1. Connecting Rural Sierra Leone with ICT: The Case of
cdpeace Internet Pilot Project in Mapaki, Paki
Masabong Chiefdom
A Presentation at the
7th Annual Connecting Rural Communities Africa
Forum
Miatta Conference Hall, Youyi Building Freetown,
Sierra Leone
June 20 – 22, 2012
By
Thomas Mark Turay, PhD
Executive Director & Co-founder
Centre for Development and Peace Education www.cdpwace.org

2. Date of Installation and Connection
Friday, December 28, 2007

3. Connection
VSAT with 1.2 m Antenna

4. Service Provider
Ketraco, Freetown, Sierra Leone
http://www.ketraco.com/index.html

5. Speed
512 kbs Download, 128 kbs Upload,
Contention Ratio 10:1

6. Typical Ratings
300 kbs Download, 60-70 kbs Upload;
ping: 500-700ms

7. Electrical Supply
Small Solar Photo-voltaic System to Run the
Trans-receiver Modem and Several Computers

8. The Installation Process
Contributions from Community Volunteers

9. Community Elders in Mapaki Participating as Volunteers

10. A Dream Come True: Internet System Installation
Process Completed on December 28, 2007

11. Solar Panels’ Installation at the Library

12. Yes, Cyberspace is Connected with Mapaki in
Rural Sierra Leone

13. Commissioning of the cdpeace Pilot Internet
Project for its Targeted Rural Communities in
Sierra Leone
By Commissioners and Staff of the
National Telecommunications Commission
(NATCOM)
Friday April 1, 2011

14. Key Dignitaries at the Commissioning Ceremony
• P. C. Masapaki Kabombor II
• NATCOM Commissioners and Staff
• Canadian Partners: Professor William Egnatoff, Queens
University, Canada & His Wife Joan and Teacher
Candidates –
• cdpeace Executive Director & Co-founder – Dr. Thomas
Mark Turay
• Section Chiefs and Community Elders
• Women and Youth Leaders
• NGO Representatives
• Principals and Head Teachers of Local Schools

15. P. C. Kabombor II Welcoming Guests at the
Commissioning Ceremony

16. Commissioner Saidu Turay, NATCOM, Giving the
Keynote Address

17. Blessings from NATCOM: Commissioner Richard
Kargbo, Cutting the Ribbon at the Library

18. Guests Touring the Library and Internet Facility During
the Commissioning Ceremony

19. Guests Touring the Library and Internet Facility
During the Commissioning Ceremony

20. Access
The Facility is Available in two Buildings in
Mapaki, a Guest House and a Community
Library

21. Ancillary Equipment
• Laptop Computers
• Data Projector
• Screen
• Wireless Router
• 24-port Switch
• Ethernet Cable Linking Guest House and
Library

22. Ownership
The Facility is Owned and Operated by the
Centre for Development and Peace
Education(cdpeace), a Sierra Leonean NGO
based in the village of Mayagba, Paki-
Masabong Chiefdom, Bombali District.
cdpeace is dedicated to training for rural
capacity building in education, agriculture,
leadership, conflict transformation, and other
aspects of peaceful community development.

23. Assistance/Caring of the Facilities
Assistance in Caring for the Facility and
Ancillary Resources is very ably Provided in
Mapaki by Kouame Maxime, who also serves
as one of the Community Librarians

24. Usage
• cdpeace makes Extensive use of the Facility to
Support its own Operations Ccommunication,
including Collaboration with its Canadian
Partners.
• cdpeace also Makes the Resource Available at
no Charge to the Community for Purposes of
Communication and Research Related to
Development.
• The Resource is used by Community Groups,
School Children and their Teachers, and Visitors
Working in the Community.

25. Internet Users
Samples from the Local Community and
Schools

26. P. C. Masapaki Kabombor II Enroute to
Cyberspace

27. P. C. Masapaki Kabombor II Browsing the Internet and
Creating ICT Awareness Among Students and Kids

28. Mabinty Maxime, Teacher who Benefited from cdpeace T.C
Distance Education Programme, Introducing Young Girls to ICT

29. Female Students from the Junior Sec. School, Mapaki,
Browsing the Internet

30. Internet Caretaker and Technician, Kouame Maxime, Teaching
Male Students in The Junior Sec. Sch., Mapaki, How to Use the
Internet

31. Video Camera Recoding by Junior High School
Students in Mapaki

32. Junior Sec. School Students from Mapaki on a Study Visit to
the Library and Internet Facility

33. Mapaki Children and Erin Draper -Teacher Candidate, Queens University,
Canada Gathering for a Cyberspace Experience at the Mapaki Community
Library

