Digital Skills for a Brighter Future: Basic Computer Training at SMP YPPGI Sentani

The Computer Literacy for 7th and 8th Grade Students of YPPGI Sentani program was a Community Development (ComDev) initiative aimed at equipping junior high school students with essential digital skills. The training focused on introducing students to fundamental computer operations and the practical use of Microsoft Office applications Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The decision to conduct this training for YPPGI junior high school students was based on initial observations at the school, which revealed that many students rarely or never used computers. This highlighted the urgent need for early digital literacy intervention.Led by Samuel Bosawer, the project was carried out with the support of four team members: Sonai Morin and Rachel Mansawan from SAGU Foundation, as well as Deni Wenda and Paul Sesa from the SaCode community. A total of 20 students participated in the training, evenly split between Grade 7 and Grade 8. The sessions were conducted in the Science Laboratory of YPPGI Sentani Junior High School on March 19 and April 10, 11, and 25, 2025, running from 10:00 to 12:00 WIT. Through this program, students gained valuable exposure to digital tools that are increasingly essential in both academic and everyday life.By involving local communities, this ComDev initiative also empowers volunteers around Sentani. One such community involved in the program was SaCode. This collaboration served as a form of empowerment for community members, offering them valuable experience and exposure. It is also expected to help prepare them to take on future roles as trainers within the SaCode community.

The background of this ComDev project stems from the limited access that students have to basic computer knowledge and facilities. As digital competence becomes increasingly essential in education and the job market, it is important for students to acquire basic computer literacy at an early age. This training aims to help students understand the fundamental components of a computer, proper typing techniques, and how to use essential applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint skills that are valuable both for schoolwork and for future employment opportunities. By involving local communities, this ComDev initiative also empowers volunteers around Sentani, providing them with opportunities to contribute and grow through community-based education efforts.

The program began with an on-site needs assessment by meeting with the school principal and teachers to identify students’ actual needs. Based on these observations, an initial training plan was drafted and compiled into a formal proposal, which was submitted to SAGU Foundation’s management. Upon approval, the team proceeded with preparing comprehensive training materials. Each session had a specific focus, starting with basic computer introduction, followed by sessions on Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Additionally, students were introduced to ten-finger typing using the Rapid Typing application to help improve their typing efficiency.

At the end of the training, a post training survey was given to all participants. The results revealed that 58.8% of students rarely used computers before the program, and 23.5% had never used one at all. After participating in the training, students gained essential knowledge about computer components, learned to create simple documents using Microsoft Office, and practiced ten-finger typing practical skills they previously lacked. As a result, 94.1% of participants reported that the training was very helpful in improving their understanding of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. In addition, 100% of students rated the teaching methods as highly engaging and easy to follow. The school principal expressed full support for this program and was grateful that their school was chosen as one of the sites for this ComDev initiative. Ms. Vina, the ICT teacher at SMP YPPGI Sentani, said that the students would be able to further develop the skills they had learned to support their future. They also hope that similar Community Development programs from the SAGU Foundation can be held again at SMP YPPGI in the future to continue helping students build useful skills for their personal development. Overall, as the project leader, I believe this initiative produced very positive outcomes.

Despite its success, the program also faced challenges. One of the main issues was adjusting the training schedule to align with the school’s academic calendar, requiring flexibility and frequent coordination between the training team and the school administration.

As the Project Leader, I gained valuable experience in designing and implementing a community-focused training program. This project allowed me to sharpen my leadership, project management, financial planning, and proposal writing skills. It also improved my ability to collaborate with team members and coordinate with external stakeholders essential communication and teamwork skills that are critical in any successful project.

In conclusion, this ComDev initiative provided students with essential digital skills to help them better understand computers. Although many of the students lacked access and resources to learn these skills independently, the training offered them a clear introduction to computer parts, typing skills, and how to use Microsoft Office to create simple documents. This program also demonstrated the power of community collaboration in advancing digital education in Papua.

Disclaimer: This article was originally drafted in Bahasa Indonesia and translated into English with the assistance of AI (ChatGPT by OpenAI). AI was also used to support the writing and editing process. All content has been reviewed and finalised by the project leader. Responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of the content lies with the author and the reviewers, Tisha Rumbewas and Diana Kambuaya.

Author :


Samuel Bosawer
Web Developer & Computer Literacy Tutor