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Bridging the Digital Divide:
Montgomery County Schools Donate 200 Computers to Douala III Urban Council

On December 1, 2006, U.S. Ambassador Niels Marquardt participated in a donation ceremony during which 200 Dell computers were distributed to 35 schools of the Douala III Urban Council of Cameroon. Minister of Basic Education Haman Adama, Minister of Secondary Education Louis Bapes Bapes, Littoral Province Governor Gounouko Haounaye as well as hundreds of students, parents and educators, witnessed the ceremony.

As in most African countries, access to information and communication technology is still very limited in Cameroon. This consignment of computers, offered to the Douala III Urban Council by the Montgomery County Schools in the U.S. (state of Maryland), will have a great impact on the lives of all the members of the education community of the area. A public multimedia center was also formally launched on the same occasion.

In his remarks, Ambassador Marquardt underscored the U.S. Government’s commitment to enhancing computer access in Africa in order to bridge the digital divide.  The Minister of Secondary Education thanked the American people for this act of generosity. “With your commitment and support, we look forward to a bright future for the Cameroonian youth,” he told Ambassador Marquardt.

The computers distributed on December 1 are a tangible consequence of a 2005 Citizen Exchange Program on “Municipal Governance” that brought ten mayors and four ministers from Cameroon to the United States.  As part of the group’s visit to Montgomery County Public School District, Mayor of Douala III, Oumarou Fadil, through personal initiative was able to negotiate a donation of one thousand computers to his municipality. It is hoped that this project will mark the beginning of sustained cross-cultural exchanges between Douala councils and Montgomery County. (Photo gallery)