Illiteracy and Modern Media Technology

The Struggle to Eschew Modern Illiteracy in West Africa

With all the indications taken into considerationnew media is used to describe content made available using different forms of electronic communication made possible using computer technology. Generally, the binomen “new media” describes content available on-demand through the Internet. With over 70% adult illiteracy and 44.6% youth illiteracy (2015 statistics), Burkina Faso, which is in West Africa, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Demography (INSD), is one of the least educated countries in the world. Yet illiteracy and its disguised forms constitute a major obstacle to productivity in the various sectors of the modern economy.

Th boom via the Internet and Cellular Phone.

Our observation of some key segments of the nation’s life, such as health, environmental protection and governance, underlines the fact that illiteracy has a giant negative impact and constitutes a complete obstacle as well to civic emancipation and respect for rights and freedoms. Fortunately, the explosion of new media in recent years in our world has aroused great interest among the population in general and among young people in particular in Burkina Faso. This work will examine how to grasp the reception that young people reserve for these new media as a boon for a new mode of education. This is an important approach that will reveal that communication through local languages can be a springboard for reducing illiteracy and transforming the people who are very concerned into actors of their own development.

Direct outcomes of Modern Media Technology for Evangelization.

Social networking sites are said to facilitate communication among people with common interests or affiliations and helps escape the inevitable emptiness in us as well, as Anthony De Mello writes: “When the emptiness surfaces…, you run away, turn on the television, turn on the radio, read a book, search for human company, seek entertainment, seek distraction”. (1). In West Africa in general, the Internet/WiFi is still so unreliable that the rate of the consumers is extremely low. However, despite a gaudy weak internet connection in Burkina Faso, Facebook seems to be the uncontestable leader right after the traditional radio to provide places for people to interact, sometimes even in real time. The government counts among its utmost priorities the plan to enhance this technology and make it grow by leaps and bounds. This increase in technological communication via the internet will be a victory upon illiteracy which still strongly effects the population of all ages in Burkina Faso.
Facebook, indeed, can remarkably transform the quality of life for both rural and urban populations. It has become an escape for so many for it is being considered as a road to bringing people closer and closer to distant eras and ages. Facebook is also decreasing the gap between people who live far away from each other by bringing them closer – via technology. As a matter of fact, it is not superfluous to recall that the Latin etymology of the word communication means “to share” or to make something “common.” In a country such as ours, classified among the ten poorest countries in the world, an electronic communication technology such as Facebook offers a superb opportunity by allowing people to contribute and to share riches in various fields. The field most likely to benefit particularly is the field of Education in a country which is still surprisingly struggling to solve many existential needs. This very advancement will have ripple effects that we cannot even fathom today.

The flick of the new media in the church’s plan to be a family which gathers.

From the early days, following the celebration of the independence of our country, the Catholic Church, and later all Christian denominations, has always been in an unquestionable leadership in educating people in Burkina Faso. In my twenty-five years of Priesthood, I have spent sixteen years pastoring in the field of communication. At first, I was the Director of the Diocesan radio station (91.6 FM) and secondly as the one in charge of the Burkina Faso and Niger Bishops’ Conference Office. As a privileged Priest I can bear witness to how many changes have happened in the Church’s way to communicate with the faithful in a country such as my Motherland. The Conference of the Bishops of Burkina Faso and Niger has chosen to display the image of our Church as being the Family of God. The rise of the Internet has strongly helped achieve the mandate of the Lord who urges us to go everywhere and spread the good news of salvation as the Gospel of Saint Matthieu ends in these words: “Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Mt 28.19). (2) The relatively young church which settled in Burkina Faso in 1900 has since then faced many trials to reach out to all cities and villages. The roughness of the whole means of transportation renders it practically impossible to attain and reach out to some zones of the country. To that extent, whenever the rainy season takes place, Pastors must “forget” about announcing Jesus Christ to some locations. Roads in the normal season are raw and easily flooded by violent rains. Thanks to the radio, such an obstacle started to be alleviated late in the year 2000. Radio became a terrific means of communicating with the faithful but not in a wholesome manner because of the great number of dialects not being broadcast through the diocesan radios. Minority languages in Burkina Faso are plentiful, out of the roughly 65 languages within the nation. Spoken by some small groups of ethnic groups, the inaccessibility of their location tends to let them aside of any technological asset. But where the traditional radio has failed, the cell phone took up a challenge, helping Christians by this way to accomplish what is of great importance of the Lord who said: “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So, there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10:16). (3) The rise of the cell phone, strengthened by the emergence of the Internet has brought a breath of fresh air in, that the use of the cell phone has become more of a reality in almost all families.

China special contribution to the access of new tools.

