OLPCorps Muskingum College Lesotho

Introduction

We know OLPCorps Africa isn't accepting applications for 2010 yet, but we've been laying the ground work for our project for several months now and want to start putting it together here. Your comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Blog

Follow our blog, OLPC 2010 Lesotho, to see what we've done and where we're at in the process.

2010 Project Proposal

Two U.S. college students, a Mosotho primary school teacher, a Peace Corps Volunteer, and a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer have teamed up to distribute 100 XO laptops to children at Ha Nohana Primary School in Ketane, Lesotho from June through August 2010. Our goal is to provide the children of Ketane with tools to educate themselves, expand their learning community, and develop critical thinking skills with the ability to identify and solve problems. We hope that, through strong community organization and mentoring of key individuals, the XO laptop program in Ketane will become completely community-run and self-sustaining. Ultimately, our long-term goal is to make the 2010 Ketane project the beginning of a multi-year program that provides XO laptops to disenfranchised children unable to attend school, in addition to students, and eventually expands to include all children throughout the region.

Ketane is a small, remote, rural community which is accessible by road and small plane. The area is not on an electrical grid, but it does have wireless access to the internet via GSM cell phone service. There is a small computer school, started by our team member Andrew Dernovsek, adjacent to the primary school. The computer school has a solar power system for running its computers. The primary school owns two XO laptops donated by people who received them via the Give One Get One program.

Tsela Mapeshoane, our Project Manager, is a teacher at Ha Nohana Primary School where there is strong support from the school's principal and teachers for this project. The Ketane community has several organized groups and dedicated individuals we are working with to provide long-term support for our project. Peace Corps/Lesotho staff members have also expressed support and are helping us with this project. We will be seeking additional support and funding from local leaders and community members, national leaders, and NGOs in Lesotho and the U.S. Team member Janissa Balcomb has established a U.S.-based nonprofit organization, Laptops to Lesotho, to raise additional funds for our project.

Two team members are fluent in Sesotho and English, the official languages of Lesotho, as are the primary school teachers. The students study English, but most are not fluent. The other three members of our team are studying Sesotho but do not expect to be fluent by deployment, so, initially, the teachers will translate for them.

Sarah Balcomb and Amy Balcomb will lead the XO laptop deployment and training in Ketane. XO computers will be given to all the children in standards 6-7, and the computers will be owned solely by the children, not the school. The teachers will also receive XOs, and a half dozen will be owned by the school.

Because students will be on break for the majority of the deployment period, we will be working outside the normal classroom setting most of the time. We are working with the school staff, students, and parents on scheduling and logistical details. If possible, we would prefer to have teacher training first, then train small groups of students, with the first students helping to train the next group, and so on. Each group will be given a community-based problem-solving project to work on. Teachers will be taught how to incorporate the XO laptop in their lesson plans, and the school-owned computers will be available for small group projects by students in grades 1-5.

June through August is winter in Lesotho, with below freezing temperatures and deep snow possible. We will be providing heaters for the classrooms to ensure a comfortable learning environment. Because snow may make logistics difficult at times, we are prepared to be flexible in our scheduling.

We will expand the computer school's existing solar power system so it can be used to charge all the XO computers at the primary school. We also hope to raise additional funds to acquire individual solar chargers so children can use the computers on their own after school hours and on holidays. We will provide a gas generator for times when solar charging is not possible. We will build storage and charging cabinets at the primary school and will set up the network server either there or at the adjacent computer school. We will acquire the necessary hardware and establish a contract with the cell phone company, Vodacom, to provide internet access to the children.

During deployment, equipment will be stored in locked rooms at the school. We will work with the local police and the community regarding security issues.

Supporting Documents

Lesotho

Location

Lesotho:

-29.630771, 28.399658, Lesotho</googlemap>

Geography

Lesotho is mountainous kingdom in southern Africa. The terrain is rugged, there are few roads, and many villages are isolated and only accessible by foot or horseback. The mountain soils are poor and only about 10% of the land is arable. Lesotho has a temperate climate with four distinct seasons. Winter weather can be especially harsh with below freezing temperatures and snow. The country is currently experiencing one of the worst droughts in decades, drying up water supplies and leaving many residents reliant on outside aid for food.

Obstacles Children Face

Isolation, poverty, poor nutrition, and an extremely high HIV/AIDS infection rate make life extremely challenging for the children of Ketane. Lesotho has the third highest infection rate of HIV/AIDS in the world with nearly a third of the adult population infected. The life expectancy in Lesotho has dropped in recent years to just 39 years. The epidemic has had devastating effects on family structure. The current generation of young adults and parents has been decimated so that a large number of today's children have lost at least one parent, and many have lost both. Some orphans are raised by grandparents, while others live in homes with a child as the head of the house. Primary education is free in Lesotho, but because of responsibilities at home, some children are unable to attend school. Secondary education is not free, and many students cannot afford it.

