VALDOSTA — Kids in the Ora Lee West Community are discovering the Internet and all that it has to offer.

In mid-September, members of Valdosta State University’s chapter of Students in Free Enterprise kicked off Project Youth Net in the Ora Lee West Community Center on Ann Street for school-age children ages 5 to 12.

“The goal of this project is to expose these kids to the Internet and teach them how to use search engines to find information,” said Keisha Gibson, organization member and project chair. “This program also helps these students gain confidence in the value of their work and their ability to use technology.”

Kids are also assisted with their homework and instructed on the basic functions of the computer.

A senior business management/marketing major, Gibson said she and other SIFE members work with anywhere from eight to 20 kids each class. Classes are held every Tuesday and Wednesday from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Last week, those in attendance were given a set of questions relating to the Ukraine and instructed to find the answers on the Internet. One by one, the students searched various Web sites for information about the Ukranian symbol, the name of the Ukranian money, the name of two seas of the Ukraine and the Ukraine’s population.

At the end of the hour-long session, the kids had logged more time utilizing a search engine and using a computer and had learned a little about a foreign country.

Amber Houston, 10, never misses a session.

“I want to learn as much as I can about the Internet,” said the West Gordon Elementary School fifth-grader. “Here I can get extra help.”

Houston said she is amazed at the variety of things available to her on the Internet.

Valdosta Middle School sixth-grader Teresa Kelly believes the skills she is learning through project Youth Net will help her be more successful in school.

“I have learned a lot about using search engines,” said Kelly, 12.

Project Youth Net will end on Nov. 13. Following the holiday season, the project will resume in January.

The mission of Valdosta State University’s chapter of SIFE is to prepare the South Georgia and North Florida region “for the future by continuing to work on a local, national, and international level to unite schools, businesses, and communities to spread the knowledge of free enterprise.”

More than 110 students from a variety of academic disciplines — Fine Arts, Arts and Sciences, Education, and Business Administration — comprise the university’s chapter this year. Fifteen percent of those are international students representing 10 different countries.



To contact reporter Jessica Pope, please call 244-3400, ext. 255.