OLPCorps Africa

Welcome to OLPCorps Africa, a new student-based grassroots initiative supporting OLPC.
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About OLPCorps Africa

100 XOs, Hardware, up to $10K stipend, 10-day training in Kigali, Rwanda, and an entire summer in an African country of your choice. Sound too good to be true? Well, it's not. OLPC has a revolutionary vision: an XO for every child. Crazy, right? Not crazy enough, since it's becoming a reality. Country after country, children with XOs are learning more, finding new avenues of expression, and connecting to a global network of like-minded children. But we can't achieve this dream alone, which is why we need your help in turning this idea into a global movement. Through OLPCorps Africa, we'll provide the tools and resources to get you started if you can provide the time, energy, and dedication to change the world. This is a student movement, a learning movement, an education movement...The OLPC Movement.

Eligibility & Requirements

• Undergraduate or graduate students from all fields of study and nationalities are eligible to apply. Students entering university in fall '09 or graduating in spring '09 are also eligible to participate. Applicants must be at least 18 years old by June 1, 2009.
• English proficiency is required for the 2 team members attending the Kigali workshop.
• Minimum number of people in a team is 2.
• At least 2 team members must be present in Kigali, Rwanda June 8th-17th for training with the OLPC Learning Team. Teams will then depart for their specific destination.
• Deployments must occur within one of the African countries. Preference will be given to deployments in rural areas.
• Minimum of 9-10 weeks commitment (the duration of your summer break).
• Each team member must have their immunizations.
• Each team member must hold a valid passport.
• Each team member is responsible for acquiring a visa, if needed.
• 1 member of each team will participate in a workshop at MIT/OLPC in Cambridge this October 10-12 (all expenses covered by OLPC).

How to Write a Project Proposal

Thinking about starting your proposal? Not sure where to start? This section should answer some of your questions. Don't be afraid to ask questions & collaborate - we're better as a team. Keep in mind, up to 100 teams are receiving 100 XOs each. This isn't a competition between teams, but a group effort.

In the end, all teams will be working together for 10 days in Kigali before deploying. Our goal is to form a network of African deployments which support learning for years to come. Before your team applies, consider the following suggestions we've outlined below.

Proposal deadline is by March 27th. Send yours to OLPCorps@laptop.org with the following title: "OLPCorps_YourUniversity_CountryinAfrica_LastName". Proposals will not be considered if they exceed the 750 word limit (hyperlinks are ok), are submitted in a language other than English, do not mention technical and NGO support, or do not focus on children & learning.

A few helpful recommendations and items from the OLPCorps Team which must be covered in designing your proposal:

• Submission due by March 27th.
• Accepted Proposals announced April 10th.

Proposal formatting:

• Proposals must be in English.
• Length of Proposal must not exceed 750 words.
• Hyper-linked text is allowed throughout the proposal.

Proposal contents:

• Answer the basics: who, what, when, where. Most importantly, KEEP IT CONCISE AND DIRECTLY TO THE POINT.
• How will you work with children? Are the children in school from June-August? Are they on summer break? Address how you will deal with children and learning with their schedule.
• Who is the local partner? How will you follow-up? Partner with groups capable of maintaining the deployment after you leave. Is there an academic institution, NGO, community organization, etc. willing to oversee the project after the summer? Do you have family ties in the community? What's going to happen when you leave?
  • Include a letter of support from the local partner (this doesn't count towards your 750 word limit). Make sure you show that together you're capable of handling the receipt of a 230 kg package of laptops and equipment. Where will you store the equipment during the deployment?
• How will this impact 6-12 yr old children? All proposals must be about kids 6-12 years old and their learning. A proposal gets stronger as soon as the group can show that children are the agents of change, not just the objects of teaching.
  • Stick to OLPC's Core Principles: child ownership, low ages, saturation, connection, and free and open source.
• How will you provide financial support after you leave? OLPC is awarding up to 100 teams roughly $35,000 each (total value of XOs, stipend, etc) to create learning environments throughout Africa! How can you show that your team can provide financial support after you leave?
  • Research your university's grant programs, student associations, alumni networks, and other avenues of funding to sustain your deployment.
• Communication - do you share the language of the school or community where you will be working? If not, how will this be overcome?
• Describe your project's financial needs. Provide a brief (no more than 1/2 page) budget of the project. Include travel costs (to Kigali and your deployment community), housing for 9 weeks (can your local partner help here?), and other project-related expenses. Remember that OLPC will only grant up to $10,000 and that you do not need to include XOs, accessories, or Kigali accomodations in your budget. If you have a creative project-based idea that needs funding, let us know.
  • Be realistic with your budget. It will determine how much money you'll receive.
  • But also be economical where possible. If we think a team's budget is wasteful or unrealistic, we will consider that in evaluating the proposal.