Ketane

Ketane, Mohale's Hoek District, Lesotho:

<googlemap version="0.9" lat="-29.573457" lon="28.399658" zoom="8" width="1000" height="500" scale="yes">

-30.133741, 27.882613 Ketane</googlemap>

Community

Ketane is a widely dispersed community made up of small enclaves and villages scattered over an area 20-30 km. in radius. It is also very remote. Ketane proper is an excruciating, 12-hour bus ride from Maseru, Lesotho's capital, but many of the homes, especially in the outlying areas, are only accessible by horseback or on foot. There are few facilities in Ketane proper,just a police station, health clinic,a small store, catholic mission, and school. The primary source of income is cattle ranching and raising sheep and goats for wool. There are two chiefs and a local council that govern the area. There is a very widows' association called Diamonds of Ketane. They raise money (more here) ... Several innovative ideas have taken hold in Ketane, including a large solar oven used by the Diamonds of Ketane, keyhole gardens, and a small computer school.

Primary Schools

Ha Nohana Primary School is one of 10 primary schools in Ketane. The school has 314 students in grades 1-7, 9 teachers, and a principal. Students walk up to 1½ hours to school. There are no boarders at the school, but some students from outlying areas live with relatives in the village in order to attend school.

Ketane is not on an electrical grid, and the school has no independent source of power, but it does have access to power from the adjacent computer school (see below). Two XO laptops, acquired via the Give One Get One program, were donated to the primary school in June 2009.

Enthusiasm by staff and students over these two computers prompted a request to find a way to get more of the XO laptops. The students held a contest and have named the project Our Treasure Highlands Computer School and have even designed a logo. We've warned everybody not to get their hopes up, that we haven't got the grant yet, and they say they understand. You certainly can't fault their enthusiasm!

Secondary Schools

There are several secondary schools in the Ketane area. The closest, Nohana Secondary School, is run by a Catholic mission, but has been experiencing many administrative difficulties, forcing some students to leave the area to attend secondary school.

Computer School

There is a small computer school, established in 2008 by our team member Andrew Dernovsek, which is now run by another member of our team, Tsela Mapeshoane. The computer school is located adjacent to Ha Nohana Primary School. It has two Windows-based computers and a new printer/scanner/copier, along with a small solar power system for running the computers. It offers computer instruction to secondary school students and adults. Most of the teachers at Ha Nohana Primary School have been trained to use these computers, and they operate and maintain the solar power system. The community is in the process of constructing a new building to house the computer school. The school earns additional money by offering to charge cell phones.

Team Members

Our two OLPCorps Africa grant applicants

Sarah Balcomb

Sarah is a senior at the University of Evansville in Indiana, majoring in Elementary Education, and will be graduating in May 2010. She spent one term in her sophomore year studying in England and did short-term volunteer work in Mexico. She is the secretary of our affiliated nonprofit, Laptops to Lesotho.

Amy Balcomb

Amy is a sophomore at Muskingum University in Ohio, with a major in Special Education and a minor in Music. She has worked extensively with special needs children at Stepping Stones. She performed concerts throughout Europe in 2008 as part of Sound of America.

Sarah and Amy are learning Sesotho and studying Lesotho culture in preparation for this project. They will attend the OLPC training in Kigali, Rwanda, and will be running the on-the-ground XO laptop deployment with 'Ntate Mapesh.

Our other team members

Tsela "Mapesh" Mapeshoane

Mapesh is a teacher at Ha Nohana Primary School in Ketane. He taught grade/standard 7 for several years and is currently teaching grade/standard 4. He has been learning computer skills from 'Ntate Thabo (Andrew Dernovsek). Mapesh is our Project Manager and is the lead for all local community contacts and organization. We hope to get additional funding to send Mapesh to the OLPC training in Kigali, Rwanda, in June 2010 and to send him to training in community organizing and fundraising in 2011.

Andrew "Thabo" Dernovsek

Thabo is currently a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ketane. He set up the computer school for adults there and has been instrumental in getting our project started. He has been mentoring 'Ntate Mapesh in computer skills and community organizing. Thabo has been in Lesotho since 2007 working primarily on HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention, and support. Unfortunately, he will be leaving Lesotho in December 2009, but he will continue to act as a consultant. He is on the board of our affiliated nonprofit, Laptops to Lesotho. You can see Thabo's blog of his experiences in Lesotho at News from Lesotho. It contains a great deal of information about Ketane.

Janissa Balcomb

As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho way back in 1977-80, Janissa taught middle school math, tutored primary school teachers, and later worked as a wildlife biologist at Lesotho's national park. She currently does volunteer work for Friends of Lesotho. She is president of our affiliated nonprofit, Laptops to Lesotho, and will be spearheading the additional fundraising for this project. She is serving as a mentor to Sarah and Amy. Depending on the success of her outside fundraising efforts, she may attend the Kigali training and/or travel briefly to Lesotho to assist with deployment.

