OLPCorps UIUC SaoTome

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Project summary

Students from the University of Illinois propose to implement the OLPC project Summer 2010 on the island country of Sao Tome e Principe. The team is currently envisioned to have three undergraduate and one graduate student. The students come from library and information science, urban and regional planning and international studies. All have participated in service learning activities in the United States; some have international experience with engaged scholarship.

In addition to the internship team, University of Illinois staff will provide logistical support during the stay on island as part of a larger scholarship of engagement project in country (see http://saotomeproject.wordpress.com for further details on the University projects occurring in collaboration with the São Toméan community). Further, several University students, as part of a service learning course project, will work with the Teachers College in São Tomé to setup a computer lab for the college and to help integrate technology, including XO laptops, and informatics into the curriculum (see http://courseweb.lis.uiuc.edu/~mwolske/lis451/).

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750 Word Proposal

How will we work with children?

The local participants of the project will be young girls. The distribution of the laptops will be blended between urban and rural populations. University student team members will collaborate in part with the University’s youth community informatics project in the United States (see http://yci.illinois.edu for project examples and potential curriculum), a project that seeks to actively engage youth in their communities to take on the issues that affect them the most. As such, training will focus both on essential computer literacy skills as well as experiential learning as citizen scientists/journalists. As citizen scientists, girls will further develop critical inquiry skills and learn scientific research tools and methods, including geographic information systems, through engaged exploration to help bring about positive change in their community. Further, some São Toméan girls will be given the opportunity to work with University researchers as collaborators to study and help their community meet community goals as action researchers. As journalist they will be taught essential interview and storytelling skills using projects that encourage them to interview their elders, create written and multimedia oral histories, and tell about the rich history and present situations of their country, communities and members.

The children are in school until mid-July. School is held in the morning. The first month of implementation will take place in the afternoons. Once school has been dismissed for the year (mid-July) the training will be offered in the morning as well.

Who is our local partner?

Our local partner in São Tomé will be the NGO StepUp (http://www.stepup.st/). This NGO works with grassroots organizations to develop and facilitate projects aimed at community development. The organization has a history of project implementation and has full support from the national government. The director of StepUp is the former Peace Corps director in Sao Tome and has lived in there for over ten years.

How will this impact 6-12 year old children?

São Tomé like the rest of Sub-Sahara Africa has few resources to devote to technology or computer literacy. These laptops will enhance their education and provide new avenues for learning. This will be particularly evident in the rural (plantations) areas where the quality of educational is significantly less than the urban centers. As in the Sao Tome cultural lexicon, “everyone is my cousin” these laptops will be shared with other children. In Sao Tome 48% of the population is under the age of 14. Many young girls in São Tomé do not advance beyond primary school because of responsibilities in the home. Since the targeted group is part of StepUp’s educational program the laptop computers will encourage parents to allow their daughters to advance in school.

How will we provide financial support after we leave?

StepUp and the University of Illinois will provide future support of the project. StepUp will monitor the usage and provide additional training. They will continue to provide financial support the educational advancement of this group of girls. The University of Illinois sends teams annually to Sao Tome. The students and faculty participate in service learning projects based on technology and informatics. OLPC will be incorporated into future projects with university students providing maintenance support and teaching these girls additional applications of technology that can be used as tools to improve their lives. The intent is to follow these girls through young adulthood and build on their knowledge base and how the laptops are incorporated into their lives.