OLPCorps AUP Nigeria

Mission

We have partnered with the Chanchaga Local Government, who owns the rural primary school, Jatai Butu in Minna, Nigeria. With 142 students, 69 boys and 73 girls, Jatai Butu Primary School is recognized as a pillar of the local community but it is lacking basic learning materials such as books and computer access. This project with OLPC would therefore be a unique opportunity for children in the community to enhance their learning potential and have contact with the outside world. Jatai Butu Primary School has confirmed that we can begin our project during the academic trimester as well as during the summer vacation as part of their summer program. The school would also provide a location to store the laptops. We plan to provide internet connection for the school during the nine weeks and will work closely with the government in hopes of sustaining it. Laptops will be assigned to students once the summer program begins via the school to ensure proper use and security. Jatai Butu Primary School and the Local Government have shown great interest and enthusiasm as shown in the requested letter of support and will assign Hajiya Ramatu Haruna, a member of their staff, as our local guide.

Objective

We will incorporate the use of laptops in to the school’s curriculum to show them a different approach to their learning. Classes will run four hours a day five days a week with two classes a week being “creative free time”. Week by week through videos, photos, music, games and more children will learn about other countries, culture and history. Throughout this journey we will teach children how to use and maintain their laptops so that they can obtain maximum usage for the future. During “free time” we will introduce children to the world of online journalism as well as allow other children in the community to take part by having current students acting as mentors. Moreover, the basic idea of the program is for children to have fun learning, thus sparking a further interest. It will be important to incorporate visual aids and games such as Where In The World is Carmen Sandiego (a geography and history game) to maximize the children’s learning potential. For this, one of our team members will research and create compatible software. Children will be divided in to three age groups: 6-8, 8-10 & 10-12 as this will be easier for us to reach children based on their developmental stage. Finally, the official language of instruction at the school is English, which will ease our deployment of the project.

Sustainability

We will work closely with teachers at Jatai Butu Primary School so that we can not only devise an effective summer school curriculum, but also to incorporate the laptops in to their current curriculum. Hajiya Ramatu Haruna, head of school services, will monitor the program’s progress during and after our departure to ensure sustainability. Furthermore, when we return to Paris we intend to hold fundraisers and use video coverage to raise awareness and continue financial support of the project. However, the most important aspect of the project is to involve the children so that their interest is stimulated which will in turn encourage them to share their knowledge and resources with other children.

Group Members

Alia Intably- A 3rd year International Comparative Politics major with some Computer Science experience has a strong interest in development for poverty or disaster stricken communities as a means of change and advancement. Proficient in French and Arabic.

Khalifa Bello – A senior Computer Science and International Economics major with previous experience as an English assistant in a French elementary school, working with children ages 10 –14. In addition, Khalifa has close ties with the Chanchaga Local Government as he spent 6 years of secondary school there and it is his mother’s hometown. Similarly, our local partner, Hajiya Ramatu Haruna, from the Local Government is a family acquaintance of his.

Anna Louise Klintman – A third year International Economics and International Applied Finance double major with previous experience with international relations and African studies. Has a strong interest in developing countries and would like to do a field study such as the OLPC project to enhance learning among underprivileged children.

Location

<googlemap version="0.9" lat="9.713118" lon="6.517639" zoom="11">9.607762, 6.553394, MinnaMinnaMinna, Niger9.607762, 6.553394, MinnaMinnaMinna, Niger</googlemap>

Budget Proposal

Items	Cost
Airfare for 3(paris - kigali - abuja - paris)	$7500
Food	$750
Transportation	$200
Internet Connection	$500
Visas	$400
Generator	$500
Cell Phones	$50
Microphone	$50
Immunization	free
Accomodation	provided
Estimated Total	$9,950