CNN Hero: A Community Project in Kibera

CNN Hero: A Community Project in Kibera

This CNN Hero upcycles old computers to open new worlds for young Kenyans – and saves the world from a world without Kenyans

I was in Kibera, Kenya, recently watching the CNN Hero initiative. It’s the first time I have visited the area (where some say the movie “In Too Deep” shot in the 1980s). I have been amazed at the beauty of Kibera, and I saw how the community has embraced CNN Hero as a way for it to serve the local community.

“No one can stand this city of Kibera,” says the CNN Hero tagline. What they do is transform old computers into educational tools that teach young people how to build and operate their own computer. For the time being, you can have your own computer, but they get it up and running. All you have to do is learn the skills.

The project is working to make it easy for children ages 8-16 to get an education using their own computer, learn a variety of computer programming languages, such as Python, HTML, and JavaScript, and explore the Internet and social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

I learned about the program myself through a CNN Hero workshop at the Kibera Community Center. Kibera means the heart of the city, and it is the third most populous capital city in Kenya, after Nairobi and Mombasa.

Watching CNN’s Hero

CNN Hero

CNN Hero

CNN Hero: the first computer

In the workshop CNN Hero talked about a time when no one in Africa had a computer, and how hard it was to even learn how to make one. Today, many of the workshops take the people who run the workshops and teach them how to program their own computers. After all, it’s hard to know not to teach the people what they want, and what they are good at.

CNN Hero makes the computers interactive, but not just for kids, it is also for anyone who wants to learn how to get online, or get a more intuitive web experience.

CNN Hero: the first computer

CNN Hero: the first computer

The computers are made at the workshops, and then brought to places like the Kibera Community Center, which has some of the most advanced digital technology around. The computers are used to make tutorials and workshops on how to do things like open a bank account, or connect to

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