34. Connecting cdpeace-supported
Schools with Canadian Schools
School Networking Project Facilitated by the
Internet facility

35. School Networking Project Between Sierra
Leonean and Canadian School Communities
Facilitated by the Internet Facility Through:
• Email Exchanges
• Use of a Shared wiki,
• An Online Space only for the Participating
Schools to Publish Information and Pictures and
video about their work.
• Online Conferences Using Eluminate Live! and
or Skype

36. Internet Providing an Opportunity for Sierra Leonean
Schools to Network with Canadian Schools

37. Canadian Youths Led by 14-Year Old Logan MacGillvray (white shirt with
cap) Documenting School Networking Activities in Canada

38. Maso Community School Supported with Sports Materials and
School Supplies by a Sister School in Canada

39. School Networking through Sports: A Donation from
Logan’s Basket Ball Team in Bedford, NS, Canada

40. cdpeace Co-founder and Director of International
Partnerships Enjoying a Basket Ball Game at Mayagba

41. Peace Education Through Story Telling: Sierra Leonean and
Canadian Students Sharing Peace Stories
An Eluminate Live! Experience

42. Dr. William J. Egnatoff, Running the Online conference between Mapaki and
Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, during the Internet Commissioning Event

43. Canadian Teacher, Peter Menzies explained a dogsled race. A girl
pupil in Mapaki asked why the dogs wore shoes

44. Peace Story Telling: Eluminate Live with Robert Service
School in Canada and Students of Mapaki

45. Community Participants in the Teleconference between Mapaki Teachers
and Students, and Teachers and Students of Dawson City-Arctic Bay,
Canada

46. Eluminate Live! Students from Mapaki Sharing Peace
Stories with Students in Yukon, Canada

47. History and Commentary
• The Service was Envisaged by Dr. William J. Egnatoff,
Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Queen's
University at Kingston, Canada, who first visited Mapaki
on Friday October 13-Saturday October 14, 2006 with
Dr. Charles Emmrys, clinical psychologist and cdpeace
collaborator, of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, and
with Peter Koroma, Director, Partners in Adult Education,
Freetown and Chair of the Board of Directors of
cdpeace. The idea arose in discussions they had
concerning their work with Sierra Leonean partners on
the use of information and communication technology to
support education in schools and community.

48. Financial Support
• The facility, including installation and service
costs, has been supported since its initiation
by an anonymous Canadian donor. The
electrical system and ancillary media
equipment was provided by a variety of
donors.

49. Why Internet at Mapaki?
• In this ICT Age and Globalized World,
Internet has become a Right for Everyone
• “The world is moving towards an
information society” (Hon. Hon. Goerge M.
Khaniri, 2012)
• Carolyn van Gurp, Former cdpeace
Canadian Volunteer from Peaceful
Schools International (Former cdpeace
Canadian Partner) summarizes why an
Internet Facility at Mapaki is Essential:

50. Carolyn van Gurp Provides the Following Reasons:
• 10% literacy rate
• No electricity
• Virtually no books
• To exchange emails with the ‘outside’ world.
• To enable young people to document community events
via video and edit these on the multi-media laptop, to
share with the community
• To promote community development guided by
community members working collaboratively (Source:
Library/Media Centre/Technology:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/cvangurp/Technology)

51. Goals for the Internet
• To facilitate networking between school communities in
Canada and Sierra Leone.
• To enable students/pupils and their teachers in the two
countries to come to understand how their lives are
connected.
• To develop teaching resources that will support peace
education
• To make the world a better place by reaching across the
globe to make new neighbours through the Internet
stories of how we are learning to live peacefully in our
own communities.

52. Our Greatest Internet Challenge
• Our Anonymous Canadian Donors have
indicated that they Cannot assure us of
funding after 2012 due to financial constraints
they are Facing
• cdpeace does not have the funds to maintain
the facility because it depends solely on
funds generated from its Consultancies to
support staff salaries and administrative costs

53. Conclusion: Sincere Gratitude to:
• God for His Financial Miracle to Sustain our Internet after
our Donors’ Contributions end
• Our Canadian Donors and Partners for their material and
financial support
• NATCOM for Inviting us to this Forum and for
Recognizing our Modest Contribution to Connecting our
Rural Communities Locally and Globally
• The Ministry of Information and Communication and the
Government of Sierra Leone for Making the Fibre Optic
Cable Facility, a Dream Come True to our Beloved
Sierra Leone
• The organizers and funders of this forum for making this
unique day possible. May God bless us all!

54. OUR WEBSITE
www.cdpeace.org
Thank You