It might seem strange to show the technology of the cell phone as a solution in a country of extreme poverty. But among the large array of available technologies, the population of Burkina Faso is unfortunately only able to speak of cell phone Mobile technology. Why? The use of personal computers or laptops, or even iPad is cost prohibitive for the poor of our country. People cannot afford these personal technological devices and thus the cell phone is the chosen media device available. In this regard, China despite all critics about its disputable presence on the African continent, has brought a significant contribution in making accessible the use of the mobile phone in poor countries. As stated, the cost of an iPad or a MacBook is truly unthinkable for our people. The phones made in China or “Chinetoc” comes to the rescue of a population which doesn’t want to step away from an opportunity given to be linked to the development and connected to the world, as Sabou Celine asserts: “mHealth or using a mobile phone to transmit health data is greatly facilitating our daily work. In the past, I had to run 14 km to get to the health center and give my report and command supply. Now, I can do it from my home.” (4)
It is important to note that most people using the cell phone in Burkina are doing it without having used the landline telephone. We can thus say that most of the users of the cell phone have jumped over one step of development to a higher one. All that which was a break in the realm of the landline telephone is now overcome, confirming James Allen thoughts: “To desire is to obtain; to aspire is to achieve…Dreams are the seedlings of realities” (5). The possibility is given to peasants to be in contact with their lucky young kids going to college in town. They can give a call to one member of the family who migrated to find job in the plantations of neighborhood countries such as Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana. With the advent of the Internet, more possibilities are provided. Students often use Facebook or WhatsApp to share contents of their coursework at school with others. Classes are so overcrowded in the amphitheaters that they rely on their phones to see and hear the lesson of the day. Many churches use these very platforms to preach and raise awareness on many topics. The recent Covid-19 pandemic led many private schools to give course content through the same social networks. The use of the technology of the cell phone goes from the basic call to sophisticated and specialized messages distributions such as the “AlloLaafia service” developed by AFD (French Agency of Development) in the eastern rural region of Fada Ngourma. “AlloLaafia service” has enabled families to subscribe and receive some short messages sent and voice mailings transmitting personalized advice on various health topics. These messages and alerts often concern good nutritional practices, pregnancy and infant monitoring or family planning. As Gwenael Prié, Head of the Digital Project team at AFD, says “These messages encourage them to make an appointment at the health center when they need it, and patients are better monitored.” (6)
The Internet connection in Burkina Faso as a natural fact is one of the weakest in the world. However, since 2010 efforts are being carried out by the government and the competitive development of the mobile companies has rendered possible almost a complete coverture of our country. It is spectacular to see how numerous illiterate people became suddenly so active in the use of the new styles of communicating. Most of the rural population for instance, which represents the greatest part of the nation’s population, is showing its capacity to understand the meaning of a video without understanding the spoken language of it.

The open new opportunity given by the Internet

The Plan of God in His creation is to make man happy.Thanks to the Internet, which made the possibility of sharing nationwide and region-wide, doing business takes a new orientation. It ceases to be a prerogative of educated people who always take advantage of peasants and cattle breeders for instance. The fact of being able to hold a mobile phone and be able to communicate with a buyer without mediation is life transforming for the rural populations. It contributes to lessen the inferiority complex between countrymen and urbans. In the past, the fruits of the agriculture were more beneficial to urban people who most of the time decided and imposed the prices of goods. Now everything is known and permits a kind of equity in commerce.  Not being able to speak or write the language of the western colon is no longer a criterium to exist. The internet and all that goes with it opens the availability of new markets to sell poultry products. The development of many derivative money transfer systems enables the peasants to have an immediate relation with the buyer and avoid the danger of expropriation. An eloquent example in this matter is that of the business of onion and tomatoes between Ghana and Burkina Faso. The farmers in Burkina, who are great producers of tomatoes, have bypassed the incapacity of the government to help them sell their products. They are now able to deal with buyers directly coming from Ghana. Even in the times of the lack of the Internet connection, the cell phone technology is henceforward cathartic as Akinde said about SlimTrader, a service that allows customers to use their phones to get information and availability. They are also able to pay for services ranging from airplane tickets to bags of fertilizer.  “We took the idea from what it could be in the western world to what it really has to be in the developing world. Using text messaging for technological advances makes sense in a continent where hi-tech sits cheek-by-jowl with fading technology.” (7)
Discussing technology from a Christian viewpoint is right up my alley. Indeed, since my arrival in New York in August of 2016, I found out that the use of the technology of the cell phone was the best and the fastest way for me in my position as Chaplain of the French speaking community in New York, to reach them and have them gather. As Richard Davis asserts, “Today’s Website, Facebook, or MySpace page is a combination of yesterday’s business card, résumé, and demo.” (8) The weekly Mass, broadcasted live on a Facebook platform, created a connection for the community that cannot be rivaled. The spontaneous information shared through applications such as Remind and WhatsApp has contributed to the quick growth of our community and made of the Church the reference of French speaking people in New York. The right use of the technology helps perform our goal as being made for a mission: “Your life is both shared and specific. One part of it is a responsibility you share with every other Christian, and the other part is an assignment that is unique to you” writes purposely Rick Warren. (9) The messages and teachings heightening the values of multiculturalism helped assemble Christians from all French speaking countries in Africa and Haiti. The communion is a real and tangible target now to that extent that our celebrations are watched beyond New York. We continually receive messages of encouragement from many followers from various countries where the Christian Mass practice is forbidden. That is what we call proudly “spreading the word and faith” because “It is for this I struggle wearily on, helped only by his power driving me irresistibly.” (10)

References

Keywords: illiteracy, new media, Burkina Faso, statistics, electronic communication, reduction, Catholicism, Facebook, cell phone business, spreading the Word

Anthony, D.M., (1990). Awareness, the perils and opportunities of reality. New York, Usa, 55.
Bible of Jerusalem, (Mt 28.19).
Bible of Jerusalem, (John 10:16).
https://www.unicef.org/innovation/rapidpro/mobile-phones-improve-medical-care-burkina-faso
James, A., (1992). As a Man Thinketh, New York, Usa, 66-67.
https://www.afd.fr/fr/actualites/5-projets-qui-font-progresser-la-e-sante-en-afrique.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/sep/24/nigeria-mobile-phones-success-technology
Richard, D., (1999, 2000). Complete guide to film scoring, the art and business of writing music for movies and Tv, 248.
Rick, W., (2002). The purpose driven life, What on hearth am I here for?, USA. 279.
Bible of Jerusalem, Colossians 1: 29
hearing you, He will grant you at the same time what is secondary and which seemed to be a priority in you. When we pray then let us ask God for the grace to adjust our requests to His will.

Rev. Fr. Joseph Kinda