from the latest newsletter by Digital Empowerment Foundation:
Rakhi Uikey, from Kesla block in the Hoshangabad district in Madhya Pradesh, goes around her village to teach women how to use a mobile phone and access the Internet. The house she visits belongs to a woman, who must be in her late 40s and earns a livelihood through poultry farming. An illiterate, she giggles shyly when Rakhi tells her that she is there to teach her how to use a mobile phone. They sit next to each other by the door — one woman swiftly using a smartphone, the other peeping into the screen amazed by her companion’s ease at handling the device.
“You see this button? Press this to switch on the phone,” Rakhi instructs patiently. The woman picks up the phone hesitantly, and manages to switch on the phone after several attempts.
“Are you scared? Don’t be,” says Rakhi encouragingly, to which the woman replies, smiling nervously, that she is a little scared to touch the phone, lest she breaks it.
Rakhi is an Internet Saathi. Internet Saathi is a project initiated by Google and Tata Trusts, and implemented by various partner organisations across the state. Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) is the implementation partner for Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Read More