Halfway Point [2018-09-22]
We’ve been here in Tanzania for a bit over a month now, almost exactly halfway through our time here. Happily we are also about halfway through the work, or at least it appears so from our schedule. With the help of our team here, we finished the second new installation this past week (out of four planned) and Neal has finished the updates on four of the ten existing servers. The fifth updated server is sitting here about ready to go into the box for Monday. One thing we’ve learned though is that “being in control” is an illusion, so we’re trying our best to take what each day gives us.
Case in point: our visit to Mukulat Secondary School on Monday. We first installed the computer lab at Mukulat in 2013, using desktops purchased from World Computer Exchange (www.worldcomputerexchange.org). The Super Users at Mukulat, Mr. Harrison and Madam Upendo, have worked hard to share the computers with the students, so one of our goals this year was to exchange the older desktops with faster laptops and put in a more powerful server. Monday we arrived at Mukulat with high hopes of showing them the new features on the server and checking out the new laptops. When we arrived though, the electricity was out. That was the bad news, but Mr. Harrison told us some good news – the school now has solar power too! We trundled the server over to the room with the solar gear, and Neal got started. Robert and I ferried laptops back and forth from the computer lab to check them out one-by-one. Neal also had a bad “operator error” moment when nothing on the server seemed to be working, but he got that figured out quickly. We ended up having a great day sharing the new features with Mr. Harrison and Madam Upendo, and early afternoon the electricity in the lab returned so we could test the entire system together.
We were joined at Mukulat by Mr. Lang’o and Madam Neema from nearby Matim Primary School. Matim PS is the beneficiary of several wonderful projects from “A is for Africa” (www.aisforafrica.org), including a computer lab. Robert and I went over to check out their computer lab, and we were able to share with them the things on the Reneal server that might be useful for primary school students and teachers. We look forward to discussing possible collaboration opportunities with AIFA when we return to the US.
Tuesday through Thursday found us at Kimnyaki Secondary School installing a new computer lab. We were joined again Tuesday by the amazing professionals from Habari Node. They did a beautiful job of cabling the lab, and we had “first light” by the end of the day for the entire lab. What a thrill! Wednesday and Thursday, Neal, Robert, Evance, and I were back for training and teacher orientation. We are especially grateful to the teachers and administration at both Kiranyi and Kimnyaki Secondary Schools because these last two weeks have been a school holiday; in spite of that, we have had their full support.
This weekend is full of miscellaneous tasks: picking up some computer equipment, doing some software development, preparing for upcoming meetings, working with Robert (Reneal computer technician) on some Linux stuff, and catching up on long-deferred communication. The coming two weeks will likely resemble last week, with a Monday visit to an existing school to deliver an updated server followed by a new installation Tuesday through Thursday. This coming Friday we’re hoping to visit the Arusha office of Asante Africa (www.asanteafrica.org) and catch up on their recent activities.
We continue to be motivated by the teachers, administrators, parents, and community leaders that we meet at each school. Their shared vision is for the students to have access to computers, to equip them with the skills needed in the 21st century. When we finish the 2018 projects, Reneal will have reached 14 of the 27 schools in Arusha District. That’s over 13,000 students who will now have a chance to learn about – and with – computers!
[Photos: running on solar power at Mukulat SS, teacher orientation at Kimnyaki SS]