Not too much has changed in the month since my last blog post. Reneal Team members in the Philippines and Tanzania continue to stand by, and schools in both countries remain closed for the time being. Here in the US, we have continued preparations for our next set of projects in Tanzania while sheltering-in-place (more or less patiently) at home.
Shortly after my last blog post, Reneal ceased on-going maintenance work in both the Philippines and Tanzania due to Covid-19 and its spread. Our Teams are now standing by until the all-clear is given and schools resume operation in each country. In the meantime, we follow the news closely in both countries and worry about friends and colleagues. Here at US headquarters, we’ve kept busy preparing for the next projects in Tanzania. Thanks to a generous donation from local NGO Network the World, just about all of the US-purchased equipment is already here and ready to go.
The Reneal Teams in both the Philippines and Tanzania have been very busy in 2020 so far. Computer Technicians Lloyd Tuñacao and Ervin Formentera of Reneal Team Philippines have been making maintenance visits to all of the schools in Cebu for the past weeks. Meanwhile in Tanzania, our partners from Habari Node and Arusha Node Marie joined Reneal Computer Technician Robert Nyangaka for some major upgrades at Mukulat Secondary School and Matim Primary School.
Our last week in Arusha was a busy one. Thanks to our long-time partners at Habari Node and Arusha Node Marie, Reneal was able to complete computer lab installations at two new schools. Welcome Ngiresi Secondary School and Sambasha Secondary School to the Reneal family! These two public schools, each with about 500 students, are far from the main road. We are very excited that their students and teachers will now have a computer lab for learning about and with ICT. With the addition of Ngiresi and Sambasha, Reneal is now supporting 22 public secondary schools in Arusha District.
We’re four weeks into our 2020 Tanzania trip. It’s that peculiar point in time where it seems like an eternity since we’ve been home but from the work perspective, the time has gone shockingly fast. Since the last blog post, Reneal Team Tanzania has completed all three of the MacBook lab installations. The schools are just thrilled to have the MacBooks! We are so grateful to VMware for the generous donation that made this work possible! The Reneal Team has also visited eight other existing school labs for updates and repairs. We’re down to just two more school visits before we start installations at our two new 2020 schools, Ngiresi Secondary School and Sambasha Secondary School. We surely could not have done it without our Team here!
It’s been very busy here in Arusha for Reneal Team Tanzania. We’ve (mostly) finished the MacBook workstation lab upgrade at Mlangarini Secondary School, and the second one at Enyoito Secondary School is pretty far along. In the meantime, our team has visited six additional existing labs for repairs and assistance in beginning-of-the-school-year tasks. We are also thrilled to report that internet was installed last Friday at Mlangarini Secondary School by our partners Arusha Node Marie and Habari Node. Another highlight last week was meeting with the first batch of Reneal Scholars who received their completion certificates from Form 4 just last October.
I am so grateful to report that our trip to Arusha went smoothly, and we are already deep in the midst of work. The Reneal Team visited three schools this week, working on a total of five Reneal computer labs. We also met with the Form 3 (grade 9) Reneal Scholars at Mwandet Secondary School. The highlight of the week though was beginning the installation of a major upgrade at Mlangarini Secondary School, replacing the existing thin clients with MacBook workstations generously donated by VMware.
Not too much new to report since the last blog post. The Reneal Team continues to prepare for the 2020 work in Arusha: Neal is immersed in software development, I’m packing boxes of equipment, and David is deep in his logistical magic helping the schools prepare and working custom issues. But we’re all several steps closer to completion, and it’s looking good for a fast start once Neal and I arrive in Arusha. We are very grateful for David’s efforts on behalf of Reneal.
In a massive blast of activity this past month, Neal has just about completed all of the software development needed for the new MacBook workstation system. Although I’m surely biased, I will say that it is a beautifully integrated, robust set of capabilities that will make the MacBook lab operation, maintenance, and updating easy. It was touch and go, but it’s looking like we’ll be ready for full deployment of the MacBook workstation labs when we head to Tanzania next month!
Since the last blog post, the Reneal Board of Directors held their semi-annual meeting. Neal and I are extremely grateful for their guidance, support, and advice! The Board has approved the 2020 work plan for Tanzania, which commences in a few short weeks. The Board also approved continuation of Reneal’s scholarship programs in both Tanzania and the Philippines. We are now full speed ahead in preparing for our next in-country projects.
