For more than a decade, information communication technology (ICT) has been attributed a key role in both economic growth and poverty alleviation. It increases efficiency, provides accessibility to new markets or services creates new opportunities for income generation and gives poor people a voice. It’s an information revolution commonly talked about as a phenomenon that affects everybody, work,
entertainment and it has facilitated global interaction; Yet the reality is that for most parts of the world ,Uganda in particular, such changes have by passed the majority of the people in rural and pre-urban communities, to whom computer and internet is just a myth. ICTs have been shown to be capable of inducing Social and economic development in terms of health care, improved education, Employment, agriculture, and trade, and also of enriching local cultures. Yet making this possible is by no means straightforward, as it involves more than the mere deployment of technology and requires as much learning on the part of the promoters of the technology as on the part of its users. It is all too easy to introduce technology with great expectations; it is far more challenging to create the necessary conditions under which the technology can attain its full potential, requiring as it does the combined and coordinated efforts of a range of stakeholders with disparate interests1. ICTs are usually understood to refer to computers and the Internet, but many consider this view to be limited, as it excludes the more traditional and usually more common technologies of radio, television, and telephones, public address systems, and even newspapers, which also carry information. The Potential value of ICTs as a purveyor of development information should not be Overlooked, especially in view of its almost ubiquitous presence in developing countries such as Uganda, including the rural locations in which the vast majority of the poor live. As Rural ICT Development Forum (RIDF), we believe that Information and Communication technologies can be used to extend the reach of the information revolution to the poorest people living in the remotest areas in the Uganda and world as a globe. RIDF was founded in 2011 by a team of 3 young men in the name of Opoka Denis, Ombilitho Denis and Sengendo Shafic and registered in February 2012, with a sole zeal of extending Information Communication Technology (ICT) to the rural and pre-urban communities of Uganda. Our name is an abbreviation emanating from the words; “Rural ICT Development Forum”. RIDF is a Non-Government Organization based in Uganda, fully registered under the NGOs Act under the Laws of Uganda. RIDF is committed to extending Information Communication Technologies to the people in Rural and pre-urban communities of Uganda. Through its vision, RIDF has developed strategies to support, inform and empower the pre urban and rural citizens as they are Vulnerable to most situations such as: illiteracy, poverty, unemployment, diseases, low levels of production, low self-esteem among others as seen below;
Literally meaning that the target population of the organization is the people in the rural and pre-urban communities of Uganda. This term is commonly affiliated to Developing countries, characterized by high population growth rates, low levels of development, poor infrastructures, and high illiteracy levels among others. Information and communication in such areas is just fantasy yet a reality in most urban areas of the country. This digital divide has created a big gap between the Rural and the urban communities of Uganda. ICT means that all the aims and objectives of the organization are focusing at extending ICT to the people in the rural and pre-urban areas. Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) are usually understood to refer to computers and the Internet, but this view is limited, as it excludes the more traditional and usually more common technologies of radio, television, telephones, public address systems, and even newspapers, which also carry information. This depicts that the objectives of the organization are aiming at taking action and initiatives to improve the standards of living of people in rural and pre-urban communities of Uganda using information communication technology as the medium. ICTs enhance all forms of information exchange. Opportunities can be identified and acted on more easily, Observation, learning and decision-making is facilitated, and business transactions are expanded and speeded up with ICTs. Markets operate more efficiently and are more accessible. These lead to business-related efficiencies and faster turnover and increased productivity. This depicts that the organization uses information communication technology as a voice of the peoples in rural and pre-urban communities of Uganda to express their feelings to the concerned authorities. The forum acts as a platform giving identity to the poorest of people living in the remotest corners of the country.
