OLPC for Haiti

  This page is monitored by the OLPC team.

Haiti has been devastated by the recent earthquake. We are doing what we can to support the children and schools we work with there.

Haiti urgently needs sanitation, water, food, and shelter. Please consider donating to one of these organizations providing assistance on the ground now:

UNICEF World Food Program Partners In Health Sahana Foundation

Donate your XO to Haiti

If you have an unused XO laptop, you can give it to a displaced student in Haiti. OLPC for Haiti will be sending an extra shipment of XOs to Haiti this year, as part of the rebuilding around Port-au-Prince.

Please use this NEW shipping address, starting in 2013:

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Donate_Your_Get_One#OLPC_for_Haiti

Details and FAQ

Our warehouse is helping us keep costs low for storing these laptops. We've received an offer of free shipping from the warehouse to Haiti, and would appreciate similar offers -- please contact volunteer@laptop.org if you can offer concrete help in any way!

Q: Can I use the Post Office, Fedex, or UPS etc?

A: Yes, all carriers/shippers can be used, to the address above. A phone number may be requested by the shipper but should not be required.

Q: Is the original cardboard box required?

A: No! XO Laptops are quite tough. Whichever cardboard box you use, we'd just ask you to provide basic protective packaging around your XO laptop, charger and battery.

Q: What is the deadline for shipping XO Laptops to Texas?

A: While the deadline is not currently set, please monitor OLPC for Haiti (http://laptop.org/haiti) for future announcements.

Q: Can I receive a tax receipt?

A: Unfortunately no receipts are possible in this case, due to legal reasons. On a personal level, we very strongly appreciate your gift, as will the recipient.

Q: Are broken OLPC laptops being accepted?

A: Yes. 9 out of 10 'broken' laptops can be fixed with the right part or update in 15 minutes. The others are useful to any large deployment as spare parts.

Q: Are non-OLPC laptops or desktop computers being accepted?

A: Not at this time. Please contact recycling organizations like http://urbanrenewal.org and http://komputers4rkids.com that are doing similar work.

Q: What has happened to OLPC's efforts in Haiti and what is being planned?

A: OLPCorps Haiti plans were underway long before January 12, 2010's catastrophic earthquake and are now being readjusted. We are very hopeful to involve existing OLPC Haiti communities and beyond. However traumatic on-the-ground situations persisted here as of late January 2010. Please revisit the OLPC for Haiti and OLPC Haiti pages on an ongoing basis, as they are updated by staff and community members both.

Q: How else can I help OLPC efforts in Haiti?

A: Community ideas are being gathered if you can help suggest and directly contribute please!

About OLPC in Haiti

Last year we partnered with the Inter-American Development Bank to send 13,700 XOs to Haiti, for the students and teachers in 60 schools. We are waiting for news from the OLPC Haiti team and will update this page as it arrives.

This year we will be sending OLPCorps members to Haiti. These field volunteers will serve as an integral resource to teachers and school children as the country begins to rebuild. In addition to OLPCorps in Haiti we do hope to provide additional XOs to the children who have been displaced by the earthquake.

Other ways to help

If you want to help with translation or tool development for Haiti, see the list of related projects.