aHub
September 30, 2024
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Itas is a large and vibrant community located in Itas/Gadau Local Government Area of Bauchi State, at GPS: 11.89382, 10.04862. The main language spoken in the community is Hausa, and the estimated population is about 229,996 people.
Itas serves as an important administrative and social centre in the area and already hosts key public institutions, including the Local Government Secretariat, Divisional Police Station, General Hospital, District (Emir’s) Palace, LGEA Secretariat, Central Mosque, ECWA Church and the Shari’a Court. The community has active markets, strong trading activities and diverse livelihoods, with residents engaged in farming, small businesses and public service.
An existing education facility offering a potential entry point for partnerships in digital learning, educational technology, teacher capacity development, and digital literacy.
An established healthcare facility offering opportunities to explore digital health awareness, health information access, and technology-enabled community health initiatives.
A shared digital access point that partners can leverage to explore digital inclusion, community training, enterprise support, and access to online services
Opportunities for partners to support employability programmes, entrepreneurship, digital jobs, career readiness, and small-business development for young people and community members.
Opportunities to deliver digital literacy training, practical technology skills, digital entrepreneurship, and capacity-building programmes that equip community members to participate in the digital economy.
The community is known for its strong sense of cohesion, inclusion and peaceful coexistence across different social, religious and cultural groups. Diversity is respected and widely accepted, and community life is built around shared values of cooperation and mutual support.
With the support of CITAD and Hello World, a community network and digital hub have already been successfully deployed and are hosted at the Emir’s Palace in Itas. The hub now serves as a central access point for digital services, learning and skills development, particularly for young people, students and community members seeking opportunities in education, technology and livelihoods.
Despite its strategic importance, Itas faces several development challenges, including a high number of out-of-school children, limited technical skills, inadequate digital infrastructure and connectivity, rising unemployment, and low access to employability and digital skills training.
The successful deployment of the hub reflects strong local ownership and leadership. The Itas community contributed significantly to the project by providing land, building materials (blocks and cement), sand and gravel, water, food for workers, construction materials for the foundation, common labour and operational support. This strong community commitment continues to support the sustainability and growth of the hub located within the Emir’s Palace.
