From Silicon Valley to West Africa
Tax deductible
After over 30 years on the cutting edge of technology in the heart of Silicon Valley, Michael Leventhal is chucking it all to move to Mali in West Africa. There he plans to help independent African NGO iNERDE teach young people about STEM, computer, innovation, entrepreneurship and social responsibility.
Why are you leaving Silicon Valley? Fed up? Tired of the rat race? Rich? Not rich?
Silicon Valley has been and still is great. It can be a rat race, it is hard to keep balance, but, on the whole, I've had an incredible time here. I participated in the birth of the internet and the first browsers and search engines. Most recently I've been working with brillant people in Deep Learning. But it is time for me to work on giving back, to help others have the kind of incredible opportunties I've had. And no, I'm not rich ... but you don't have to be Mark Zuckerberg to have the means to make a contribution.
Why Mali? Isn't that one of poorest counties in the world? What good can a techie do there?
Mali, by most measures, is one of the poorest countries in the world. However, there have been fundamental changes in Mali and in all of Africa such that the status quo is crumbling away. Communication technologies have brought the entire world to Malian living rooms. Mali is full of energetic and ambitious people who are innovating in all spheres of life. The infrastructure and the opportunity isn't there yet to allow many of them to fulfill all their ambitions, but they are changing that. Africa is, in many ways, the most exciting place in the world today. An opportunity revolution is taking place. Technology is a big part of what is needed. Technology infrastructure connects Mali to the world and technology knowledge is the key to full participation in it.
What are your plans in Mali?
I am going to run iNERDE 's field office in Mali. iNERDE has run rapidly expanding STEM summer camps in Mali and neighboring Senegal. This year we'll have 300 kids. We need a year-round operation for the camps and to mentor our local teachers year-round. I have two other immediate projects. I am creating curriculum for CodeNERDE, a 2-week programming bootcamp, a first for West Africa. Public schools in Mali do not have any computer facilities. I'm going to create a CyberSchool to provide a resource for the schools to send kids to get hands on experience with computers, the internet and programming. EMC Corporation donated about 60 computers to us, we'll be putting them to good use.
Why are you holding a GoFundMe campaign?
iNERDE is a start-up NGO, founded and primarily run by Africans. We are not the UN. We are building a stable funding base but I need help now to get started in Mali and to get CodeNERDE and the CyberSchool off the ground. We are also not the UN in terms of cost structure. Our base is in Africa and we do things for a small fraction of the cost of the international organizations. Last year we hired and trained 16 Malian educators in our summer camp who have brought that experience to their classrooms throughout the year. We pay prevailing wages in Africa - it's modest - but it helps the local economy and our staff. The monies raised in the GoFundMe campaign will help to support me in Mali, at an African living standard, enable us pay our dedicated teachers and staff, and enable us to pay for facilities and materials for our programs, with incredible economic efficiency.
This is all great, but what is really motivating you?
Many people have said that what I'm doing is "noble" but, honestly, I am doing it because I can in terms of where I am in life, and because it is so rewarding to work with kids and to be in Mali. I am grateful that I can do it, I know many people I talk to would love to do something like it but they are at a different point in their lives with kids, family responsibilies, career arcs, and the like. I plan to write about my experience - you can read many of my blogs from last summer in Mali here - I hope to share my experiences and excitement with others in a way that I hope will inspire. And yes, there is something of a bit of idealism. I think of it as "Heal the World". For our world to heal everyone should have the opportunity to live their dreams, as I have. Africa has the furtherest to go before that will be true for most people there. I'm not going there, like a missionary, because I think I have some truth to deliver, but to be a part of things there and to share what I know. I believe it will make a difference. Education does that, you may make a enormous difference by changing lives, even though you don't immediately see the change you have brought about.
Why are you leaving Silicon Valley? Fed up? Tired of the rat race? Rich? Not rich?
Silicon Valley has been and still is great. It can be a rat race, it is hard to keep balance, but, on the whole, I've had an incredible time here. I participated in the birth of the internet and the first browsers and search engines. Most recently I've been working with brillant people in Deep Learning. But it is time for me to work on giving back, to help others have the kind of incredible opportunties I've had. And no, I'm not rich ... but you don't have to be Mark Zuckerberg to have the means to make a contribution.
Why Mali? Isn't that one of poorest counties in the world? What good can a techie do there?
Mali, by most measures, is one of the poorest countries in the world. However, there have been fundamental changes in Mali and in all of Africa such that the status quo is crumbling away. Communication technologies have brought the entire world to Malian living rooms. Mali is full of energetic and ambitious people who are innovating in all spheres of life. The infrastructure and the opportunity isn't there yet to allow many of them to fulfill all their ambitions, but they are changing that. Africa is, in many ways, the most exciting place in the world today. An opportunity revolution is taking place. Technology is a big part of what is needed. Technology infrastructure connects Mali to the world and technology knowledge is the key to full participation in it.
What are your plans in Mali?
I am going to run iNERDE 's field office in Mali. iNERDE has run rapidly expanding STEM summer camps in Mali and neighboring Senegal. This year we'll have 300 kids. We need a year-round operation for the camps and to mentor our local teachers year-round. I have two other immediate projects. I am creating curriculum for CodeNERDE, a 2-week programming bootcamp, a first for West Africa. Public schools in Mali do not have any computer facilities. I'm going to create a CyberSchool to provide a resource for the schools to send kids to get hands on experience with computers, the internet and programming. EMC Corporation donated about 60 computers to us, we'll be putting them to good use.
Why are you holding a GoFundMe campaign?
iNERDE is a start-up NGO, founded and primarily run by Africans. We are not the UN. We are building a stable funding base but I need help now to get started in Mali and to get CodeNERDE and the CyberSchool off the ground. We are also not the UN in terms of cost structure. Our base is in Africa and we do things for a small fraction of the cost of the international organizations. Last year we hired and trained 16 Malian educators in our summer camp who have brought that experience to their classrooms throughout the year. We pay prevailing wages in Africa - it's modest - but it helps the local economy and our staff. The monies raised in the GoFundMe campaign will help to support me in Mali, at an African living standard, enable us pay our dedicated teachers and staff, and enable us to pay for facilities and materials for our programs, with incredible economic efficiency.
This is all great, but what is really motivating you?
Many people have said that what I'm doing is "noble" but, honestly, I am doing it because I can in terms of where I am in life, and because it is so rewarding to work with kids and to be in Mali. I am grateful that I can do it, I know many people I talk to would love to do something like it but they are at a different point in their lives with kids, family responsibilies, career arcs, and the like. I plan to write about my experience - you can read many of my blogs from last summer in Mali here - I hope to share my experiences and excitement with others in a way that I hope will inspire. And yes, there is something of a bit of idealism. I think of it as "Heal the World". For our world to heal everyone should have the opportunity to live their dreams, as I have. Africa has the furtherest to go before that will be true for most people there. I'm not going there, like a missionary, because I think I have some truth to deliver, but to be a part of things there and to share what I know. I believe it will make a difference. Education does that, you may make a enormous difference by changing lives, even though you don't immediately see the change you have brought about.
Organizer
Michael Leventhal
Organizer
iNERDE Inc
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
