OLPCorps Schulich Uganda

Who

Name, Program, School.

Lindsay Hillcoat, MBA- Nonprofit Management & Leadership- Schulich School of Business, Toronto

Tara Tancred, MPH- Global Health, University of Alberta

Seema Varma, IMBA- Marketing/Strategic Management, Schulich School of Business, Toronto

Khatidja Vaiya, JD/MBA- Nonprofit Management & Leadership, Schulich School of Business, Toronto

Julie Whelan, MBA- Arts and Media, Schulich School of Business, Toronto

Local partner. Ainembabazi Needy Children’s Project (ANCP). ANCP is a non-government organization based in Mbarara, Uganda and is a partner of the Canadian NGO Ainembabazi Children’s Project (ACP) based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The project will be supported in Uganda by ANCP staff in partnership with the teachers and a committee of local guardians. http://www.ainembabazi.org/

Mission. ACP/ANCP exists to advance the rights of the child and to empower children affected by the AIDS crisis in Uganda. The organization seeks to meet the needs of and enhance opportunities for children through both education and collaboration with local communities.

Receipt of XO laptops. ANCP will provide a truck has use of a truck to transport the laptops to a storage space in the ANCP residence in Mbarara. This space is locked within the gated, guarded residence. We will use the truck to transport laptops out to the local community.

Community. We have selected the rural area of Kinoni as the target community. The children will be in school for the duration of the project.

What

Laptop Ownership. 100 laptops will be distributed to grades P1-P6 (approx. ages 6-12) at Kinoni Integrated Primary School. As part of the ownership agreement, children will agree to basic responsibilities of caring for the laptop as well as agreeing to be a community ambassador and participate in “share time”.

Community-led. ANCP prides itself on fostering the values of self-reliance, sustainability, and community empowerment. In order to be consistent with these values, the project will focus on incorporating key Ugandan stakeholders (a current committee of teachers and guardians) throughout our planning and implementation process, such that ultimately, this project will be community-owned.

When

Project Dates. June 1 - August 20, 2009 (with 10 days in Kigali, Rwanda)

How

Agents of Change. The children will be agents of change for the community by acting as ambassadors of knowledge. Part of the ownership agreement with the child will incorporate a commitment to “share time” during which children will mentor their younger peers at school utilizing their XO laptop. In addition, the children can take the XO laptops home to demonstrate what they learned in a “show and tell” manner. Led by teachers, a weekly after-school club will be set up where students can introduce the XO laptop and share their knowledge with the larger community. Health education will be another key component of the program and will involve teaching the children about health issues using modules created on the XO laptop. Students will help to expand the health curriculum, taking ownership of the material, and will spread the knowledge they have gained during their “share time”.

Communication. While the children speak the local language Runyankore, they are educated in English so will understand the majority of English communication. Kinoni Integrated Primary School teachers, as well as ANCP staff will help to translate where necessary.

Technical support. The school has a power source and is within reach of a local telecom tower. In order to implement and support the technology, we will be partnering with a local Computer Science student from Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST). This student will assist in setting up the server and network, managing the account with the local internet provider, and troubleshooting in the long term to ensure local sustainability.

Budget. See attached budget. Additional financial support will be provided by Schulich School of Business, internship bursaries, event-based fundraising, and other nonprofit and local sponsorship.

Sustainability of Project. Supervision, continuation, and expansion of the project will be overseen by ANCP Uganda in collaboration with ACP Canada.

Future Financial Support. This will be provided in part by ACP Canada. The team is also exploring support and long-term grants with the Schulich School of Business, the Steven Lewis Foundation, and related local sponsors.

Future technical support. This support will be provided by the MUST Computer Science student partnership, a university that is just 30 minutes away from Kinoni.