GOOD WORKS
Bridging the Digital Divide
Smartphones have improved Internet access around the globe, but there’s still a huge technology gap between industrialized and developing nations. That’s because connecting people online is one thing — and fostering socioeconomic change by teaching them to use technology is quite another. Computers Beyond Borders is an Edmonton-based not-for-profit that seeks to close that gap in the Democratic Republic of Congo and elsewhere by providing free computer training to disadvantaged youths
empowers underprivileged children and young adults by providing them with free computer access and technology training. That helps them gain valuable employment skills in a country where a mere 100 of 9,000 university graduates find jobs. “I don’t want to be old one day and wonder what I did to make life better for other people. Especially when I had the opportunity to do that,” says Mr. Kiasisua. “It’s about never forgetting where you came from. That’s really the driver behind CBB.” One of his greatest influences as a young boy was his grandmother Victorine Diluakidi — now 86 — who told him: “Life is not about what happens to you, but about what you do with what happens to you.” Another of her sayings: “Those who are lucky enough to swim across the river should remember to build a bridge for those who cannot swim.”
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country recovering from years of civil war, an estimated 70 per cent of youths are unemployed. Were it not for a scholarship to study engineering in Canada, Francis Kiasisua, P.Eng., could have easily been one of them. Mr. Kiasisua earned his life-changing scholarship by achieving 98 per cent on the DRC national high school diploma exam, the best-ever score at the time. Growing up in DRC’s capital city, Kinshasa, the shy and studious Francis excelled in all subjects. But his favourites were math and physics. He dreamed of becoming an electrical engineer so he could build a dam and bring power to millions of Congolese who get by without reliable electricity — or any electricity at all. Today, the 32-year-old is building a career as a design engineer at ATCO Electric in Edmonton. No, he hasn’t built that dam yet, but he has not forgotten his roots or lost his desire to effect change in DRC. Last year he founded Computers Beyond Borders (CBB), a not-for-profit working towards curing an epidemic of youth unemployment in his homeland. CBB
BRIDGE MATERIALS Computers Beyond Borders founder Francis Kiasisua, P.Eng., is on a mission to bridge a digital divide in the Democratic Republic of Congo by providing free computer training to underprivileged youth. He raised $5,500 for recycled computers by selling handcrafted Congolese art — such as the pieces shown — to friends, family, and contacts across Canada. Now, he and his charity plan to build a modern computer centre at a local school serving impoverished students.
LIFE CHOICES, CHARITY CHOICES
Canada or Switzerland? Those were the offers Mr. Kiasisua had for studying abroad on his scholarship. It was an easy choice, given the multitude of
52 | PEG SUMMER 2016
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