Note: Upon acceptance, you will be asked to provide proof as a student. This will be verified by the dean of your department, for instance.

OLPCorps Africa Applicants

Below is a regularly updated list of teams across the globe applying to OLPCorps Africa. Missing a key component to your proposal's design? Need a technical lead? Need a pedagogical lead? Working in an off-grid environment? Here's your chance to partner up with like-minded students to change the world. Power in numbers, right?

Indiana University (IU)

Under the auspices of One Here...One There, a non-for-profit org. driven to mitigate educational disparities in sub-Saharan Africa, the Indiana University OLPC chapter is comprised of mostly liberal-arts students with an interest in alternative learning environments and international development. With technical support through the Kliptown Youth Project (KYP), the IU OLPC chapter distributed 115 XOs (15 thanks to Larry Weber) to 3 separate rural primary schools in Limpopo, South Africa from Aug-Sept '08, in addition to establishing power and internet. The team continues to support South African OLPC deployments in various ways, including its first XO Camp in Johannesburg, networking and support for future deployments, and the like. IU OLPC is applying to the OLPCorps Africa program with the hope of saturating the already participating schools in South Africa. Contact Joe Peoni (jpeoni@indiana.edu) for any questions relating to our program.

IU OHOT is looking for a team member to assist in translation, specifically to/from Sepedi.

Global Minimum (GMin), Harvard, Princeton, Indiana University, etc

GMin- www.gmin.org , is a dynamic international organization based on the principle that we can use minimal resources to reduce some of the world's larger problems to a minimum through well-researched and executed projects. Of course, one can think of it as the "least we can do". We work predominantly in Sierra Leone at the moment- where we have successfully carried out Malaria Eradication projects and recently, distributed about 30 XOs to a small community in Sahn Malen, Sierra Leone. GMin will apply to the OLPCorps Africa program because to us, this is one of the best ways to improve education on a grass root level. For more information, contact info@gmin.org

Cornell OLPC

A team led by Information Science students from Cornell is planning a trip to deploy laptops in Mauritania. One team member’s brother is currently in the Peace Corps in the town of Tidjikja teaching at a primary school. We have held a preliminary planning meeting and are confident about the team that we are putting together. We have both technical expertise and a direct contact currently on the ground in our deployment area, which will remain for another year after the laptops are given out. This will enable a smooth transition for the laptop program and make sure that the program continues to succeed after the summer project is finished. We will continue to edit our proposal as more information becomes available. If anyone wants to collaborate, has questions or is just generally interested feel free to contact us at eal95@cornell.edu.

UMB OLPC

OLPC University of Massachusetts Boston: UNCHOSEN AFRICAN COUNTRY

Members: Olesia Plokhii, John Keniley

PROPOSAL/MISSION/MANIFESTO: Our goal is to turn children into agents of change by empowering them with new media tools—a computer—to be citizen journalists. Using word tools and multimedia apps, we hope to get FLIP—a small, handheld camera the size of a phone—to sponsor our mission and donate 100 flips to our community so we can incorporate word, audio, and video to create a story of each child’s life that will ultimately be broadcast to other XO laptop-participating countries and the USA, promoting a global network of educated youth. An integral part of the child’s project—uploaded on a sharing site that is blog-enabled—will be to document the effect of AIDS on children and their families, with a focus on creating AIDS awareness within the community. PLEASE ADD SUGGESTIONS HERE. email: olesia_p@hotmail.com, jkeniley@hotmail.com

Jamii OLPC

Real, sustainable development comes from communities, and the individuals they are comprised of; technology is but a tool, albeit an important one. This is the foundational principle of Jamii OLPC (Jamii means "community" in Swahili). We are a small but experienced multi-national team seeking to help further engage and empower young people in Tanzania or Kenya to be drivers of development in their communities through the opportunities for education and innovation OLPC provides.

