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CHAPTER 02 · 2021–22 · RURAL SINDH

The Champions.

WHY WE STARTED THIS

Karachi had wifi. Larkana didn't. And a laptop in a village belonged to a man. When we tried to run Raaji in rural Sindh the problem wasn't the content, it was that no woman held the device. So instead of bringing the machine to the village once, we put it in a woman's hands and taught her to run it. Hundreds of champions — laptops, phones, a year of data, donated outright. Not lent. Hers.

Karachi worked. Rural Sindh didn't — no signal, no laptops, and women who feared the screen. So we stopped bringing the machine to the village and trained the village to carry it. With the EU-funded SUCCESS programme and SRSO, NRSP and TRDP, we onboarded rural women — Uzma in Dundh, Urbeli in Wahid Bux Gopang — and donated laptops, mobile phones and annual data plans to hundreds of champions, with Raaji loaded in Sindhi.

Raaji Champions digital literacy training room
raaji champions · digital literacy training. sukkur, with uridu and ifa.
A large group of women and the team on a rooftop
the first cohort, on a rooftop in larkana. every one of them went home and ran a party.
Women watching Raaji projected in Kambar Shahdadkot
kambar shahdadkot. the women who then taught the women.
Saba standing with two women talking to a seated room
a full room. the champions stand with me.
A woman pointing at Raaji projected on a wall
a champion, running her own session. we're not in this photo. that was the point.
THE HANDOVER
Saba handing a digital literacy certificate to a laughing champion
a certificate, and a laugh neither of us expected.
Champions training session, women watching a presentation
the training room, mid-session.
Two women sitting on the floor of a village room during a listening party
the same lesson, on the floor of a village home.
EVERY ROOM WE COULD FIND
An open-air workshop under a shelter in Kambar Shahdadkot
kambar shahdadkot. an open-air workshop, no walls needed.
Rows of sandals left outside a training room
rows of sandals outside the door. everyone came.
Saba laughing with a room of trainees in Jamshoro
jamshoro. the trainees who made it fun.
Saba presenting barefoot to women seated on floor mats
barefoot, on the mat, same level as everyone else.
A group of masked women crowding into a Zoom call tile
kambar. the room crowds into one small tile on my screen.
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SABA KHALID · POETICA STUDIO
saba@poetica.studio