OLPC Sierra Leone

"The role of the teacher is to create the conditions for invention rather than provide ready-made knowledge." - Seymour Papert

Images from December '08 Pilot

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  Group Learning

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  Learning XO's Basic Functionality

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  Peer-2-Peer Participant

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  First opportunities to read & write outside of school

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  Collaborative Learning

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  Experimenting

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  Playing math through memorize

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  Father & Daughter

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  David Sengeh & Peer Tutors

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  Not enough XOs for everyone...

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  Coordinating Peer-2-Peer System

Supporting Organizations

Global Minimum

GMin is a student-led non-profit organization which works to solve small, local problems using innovative, global input. We are a team with diverse interests and backgrounds from all over the world, with one common goal: In 2007, GMin led a malaria eradication initiative in the village of Sahn Malen, Sierra Leone. We were one of the first groups to advocate and implement a "full coverage" approach to insectice-treated mosquito net coverage, providing protection for every individual in the community, not just women and children. Since then, the WHO has also adopted this policy. As part of this project, we worked closely with community members to deploy, install and follow-up with the nets. We also planned a simultaneous awareness campaign, involving workshops and a "Kick Malaria out of Sahn" football game. Follow-up evaluations in 2009 demonstrated that 97% of the population continued to use their nets properly, and the percentage of individuals who believed the purpose of an insecticide-treated mosquito net was for malaria prevention rose by 81%.

GMin's experience and network in the Sahn Malen Chiefdom has made it possible to initiate an OLPC pilot project focused on instruction inside and outside the classroom. The first phase of this project was implemented in December, 2008, and will continue for the next six years.

One Here...One There

Recognizing that the hope of the future is education, IU One Here…One There seeks to address global education disparities in sub-Saharan Africa.

Ongoing Projects

Malen Chiefdom - School Data

School	Location	Teacher Enrol.	Class I	Class II	Class III	Class IV	Class V	Class VI	Total
Roman Catholic	Sahn	9	145	91	93	88	90	65	572
Roman Catholic	Bamba	1	50	32	25	0	0	0	107
Roman Catholic	Kpombu	2	59	27	35	14	0	0	135
Roman Catholic	Gandorhun	2	60	35	65	55	34	30	279
Roman Catholic	Nianyahun	3	94	50	43	32	25	11	255
Roman Catholic	Sengema	2	47	45	20	23	15	0	150
Roman Catholic	Taninahun	3	70	31	23	17	14	5	160
Roman Catholic	Jao	3	86	71	40	26	22	15	260
Roman Catholic	Nyadehun	2	65	37	38	11	0	0	151
Roman Catholic	Fayama	2	60	40	26	22	16	0	164
Nat. Islamic Miss.	Sahn	4	76	25	35	30	20	15	201
Nat. Islamic Miss.	Gboyama	5	44	27	13	10	13	11	118
Nat. Islamic Miss.	Taninahun	2	15	7	3	2	0	0	27
P.D.E.C.	Hinai	4	68	45	48	40	35	11	247
P.D.E.C.	Banallen	2	49	43	36	0	0	0	128
New harvest	Maley	3	58	47	25	20	15	10	175
SLUIM	Sinjo	5	50	46	48	54	0	0	198
SLUIM	Jumbu	3	34	42	43	33	9	0	161
Comm. Sch.	Kasseh	1	45	45	15	0	0	0	105
M. Jun. Sec. Sch	Sahn	12	140	110	60	0	0	0	310
Total		70	1315	896	734	477	308	173	3903

Links

Global Minimum
IU One Here...One There
IRC

Location

<googlemap version="0.9" lat="8.233237" lon="-11.99707" zoom="7" width="500" height="375">7.580328, -11.766357, Malen, Sierra LeoneXOs: 30Power: Two 5W & five 10W individual solar panelsInternet: None </googlemap>