Jamii OLPC Coordinator: Sam Burton
Sam is a 23 year old Canadian, currently in the first year of a Masters in Mass Communication at Carleton University in Ottawa. She has extensive practical experience working on the ground in the developing world, having participated in internships in Nepal and Tanzania. Both placements involved working with and liaising between local and national NGOs, implementing long-term sustainable plans and working with youth. She lived and worked in Mwanza, Tanzania in 2006, interning with a women's rights organization called Kivulini through Western Heads East. During her time in Mwanza, Sam met many of the children of the women whom she worked and lived with, and fell in love with the city, country and people. She also learned to speak conversational Swahili. For these reasons, her goal is to find a school in either Tanzania or Kenya to partner with Jamii OLPC.

The Jamii OLPC team will consist of 3-4 individuals. Bios and positions will be posted upon confirmation of commitment; we are currently awaiting confirmation from another former Kivulini intern specializing in ICTs for development and an experienced OLPC technical intern and deployment volunteer.

It is also part of our vision to have a local Jamii OLPC team, consisting of 3-4 local individuals who will serve as counterparts to each position above. Think of the Jamii OLPC positions as having two people under each title, one international and one local member. Local Jamii OLPC members will work closely with their OLPCorps partner to help integrate all aspects of the project into the rhythm of the school, community and culture. OLPCorps members will provide any training required for their local counterparts take over the basic day-to-day operations covered by a given position after the international team departs. Once we have confirmed a partner school and begin to fill the local positions, those individuals' bios will be posted as well.

SEEKING: A school located in Tanzania or Kenya interested in partnering with Jamii OLPC!! If you represent a school in either of those two nations that would like to be a part of OLPCorps and is committed to building a long-term sustainable project, but needs a team to partner with, please contact Jamii OLPC at samantha.v.burton@gmail.com. We can't wait to hear from you!

Jambo! Una shule katika Tanzania au Kenya? Unataka kufanya kazi pamoja na OLPC na Jamii OLPC? Email hapa: samantha.v.burton@gmail.com na tutaongea. Asante sana!

Individuals

• Max

  I am a Social Computing Informatics student at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. I have the technical know-how of a computer science student, but with an understanding of the social implications of technology. I am well versed in computer technology and can help with any technical tasks. I am a strong supporter of the OLPC endeavor and would sincerely love to do my part to bridge the gap. Shoot me an email at mstoller@umich.edu.

• Daniel Drake

  I studied Computer Science at the University of Manchester, UK, and will be returning for postgraduate studies in business/management. I was a technical intern at OLPC HQ in summer 2008, immediately followed by helping on the Ethiopian deployment for 5 weeks. Now, I am volunteering at the Paraguayan deployment until mid-April. I know the XO from a technical standpoint very well, having contributed to many OS components and activities, and having been developing open source projects for several years. I also am studying the various literature on the learning side. I am looking for a team to get involved with - I can handle a lot of the OLPC-specific aspects of the deployment for you, but I would be looking for a team that has figured out the local details of which country/school and the associated logistics as this is not my area. dsd@laptop.org

• Bryant Lee

  I am potentially interested in doing this. I am a 3rd year Ph.D. student in computer science at Carnegie Mellon University. I already have a Master's degree in CS from the same university. I would love to get involved in spreading technology and creating social impact, but I don't have a team or local partners as of yet. Let me know. Personal homepage with my email address: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~bryantl/

• Prabhas Pokharel

  I am very interested in doing this as well. I am a graduating senior in Computer Science at Harvard University, and am planning on working with technologies in the developing world in the future. I have an XO at home, and have played with them, and I know some of the specifics, but I'm planning on having my enthusiasm and technical experience push me forward. I'm really interested in the logistics and nature of getting to people with technology, and not just the technology, although I'm not sure I know a lot about this already. Contact welcomed. http://prabhasp.com. pokharel AT fas harvard edu

• Martin Mohr Olsen

  I am 27 and a student at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, doing a joint honors in International Relations and Sociology. I am a 1st year undergrad, but am currently working on research for my Masters thesis which will involve the OLPC. I am not a programmer and I do lack knowledge of Sugar, but I am still very computer literate. I am interested in the teaching/learning aspects of the OLPC (and computers in general), and intend to base my thesis on how best to utilize open-source software and open hardware in the creation of a curriculum. I would be very interested in the logistics, fundraising and preperations for this trip. If possible, I would like to bring a second member starting her bachelors in Nutrition and Public Health this summer. My blog is at: http://www.mohrolsen.com and my mail is mohrolsen@gmail.com. Give me a ring!

