OLPCorps Ashesi University Ghana.

Ashesi University – Compassion International Proposal

We are excited about this OLPC initiative because Ghana needs to leap frog its educational system, which we believe can be achieved through the use of ICT. The XO laptops will provide children with resources to fast-forward their education and give them the opportunity to expand their educational realities. This project shares and parallels some of the objectives of Compassion International, that of, "releasing children from physical and cognitive poverty".

Who Our Team is Group Member 1- Samuel Obeng

I am a freshman computer science major student at Ashesi University. I have taught children of 6-12 years during my volunteer work at the New Horizon special School in Accra Ghana. I like designing games that promote learning in children, so I hope this project will give me the opportunity to learn more about how children appreciate technology.

Group Member 2- Isaac Appiah

A motivated student at Ashesi University who aims to major in business administration, I am passionate about working for the less privileged in society. I have had the opportunity to teach children of this same age range in ICT and I believe my participation in this program is a step in the right direction in my bid to share the same experience I had during my one year of teaching.

Group Member 3- Nana Yaw Nketia

I am a freshman student gearing up for a major in Management Information Systems. Results oriented, I have a belief that ICT penetration in Africa should begin with children and is an essential component for development. As such, I consider this project as a rare opportunity to help shape the development of children.

Group Member 4 – Afua Bruce

Afua holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering from Purdue University, and will return to school full-time in the fall for an MBA. She has been a Software Engineer at IBM in Austin, Texas, for the last three years. Afua has an interest in Ghana, her parents’ country of origin, and has been very interested in OLPC since she heard of it over a year ago. Due to prior commitments, Afua will not be able to attend the orientation in Kigali, but her technical expertise will be very important as the team sets up the server and network at the site.

Advisor – Dr. Suzanne Buchele

Dr. Buchele used to teach at Ashesi University, has implemented an OLPC pilot project in Accra, and helped us make contact with Compassion International. She helped us write this proposal. Dr. Buchele will hopefully be able to be in Ghana for some of the summer and advise our project as needed. Two of the group members will travel to the orientation in Kigali. Afua Bruce, due to previous commitments, will participate for 4 of the 9 weeks, from immediately following the Kigali orientation through mid-July. She will be the technical lead initially, and will help the other group members both with the technology, downloading content on the server, and with the training materials and working with the students

Who Our Local Partner Is

Compassion International is a global organization serving 18,000 children in central and greater Accra, Ghana. The site we will work with, in Medina (near Accra), Ghana, which serves about 200 students total. We will target the middle-aged range students, and if successful, it is hoped that Compassion International will be able to approach the donors for this site to provide the additional 100 laptops needed. Also if successful, it is hoped that Compassion International will expand this pilot project to more of its programs both in Ghana and worldwide

Logistics

Students served at this site attend an enrichment program every Saturday throughout the year (the site will not be on holiday during the months of June-August). We will set up the server at the church which hosts the child development center, install applications, eBooks, and other materials on the server for the children to use, and train the children and teachers in how to use the laptops. Language is not an issue – we all speak English and 3 of us speak local languages as well.

Since three of us are first year students, we will be available for the upcoming 3 years to help Compassion International personnel maintain the program and sever.