Computers for Pemba

HELP CHAMPLAIN COLLEGE STUDENTS BRING 21st CENTURY COMPUTING TO CLASSROOMS IN TANZANIA/ZANZIBAR!

OUR STORY:

For the last 3 years, faculty at Champlain College have been leading class trips to the Zanzibar Archipelago in Tanzania.  On our most recent excursion in January 2018,  three students: Abigail Barr, Anna Matich, and Jackie Noborikawa  - all brilliant undergrads in our Information Technology and Science Division -  were inspired by a visit to Mjini Ole primary school on Pemba Island  at which students were being taught basic computing – without physical access to computers of any kind.

Many of these primary school students were young women who showed real passion for future careers in STEM fields, which really struck a chord with Jackie, Abbey and Anna .  With their growing awareness of the disparity between the technology available to American students and those in Zanzibar, our students convened a meeting with the school’s headmaster to get a better sense of the computing curriculum and relevant infrastructure. These three dedicated and scrappy young women returned to the US committed to getting computers and appropriate software into primary schools on Pemba.

During the course of the subsequent semester these three students secured in-kind donations of more than 30 laptop computers from Champlain and Dynamic Analysis, Inc. They secured Champlain Student Government funding to purchase solar panels and battery packs necessary to make these computers usable on Pemba, and they’ve been working with some of our international students to create Swahili language training modules and curricular offerings to help instructors on Pemba make the most effective pedagogical use of this technology in the classroom.  

They've also established a working partnership with the Kidike Sanctuary – an NGO on Pemba dedicated to environmental and cultural preservation and development – to ensure that this work can be done with the approval of local and national government agencies, and they have the endorsement of Mr. Kombo Bakar, National Archivist and director of Kidike, to further secure community support for this work.  

OUR GOAL:  is for Jackie, Anna, and Abbey to return to Pemba and deliver these resources to Mjini Ole primary school.  Once there, they'll provide local faculty with instruction and technical support to give the students the hands-on computing experience that will help them achieve their dreams in a 21st century globalized world. 

WHAT WE HAVE:

In addition to the resources obtained by the students as described above - computers, solar panels, batteries, etc. - they’ve also secured in-kind donations and support from our contacts on Pemba to help facilitate this work - including local transport, lodging, meals, etc.   Despite these generous contributions of physical resources, labor, and money, we still need a bit more to make this project work...

WHAT WE NEED: 

This is where you come in.   We need to raise funds to facilitate travel for these three students from the U.S. to Tanzania (which, as you can imagine, is quite expensive), as well as funding to facilitate safe transportation for the computers and supporting technology from the U.S. to their new homes on Pemba Island.   We need YOUR SUPPORT to help OUR STUDENTS help STUDENTS on PEMBA - the programmers, doctors, engineers and teachers of the future.  

In a world torn by conflict and discord, will YOU help these three amazing young women help other amazing young people to gain access to the the technology and training they need to tackle the problems of a 21st century globalized society?

TIMELINE: 

Our goal is for these three students (and all the gear) to accompany an existing student trip heading to Zanzibar in late December, 2018.  For various reasons this helps to reduce administrative red-tape (of which there is quite a bit) - as well as helping to reduce overall costs.   But this means that we'll need to secure funding during the next few months - to capitalize on budget fares, plane flights will need to be booked and paid for by the end of August 2018, and we'll need to secure shipping and insurance for the equipment by a similar deadline.   So we're hoping to meet our (initial) funding goal before mid-September. 

"YOU'VE MET YOUR GOAL - CAN I STILL HELP?"

Heck, yes!   This project is only the beginning!  As you might imagine there are additional costs and expenses (including ongoing tech-support, further development of teaching/learning resources, etc.) that will require funding.  And if you help us solve this problem at one school, in one classroom - there are many many others on Pemba that could use your help as well!  Our students have plans to expand and improve on this project and we are more than willing to expand our scope should your generosity enable us to do so.   One future goal we've already got in sight involves bringing these students the resources to help them build  computers, as well as using them.   That presents its own set of financial and logistical challenges, but Abbey, Anna, and Jackie are more than equal to the task... and more than willing to make this happen should funding become available.  We'll discuss - and post - "stretch goals" as such things become realities.

"DO I GET ANYTHING WHEN I DONATE?"

What would you like?  Our deepest thanks?  Our abiding love and appreciation?  A sense of well-being knowing you've given an elementary school child the chance to realize his/her/their dreams?   You'll have all of those... in abundance! 

You'll also get access to a private (donors only!) online space (Facebook group, blog site, etc.) where you can follow Jackie, Anna, and Abbey on their adventures, hear their stories and those of the students on Pemba, see pics of your donation in action, and participate in this process as much as the virtual world allows.   

( For particularly generous donors, additional benefits - potentially including interesting swag from Zanzibar - are a definite possibility!) 

"GREAT PROJECT! I'VE GOT SOME GOOD ADVICE FOR YOU... "

Awesome!  We love advice!  We realize we don't have the simplest or the best solution to the problems we're trying to solve, and we're always looking for insight and clever solutions!  We'd love to hear from you!  Please send us your advice using the e-mail address on this page.  (If you want us to actually read it... donate at least $20 usd.  If you actually want us to take  your advice, please donate $75 or more).