• Eric Anderson

  I am a 21-year-old 3rd year student studying English, Informatics, and Global Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, though I am at Bristol University, UK until this summer. While I've never gotten my hands on an XO, I've published writing about 'em, and have been seeking an opportunity to practice what I've preached. This looks like it! I have worked with children on sustainable green construction in Guatemala, and have written a bit to assist with Long Way Home's advertising and fundraising. Off the top of my head, I am interested in using the XO to empower children through organized sports, fluency in New Media, AIDS education, and green initiatives, but I'm up for anything. I am currently applying for funding through my Honors college, so all I need is a team! I'm buddied up with one other, a Master's student in D.C., and we're looking to join together if possible. My travel writing and New Media blog is http://ericsblog6.blogspot.com/ . I know time's ticking, so shoot me a message at eranderson6@gmail.com.

• Adrienne Rogers

  I am a 24 year old 1st year graduate student studying Social Work at The University of Tennessee. I have just heard about this project and would love to get involved with a team. I am very interested in international development and social justice issues, and think the OLPC program is a great way to get involved in these things at a grassroots level. I am also really interested in what OLPC is doing for education and empowerment for the children that are receiving the laptops. I see this as not only an opportunity to allow 100 children to receive a resource that will benefit them in many ways, but also as an opportunity to partner with some like-minded people that I can learn from and have fun with along the way. I do not have a ton of technical experience, but can offer leadership, networking, and creativity skills. I am organized and efficient, love coming up with ideas, making goals, and being part of a group. I would also bring experience in working with and training youth, working with volunteers, event planning, and some grant writing. There is not much time left, so please let me know ASAP if you are interested in another member for your team! rogers.adrienne@gmail.com Thanks and good luck!

NGOs

If you are an NGO based in Africa interested in working with a student group to carry out such a project, or if you are working on your own initiatives with educational programs that are, please list yourself and your project here : your name, your project name, where you are based / where you are working, and how to get in touch with you.

Radio Station in Malawi

Hi, I am Gloria Masanza and i work as a sub-editor at a privately -owned radio station in Malawi, Central Africa. I have a friend working with the American Peace Corps in the country and she told me about the one laptop per child program. I have become so fascinated with the program since she told me, and we have been are working to link up with an organisation which is already working on children's rights. So I would like to know how we can get the intern teams visit us and see what we can do for our children. There are a lot of children here in Malawi who cannot even explain what a computer is, and over 90 percent of Malawi's children have never seen a computer, so this may just be a stepping stone, to the future. My e-mail is gmasanza@yahoo.com for your response.

Children Rights International - Ghana

This is Bright Appiah, briahus @ yahoo.com, the director for Child Rights International.
We have interest in a team visiting or serving as station in Africa.

Our commitment is to provide an ongoing voice for children and also reaffirm the faith of young people’s hope for a better future.

Please visit our website Children Rights International. thanks

Other Ways to Participate

We're looking to reach university students across the world to participate in the OLPCorps Grant Program - this is a global learning movement. If you can translate a short one page letter from English into any other relevant language, e-mail OLPCorps@laptop.org to help out. You can also edit these wiki pages, too.

Please request to join our Sunday 4PM EST/EDT conference calls.

Please reach out using the OLPC Grassroots mailing list.

How to Use This Page

This is a wiki page which allows you to edit or add information. We do this because we want to hear from you! If you have a comment, feel free to leave it on the discussion page. But if you want to add your group to our growing university list or share your story go ahead and add it in! Just hit edit on the tab menu above. To learn how to edit, click on the side bar tab: Help Using the Wiki.