Future Member(s)

Technical Assistant

We are in the process of trying to find a Mosotho college student who can assist us with the more technical aspects of this project. We especially want someone who can oversee the set up and installation of all hardware. This person will probably not need to volunteer for the entire duration of deployment.

Peace Corps Volunteer

We also hope that a new Peace Corps volunteer scheduled to arrive in Ketane in January 2010 to work as a Primary Resources Teacher will choose to join our team. However, we do not want to get in the situation where we rely on ex-patriots to take charge and keep the program going, so we will ask the arriving PCV to take on a background role as mentor and facilitator to help us work toward making this project entirely community-run and self-sustaining.

Family/Community Ties

Sarah and Amy are sisters who get along extraordinarily well, and Janissa is their aunt. We believe that the combination of these close family ties along with Mapesh's roots in the local community and Janissa's long term ties to Lesotho will add extra cohesiveness and long-term stability to our team. We also believe that a "family" team may garner more support in Lesotho where there is a long tradition of respect for the role of family in the culture.

Project Support & Funding

Support

Also see Letters of Support

At the local level, the teachers and principal of Ha Nohana are very supportive of our project. Team members Tsela Mapeshoane and Andrew Dernovsek are working in Ketane with community leaders, the local council, existing community groups, parents, and others in the community to build a strong local support system for the project before the computers arrive. And, the entire team will continue to work with these people throughout deployment to insure their continued participation and long-term investment in the project. Contact with the community will include one-on-one dialogues, small group meetings, community meetings and presentations, tours of the XO laptop 'facilities,' and observation of training sessions.

One example of the level of support already available locally for innovative projects that help members of the community is that the people of Ketane are in the process of constructing a building which will be donated to house the existing computer school. Another example of acceptance of innovative ideas is the Diamonds of Ketane's (Widows Association) acquisition and use of a large solar oven.

At the national level, we will be seeking support from ministry officials, members of parliment, the prime minister, and the king. We hope to work with the Ministry of Education and other aid organizations to create a digital library of education, language, and health resources in Sesotho that will be accessible to the children on their XO laptops. We will be contacting Mission Air about possible assistance with transportation.

At the regional level, we are on the wiki OLPC mailing list for OLPC-za (OLPC South Africa Interest Group) and will be contacting recipients of previous OLPCorps Africa grants in South Africa for advice and possible support.

At the international level, we are already working with the Peace Corps staff in Maseru, Lesotho, on ways Peace Corps can support the project. We also have an existing affiliation with the U.S.-based group, Friends of Lesotho, and hope to get support from that group.

Partnering Organizations

Fundraising

We are in the process of registering our nonprofit organization, Laptops to Lesotho Inc. This organization will raise additional funds to support this project now and into the future. Laptops to Lesotho will be applying for additional grant monies and donated materials from a variety of sources, primarily to:

augment travel expenses for our non-student team members,
provide a broader range of electrical power options,
pay for internet access fees, and
provide additional reference materials.

Plans

Project Schedule

Pre-Deployment

Sarah, Amy:

explore university funding and support

study Sesotho and Lesotho culture

Tsela:

contact community & national leaders for support

arrange supplies storage and transportation

arrange security

arrange housing for Sarah and Amy

recruit Mosotho technical lead

recruit translator

discuss holiday logistics and schedule with teachers, students, parents

Janissa:

fundraising

contact regional and international sources for support

liason with Peace Corps/Lesotho

study Sesotho language

investigate additional educational materials in Sesotho

investigate HIV/AIDS materials in Sesotho for children

Andrew:

mentor Tsela

provide information and advice

?fundraising?

?translate materials and of software interface?

Deployment

Logistics

Hardware, Network, and Power Installation

Training Schedule

Teachers
Students

Training Plan

Problem solving
Student projects

Long-term

Educational Opportunities for Disenfranchised Students Alternative options for learning outside the normal classroom setting are vital in order to educate the disenfranchised children who cannot attend school. After we have set up the XO laptop network at Ha Nohana Primary School, we hope we will be able to distribute laptops to children unable to attend school. However, because these children are scattered over a vast area, and because there may be some resistance from family members who fear the laptops will distract the children from their family responsibilities, this will require far more time than we can devote to it in the first year of our project. If we have time in 2010, we will start laying the ground work for this portion of the project by locating some of these children and, where possible, meeting with their families to gauge their receptivity to the idea.

more to come ...

Links

Our Project Blog

OLPC 2010 Lesotho

Our Affiliations & Member Blogs

Andrew's News from Lesotho
Friends of Lesotho
Muskingum University note: The school's name was changed from Muskingum College to Muskingum University in July 2009.
Sound of America
Stepping Stones
University of Evansville

Our Fundraising Efforts

Donate Your OLPC XO Laptop
Laptops to Lesotho

Organizations Working in the Ketane Area

Information about Lesotho