Jamii OLPC

“Jamii” means community in Swahili, and is the foundational principle of Jamii OLPC's OLPCorps Africa proposal:

Real, sustainable development comes from communities, and the individuals they are comprised of;
technology is but a tool, albeit an important one.

Jamii OLPC is a small but experienced multi-national team seeking to help further engage and empower young people in Tanzania to be drivers of development in their communities, assisted by the opportunities for education and innovation OLPC provides.

Our school partnership, team members and proposal are all currently works-in-progress, but stay tuned to catch the latest updates as Jamii OLPC grows from an idea into a real opportunity to make a difference.

Contact: JamiiOLPC@gmail.com

About Tanzania

Tanzania is a country in East Africa, with over 40 million residents speaking Swahili and English. It is the home to the beautiful Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater, where you can find much amazing wildlife. ^[1] Most people make their living through agriculture, however the nominal GDP is less than $500 per capita.^[2]

In Tanzania, over 1.3 million people live with HIV/AIDS. In 2007, 140,000 were children under 15. 58% were women aged 15-49.^[3]

Malaria takes the lives of 100,000 people each year. 80% are children under 5^[4]

The country struggles to fight these intangible monsters, but with an average of one doctor for ever 32,000, it is an uphill battle.^[5]

Tanzania's children are the future; if equipped with education, tools and opportunities, this generation can take up the fight against these enemies waging war on the bodies of their families, community and country.

This generation can make a difference.

Partner School

We are currently in the process of confirming a partner school. We are in discussion with an interested school in Tanzania, as well as in contact with several other interested individuals connected with schools in Tanzania and Kenya. In the interest of creating the most sustainable project, we are engaging in in-depth discussion with the schools before a partnership is solidified. However, we hope to have a confirmed partner by March 15, 2009.

Jamii OLPC Team

The entire Jamii OLPC team is made up of two units: the international unit (comprised of university students deployed through OLPCorps) and the local unit (comprised of teachers, school officials and community members from the partner school).

Cooperation and collaboration between the two units is of paramount importance to the success and sustainability of the project. Because of this, the members of both units will be featured here.

International Unit

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Project Coordinator & Political Lead

Sam Burton
Country: Canada
Age: 23
University: Carleton University
Program: MA Mass Communiactions

Sam 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. She also speaks conversational Swahili.

Sam has over five years of work experience in communications, public relations and project management. Positions include Adult Adviser to the Ottawa Red Cross Youth Action Ambassador Program (present), Political & Media Liaison for the Mobilize March (2008), UWO Faculty of Information and Media Studies Vice President Events. She has also been the recipient of numerous awards and grants, including a CIDA Canada Corps Students for Development Internship Grant for her 2006 work in Tanzania. Full resume available here.

Primary Responsibilities

• Ensures that all operations not only adhere to, but also support and emphasize OLPC’s foundational principles
• Main point of contact for all internal and external communications
• Directs operations of team as a whole, ensuring cohesion
• Ensures all team members and operations receive adequate financial, technical and personnel support
• Drafts OLPCorps proposal
• Works with all team members (international and local) to draft a strategic plan, detailing the deployment strategy and long-term sustainability of project
• Helps to set achievable, yet ambitious, goals
• Organizes and implements, in conjunction with the local unit, community outreach and information
• During deployment, works closely with Pedagogical Lead I to train teachers and introduce children to XO laptops
• Prepares a proposed budget for overall operating costs, to be presented to the Financial Lead

1. for initial deployment
   
2. for long-term project sustainability

• Provides any training necessary for local counterpart(s) to take over position following the international team’s departure

Technical Lead

team member to be confirmed upon finalization of school partner

Primary Responsibilities

• Organizes all technical aspects of deployment
• Advises Project Coordinator and Pedagogical Lead(s) about potential limitations and potential aspects of emphasis with regards to the XO Laptop, as well as help formulate solutions to integrate ideas within capabilities of the technology
• Directs and assigns technological-support related tasks to other team members as necessary
  • Will inform Project Coordinator of all technological-support related tasks assigned to other team members
• Prepares a proposed technological budget, to be presented to the Financial Lead

1. for initial deployment
   
2. for long-term project sustainability

• Provides any training necessary for local counterpart(s) to take over position following the international team’s departure

Pedagogical Lead I

VACANT!!! Are you a graduate student with a background in early childhood education, who is interested in working with a small, dynamic and experienced team? Please review the position description below and apply to JamiiOLPC@gmail.com

Primary Responsibilities

• Prepares a flexible draft curriculum, comprised of several possible ways/activities/uses through which use of the XO laptop could be integrated into the school’s existing curriculum
  • The flexibility of this document is of particular importance, as the local partner Education Lead(s) will have the final say in how the proposed curriculum is integrated into the existing.
    
  • Approximately 1-2 of the first weeks of the on-the-ground deployment will involve an intense, collaborative work-shopping, adaptation and integration of ideas by both the international and local team members, the end result of which will be the final curriculum to be adopted.
    
  • After final curriculum is agreed upon and implemented, will conduct ongoing evaluation of effectiveness during term of deployment, and make or suggest adjustments where necessary
  • Potential subjects: Computer Science/Training (ie. typing); Swahili; English; Math; Science; History/Geography; Creative Arts
    
  • The draft curriculum will provide activities/uses for each subject, for the following age groups: 6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12+. This will facilitate the initial deployment, as well as ensure the school is equipped with a curriculum that will grow and develop as the children do.
    
