We need help from someone who knows someone in Cisco.Please spread the word. Due to some kind of administrative error and confusion the future life chances of 23 youths in rural Nigeria are threatened.
The problem
The youths are on a Cisco training course at Fantsuam, where successful training has been taking place, against all the odds, since 2004. Now this amazing centre, which should be the jewel in the crown of Cisco CSR faces closure due to an administrative error. The equipment needed for training the youths needs upgrading. However, due to some communication confusions the rural centre is being treated as if it is a big university department. It faces a bill of around £4,000 about 1 Million Naira, an unaffordable amount. This could cause it to close after nearly ten years of successfully changing the life chances of local youths and redirecting them from unemployment and rural poverty to successful technical careers.
These are facts that I got this morning from John Dada in a Skype chat.
Pamela wrote:
Ref the bundles - if you give critical dates and implications that might help people to understand the immediacy of this problem.
John Dada replied:
We have a Cisco laboratory where we install systems and the routers (bundles) for students training
We have been unable to start our Cisco classes (this term) because we don't have access to the Cisco bundles, so we are facing a growing number of frustrated youths whose ambition for professional training in networking is on-hold. We have given (them) start date of May 13th but this is contingent on us getting the bundles.
The Cisc bundle is the hardware made up if routers which are the only way students can access the Cisco curriculum and other resources online
The bundles are distributed through the regional Cisco Academy at the University of Jos. If Cisco International will instruct the UJ (Univiersity of Jos) office, we can easily go to Jos to collect the bundles
If we don't pay, we cannot run the Cisco course any more. UKP4,000 about 1 Million Naira is just beyond us at the moment
So we have just about a month to have the bundles in place for the Cisco classes to get started.
We have 23 students waiting to do the course, they'll be told it is cancelled
Can you help?
Obviously no-one wants this course cancellation, and possible closure of the academy, to happen.
This must just be an admin error - but we don't know how to connect with the right person in Cisco who can sort it out. Our best approach seems to be to find someone in CSR who can rescue this rural Cisco academy (connected to Jos University) and enable it to continue its great work changing the life chances of rural youths.
Please help us to get this message to the right person.
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