WCG eCentre brings opportunity to Rietpoort

Rietpoort is a small town of 500 families in Matzikama Municipality on the west coast of the Western Cape province. It’s isolated and accessible via a gravel road off the N7. Most of its residents leave the town to seek better work opportunities in the bigger towns in the surrounding area. There’s no cellphone signal in the community, and most residents don’t have reliable access to the internet.

In December 2019, we opened the Rietpoort WCG eCentre, in the Matzikama Municipality building in Hoof Straat to address the connectivity issues in the community and give Rietpoort’s residents free access to internet and computer training.

At the eCentre, residents can now create email addresses for themselves, browse the internet, use the printer, type documents, apply for work, school and university, and receive free accredited computer skills training.

According to the eCentre manager, Bradley Stone, the eCentre assists 200 to 300 residents monthly with various computer-related tasks. “We’ve helped over 20 young students with university, college and scholarship applications.”

Stone further states that many young people visit the eCentre to create and update their CVs and to attend the free accredited courses offered at the eCentre.

The eCentre has played an integral role in the community since opening in 2019, giving the people of Rietpoort a central point to gather and access online government services that they would’ve not had access to initially.

The eCentre also serves as a meeting point for NGOs and state departments to host programs and interact with the community.

Stone considers the Rietpoort WCG eCentre a success because it helped many matriculants who would’ve sat at home and remained unemployed find work and get accepted to higher education facilities.

Services

• Free Internet Access.
• Email Access and assistance to create emails.
• Online Job searches and applications.
• Online University Applications.
• Free Printing of maximum 10 pages per day.

Training

• Basic Informal Computer Course Training.
• E-learner Online Computer Course Training.
• International Computer Digital Literacy (ICDL) Computer Course Training.

The e-Centre operates from the Matzikama Municipality building, in Hoofstraat, from Monday to Friday. The dedicated staff is ready to assist you from 08:00 till 16H30.

Contact the eCentre:
Tel: 027 632 5013
E-mail: rietpoort.ecentre@gmail.com