• Directs and assigns pedagogical-related tasks to other team members as necessary
• Prepares a proposed educational supplementary budget, to be presented to the Financial Lead

1. for initial deployment
   
2. for long-term project sustainability

• Provides any training necessary for local counterpart(s) to take over position following the international team’s departure

Pedagogical Lead II (Canada-based consultant)

Jackie Strecker Country: Canada
Age: 24
University: York University and Ryerson University
Program: MA Communications and Cultures

Jackie Strecker is a twenty-four year old graduate student in the collaborative Communications and Cultures program at York and Ryerson University in Toronto. Her thesis research assesses the implementation of information communication technologies (ICTs) in participatory educational development. Jackie has worked with numerous NGOs in diverse countries and environments, transferring her communication technology expertise in several ‘train-the-trainer’ initiatives. Most recently Jackie returned from the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya where she interned with FilmAid International facilitating multimedia training seminars for the leaders of the Participatory Video Project (PVP). Jackie’s technological knowledge and practical educational experience positions her as an excellent asset for the OLPCorps team; however, due to time and financial constrictions, she will not be participating in the on-the-ground OLPCorps deployment

Primary Responsibilities

• Assists Pedagogical Lead I in preparing a flexible draft curriculum, comprised of several possible ways/activities/uses through which use of the XO laptop could be integrated into the school’s existing curriculum
  • The flexibility of this document is of particular importance, as the local partner Education Lead(s) will have the final say in how the proposed curriculum is integrated into the existing.
    
• Provides all non-Swahili speaking Jamii OLPC team members will basic pre-departure language training materials and instruction (where location permits)
• During the deployment, acts as the primary Canada-based contact and consultant for pedagogical and logistical inquiries from the team in the field

Financial & Logistical Lead (Canada-based consultant?)

team member to be confirmed upon finalization of school partner

Primary Responsibilities

• Prepares and evaluates a detailed budget, comprised of reviewed section-specific budgets created by the Project Coordinator, Technical Lead and Educational Lead (s)

1. for initial deployment
   
2. for long-term project sustainability

• Responsible for researching, locating and approaching potential monetary support options, both for the initial deployment and long-term sustainability
• Coordinates any fundraising efforts to occur prior to deployment
  • Monitors any funds collected through those efforts
  • Prepares a detailed list of suggestions as to where those additional funds would be best spent, in the context of the strategic plan and existing budget
• Creates an inventory of all project-related materials to be purchased and transported to partner school, or to be purchased locally. Responsible for monitoring this inventory, and making sure all required materials are purchased and accounted for.
• Monitors spending throughout the deployment, ensuring all team members are accountable for funds spent
  • Responsible for organizing round-trip transportation and lodging for international team
  • Responsible for organizing transportation for local unit Project Coordinator to Kigali orientation
  • Organizes receipt, transportation and distribution of XO laptop shipment
• Prepares and maintains a flexible Deployment Schedule, based on timelines and goals agreed upon by the team
• During deployment, works closely with Pedagogical Lead I to train teachers and introduce children to XO laptops
• Provides any training necessary for local counterpart to take over position following the international team’s departure (ie. training in grant proposal writing, fundraising strategies)

Local Unit

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This section will be completed upon confirmation of our partner school. The plan is for the team to consist of individuals whose positions mirror those of the international team; however, the duties of the four positions above may be divided among more than one person. Other individuals involved in the school (ie. teachers, board members, the Headmaster) may also be listed here.

OLPCorps Proposal

This is a work in progress!

Jamii OLPC team members will be using this space to collaboratively create our proposal. This is only the bare-bones information that will be in the proposal; once all of the information has been gathered, it will be made into the formally written proposal to be submitted to OLPCorps on March 27th, 2009.

In the spirit of openness, transparency and above all, community, this process of maturation for our proposal will be visible not only to the entire OLPC community, but the internet as a whole!

Comments are welcome from anyone and everyone, however we'd appreciate it if you posted in the Questions & Comments section of this page or emailed us (JamiiOLPC@gmail.com), rather than editing this proposal directly.

Asante sana! Thank you!

Who: Jamii OLPC (see team members) When: June - August, 2009 Where: Tanzania

Who is the local partner?

How will you follow-up?

What's going to happen when you leave?

• Letter of support from the local partner

How will you work with children?

Are the children in school from June-August?

How will this impact 6-12 yr old children?

How will you handle the receipt of a 230 kg package of laptops and equipment?

Where will you store the equipment during the deployment?

Describe your project's financial needs. As an attachment provide a brief budget for the project. Do you have a creative project-based idea that needs funding?

How will you provide financial support after you leave?

Do you share the language of the school or community where you will be working? The two spoken languages in Tanzania are Swahili and English. All of the international members of Jamii OLPC are English-speaking. Sam, our Project Coordinator, speaks conversational-level Swahili. Jackie, our Pedagogical Lead II, also speaks conversational-level Swahili and will provide training materials and instruction (where geographically possible) to the non-Swahili speaking members of Jamii OLPC.

Project Ideas Highlights

Kids Teaching Kids

At the start of the 2009 school year, each of the 100 children who received a laptop during the summer will be partnered with another child in their age group. This after-school program will help facilitate peer-to-peer computer training in a setting that's fun for all of the kids involved!

In this way, the children who received XO laptops will foster leadership skills and nurture a sense of social responsibility. The children receiving the training will develop technical computer skills that they otherwise would not have been able to, giving them an advantage in the workforce and a solid foundation to build further study.

Fundraising

As fundraising efforts are initiated, they will be documented in detail here!

Questions & Comments

Please feel free to post your questions and comments in this section! We will do our best to get back to you as soon as possible, and thank you in advance for your insight and feedback.

You can also email us at JamiiOLPC@gmail.com