Interview with Ms. Abishag W. Waugombe, a community worker, eLearning supporter, and former teacher in Kanjuri village, Kenya
(eLA 2007)

Elderly people should adjust their minds to modern technology
Ms. Abishag Waugombe endeavours to establish a lively exchange on important issues among the members of her community fostered by relevant information from the Internet. Living in a rural region, she regularly visits the neighbouring towns and makes use of Internet centres. She does not keep her findings to herself, but shares them with others. Here she explains the potential eLearning offers for her friends and acquaintances.

eLA: Ms. Waugombe, is eLearning only for the young or does it also apply to the needs of elderly people?

Abishag W. Waugombe: Indeed, the elderly and retired are affected by eLearning and computers. However, the majority looks at these innovations with fear or with an African concept of “white man’s magic” in mind. The first time I saw a computer in my son’s house, for instance, I was afraid to touch it. In the early 1990s, the computer was so expensive I feared it would break in my hands.

There is an inhibition threshold for many aged people in regard to the use of PCs and Internet, and it is exactly for this reason that we need to educate the elderly and retired to adjust our minds to the modern use of electronic devices. The good thing is that many elderly and retired now have mobile phones and some experience with email. However, we still have to learn more about the usage of eLearning; we cannot be left behind by the youth. We do not want to lose touch with them. It is important that we maintain our position as role models and pass on our traditional identity to the young.

eLA: Could you tell us more about how elderly people within your circle of friends and acquaintances take advantage of the Internet and the learning possibilities it provides?

Abishag W. Waugombe: My friends and acquaintances are taking advantage of the Internet and the learning possibilities it offers in a rather unique way. I live in the village Kanjuri, on the slopes of Mt. Kenya. It is a community where people are intimately involved. The secondary school in Kanjuri has an “old boys’ club” made up of men, whereas the women have their own group. The retired and elderly meet in Kanjuri High School. Some of them are not able to read and write English, so we operate in an African way in order to share what we know.

The school has a computer, but unfortunately, it is not connected to the Internet. However, we always manage to find a way to share knowledge on farming, tea growing, market issues, food production, nutrition, health, and diseases, including HIV/AIDS. Those who have indigenous knowledge of herbs that cure teach others. We communicate in “Gikuyu”, the language of community. Those who visit towns and get information from the Internet on issues like HIV/AIDS, education, and the environment feel obliged to share it with others.

On the other hand, the elderly people do have lots of information far beyond existing book knowledge. It is so much that they could serve as a source for tape-recorded documentation for university researchers. What they say in their mother tongue needs to be translated into other national languages. I personally have a great deal of information on my computer in Gikuyu that I use for youth counselling.

eLA: What do you think are the needs and interests of African "Silver Surfers" in particular?

Abishag W. Waugombe: Health is a major challenge. We need more information on how to age positively. We need to have more information of farming because it is our source of revenue. We grow tea, and we farm cows. They are very dear to the elderly, who want to acquire recent information about livestock rearing. Finally, we need general information on marketing.

eLA: Would you like to have special PC offerings for aged people?

Abishag W. Waugombe: To make it easier for old people, we need symbols that are age friendly. My eyesight is not sharp. I cannot stay long at the computer. Another thing is gaming: The youth have many computer games. They can use computers for leisure. The aged should have games with domestic animals, wild animals, and birds. They can use games to tell stories to the young children. For my part, I write and tell grandmother stories. However, the pictures that I want to use to accompany them are not in the computer. We need to include African pictures for stories and even for printing cards.

eLA: What about your main personal interests regarding PCs and eLearning?

Abishag W. Waugombe: I view it as a novelty. The truth is that I am of the old generation. I find myself writing with my pen a lot. I am still in the elementary stages of computer usage. I work with the computer like a task that has to be done. That is why I think that we need a computer which is age friendly.

When my ten-year-old grandson says ”Tell me a story”, I wish I had the competence to write one on the computer with ease, complete it with pictures, and send it to Nandi, my other grandchild, who lives in the USA, so that she would be able to view it with her class on grandparents’ day. I have to say that I am making progress slowly. I want to research more on indigenous knowledge for my grandchildren – this is because from an African point of view, all children are mine. I want to research and document food, nutrition, health, cosmetics, courting and dating, dance, and marriage.

I want to get more information on African women, too. My objective is to set out and establish a group for a Museum of African Women in the Mt. Kenya area. The women’s group has already been founded; we are in initial, formatory stages. We will, hopefully, have the eLearning village in the Kanjuri community. There we will have the museum, too. It will be a center for eLearning and research. Women will be empowered through eLearning. The community, children, youth, and the elderly will all work together. As a personal computer is major tool for achieving my goals, I am urging all retired people to learn computer and join the youth in taking advantage of information technology.

eLA: Dear Ms. Waugombe, many thanks for your time.

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