OLPCorps Clark Kenya

Introduction

We are a team of three graduate students, two from Clark University’s International Development and Social Change program and one [add here – Rosemary, where will you be studying?] We will be working in alliance with the [http://www.masskenya.org Greater Newburyport/ Bura Alliance (GNBA) to provide 100 XO laptops to Bura primary school in Bura Location, Taita District, Coast Province, Kenya. These computers will serve a dual purpose: first, to revolutionize the way that children learn, both in and out of school; and second, to serve as tools for cultural and linguistic preservation. By using the laptops to document oral histories among their elders and create an accompanying dictionary, children will serve as agents of change, constructing valuable knowledge for their community.

The Community

The approximately 250,000 people who live in the Taita Hills are an ethnic and linguistic minority. The primary language is Kidavida, but both Kiswahili and English are also spoken and taught in school. Kidavida is not a written language, and there are no dictionaries which are current and accessible to the community. The language is becoming intermixed with Kiswahili and, without active attempts at preservation, is in danger of dying out.

The culture is also changing rapidly. Fifteen years ago, Taita had no running water or telephones; now these items are commonplace. Family and social structures have also been changing due to the migration of men to Mbasa for employment. The people of Taita are proud of their culture and wish to maintain it…

The Project

Our Qualifications

Our Taita team has a diverse set of strengths. Collectively, we have several years of experience in elementary education, filmmaking, and IT. Two of us are studying International Development and Social Change and have been trained in project management and monitoring and evaluation, and each of us has worked in the developing world.

We will also be supported by GNBA, which has a fifteen-year relationship with Taita providing “friendship-based development.” One GNBA member has over ten years of experience developing and delivering training to IT staff and users in African and around the world and will be available via cell phone to help us troubleshoot technical problems.

GNBA has been networking with its contacts in Taita, including the brother of the Minister of Education, who are eager to provide their support.

Sustainability

We will provide continued support in a number of ways. First, we will be training local teachers and other interested people to maintain the network and integrate the laptops into classroom activities. As part of this initiative, we may use the computers or other video equipment to create training videos to leave with the community.

We also plan to sustain the links between GNBA, Bura, and Clark University. Clark hosts a well-respected program in International Development and Social Change, and this partnership provides an opportunity for interns and recent graduates to continue the work that we begin. GNBA will continue to provide financial and volunteer support as needed, raising funds for the community as it has for fifteen years.

Finally, we will combine our project deployment with research that can inform the sustainability of this and future projects. We plan to develop monitoring and evaluation methods with local community members and teachers-in-training, looking in particular at the ways in which the laptops empower children and support a constructivist approach to teaching and learning. Ideally, the project can then be used as a pilot for other areas in Taita.