Computers for Ecole 4, Velingara

Hello everybody! So I haven't written in a while, as is per usual, but this time I'd like to talk a little about one of the projects I'm working on (I'll tell you all about the 4th of July, etc in the next post). One of the projects I am currently working on, in collaboration with The World Computer Exchange, aims to bring used, discarded computers from America to “Ecole 4: Thierno Souaïbou Souaré,” an elementary school in Vélingara, giving students and the local community access to technology. The school draws students from surrounding rural areas, as education in the villages only exists for the elementary level, if at all. Currently, there are no schools in all of Vélingara with properly functioning computers, leaving most students completely ignorant as to their use and potential.

I has observed that education in Vélingara faces many obstacles. Only a small minority of students earn a high school degree. For most families, simply buying the 50¢ notebook and pen required for class is a struggle and a decision to go without a meal. The school has only a few books which must be shared amongst the students. They are treasured to the point that they are never allowed to leave school grounds. A typical classroom consists of 30 plus students per class under a tin roof in a concrete room with outdoor temperatures over 100 degrees. Needless to say there are no fans or air-conditioning. Some temporary classrooms are simply grass-reed structures which are cooler, but more distracting as teachers have a hard time being heard over the din of the adjacent class.

The biggest challenge for the students, however, is simply a lack of access to information. As Director Baldé states, “We don’t even have adequate textbooks with pictures, so how can we explain things such as mountains, the ocean, and islands to students that have never seen them?” This inspired me to start this campaign to bring computers to Vélingara. Computers would give the students access to an incredible amount of information, where currently their education only consists of copying word-for-word passages their teachers write on the chalkboards. It would allow them to see images of the world and its peoples, read innumerable historical accounts previously unavailable, and grant them access to the wealth of knowledge that we take for granted in America.

I believe that one of the main purposes of education is to open the student’s mind, imagination, and interest to the wider world around them. Bringing computers to this school will provide that window to the world for its 866 students and the community at large, granting them access to more information than any other medium can provide. This would effectively allow the students to discover interests and be well equipped to pursue them: broadening their horizons beyond their current view of the world, which is limited to the 10 miles they know between Vélingara and their village of origin.

In the United States, most companies update their computers every couple of years and end up filling the landfills with fully functioning computers that could be put to good use somewhere else. I am aiming to bring twenty computers to Vélingara to build a computer lab for the students and the community at large. I will be in Vélingara for another year and a half with the Peace Corps, so I will be able to train the teachers and create a curriculum for the school. Outside of school hours the lab will also be open for community training -- educating the general population while simultaneously providing income for the school to maintain the computer lab. An overriding goal of the Peace Corp is to provide technical knowledge and sustainable assistance and, in setting up a technology program that also generates income, I hope to fulfill this goal.
The Vélingara School has also expressed interest in setting up an electronic exchange program with a Hingham School with their new email capabilities, so any Hingham teachers out there if you're interested, once the lab is all set-up, I will be looking for some partner classes! Note: they don't speak English, just poor French!

The computers are available through World Computer Exchange, but I need to raise enough money to fund shipment to Senegal. This cost will be approximately $2000. In addition, I am applying for a Peace Corps grant to fund installation costs (electricity, internet, fans, tables, etc).
If anyone is interested in helping to provide financial support for the project, donations can be made through the World Computer Exchange (www.worldcomputerexchange.org). By clicking on the “Donate Now through Network for Good” button and specifying “PCV Michael Hebert - Senegal” as the designation, funds will be applied to the Senegal shipment. Additional information and my complete project proposal is also available on the Senegal page of this site under “Ecole 4: Thierno Souaibou Souare de Vélingara”.

Also, check out my photo album dedicated to the Ecole 4, Vélingara school at http://picasaweb.google.com/MichaelHebert. Please send any questions, comments, or simply small talk to me at MichaelTHebert@gmail.com. Thank you all very much for keeping up with my blog and tendency to rant (including this entry, which those of who live in Hingham will notice is almost exactly the same as an article that should be appearing soon in the Hingham Journal). Thank you again for bearing with my little promo here and I'll start writting interesting things again next time, Inshallah. On jaaraama buy!!!