Support Group is a peer education outfit for people living with HIV/AIDS. Jenkins said they hope to register the group with the funds that they are raising through the website. They plan to buy sound equipment and generator for Mabogo Art and Culture Group so that their message could reach many people in the village and neighbouring settlements.
Already they have spent P3, 000 to implement some of their projects and this week they will be taking members of the Ntwakgolo Support Group to Francistown to buy them uniforms. Jenkins said that residents who know about the website are happy about it and very proud that their village is the first one in Botswana to have a website. "Everybody wants to be a part of it and I am at the moment recruiting people especially students to write some of the articles that would be posted in the site. After a year, I will be leaving and Martha has to have assistants who will be able to help her," asserted Jenkins. She added that there are millions of things to be done for the Nata village. She hopes that the donations from the website will greatly help the village. She wants the website to include business contacts for Nata business community. The website will be officially launched tomorrow.