Information and communications technologies (ICT) have changed the world in a big way. Everything is going digital, and very soon I believe papers and files will be a thing of the past in Kenya. We can all see how computers have made work easier, as we have simple retrieval of data and a way to store information.

The community members who have participated in the ReachUp! classes I have facilitated have really gained alot from the ICT classes. facilitate the ReachUp! program at Family Heath Options Kenya, and many of my my participants who come through the center have never in their whole lives touched a computer. This means it has been extra challenging to teach them, as I've had to spend time emphasizing the basics until I was sure they could use a mouse and type a few paragraphs of their own.

I think the best thing my participants have learnt from the ICT sessions that are taught by the ReachUp! program is Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. One participant, Tracey, went an extra mile and made nice fliers for a friend of hers who had an event. The were so nice and unique, and she was able to sell the fliers as a product. After that she got another order, and others followed. Now Tracey is creating fliers as a part time job and is a student at a design school in Nairobi.

Another participant who used ICT to make her life better is Linda. Linda has always had an eye for design, so she decided to start creating and printing brochures, fliers, and business cards. For a while she didn't make enough profit, but with persistence, creativity, and hard work she has developed nice designs for her cards and impressive layouts for the fliers and bronchures.

ICT skills are changing the lives of people, especially the youth in my community like Tracey and Linda. Everyone has skills, and once they are aware of how to use them they can really making a good turn in their lives. It's good to see that DOT has also contributed to this positive change through the ReachUp! program.