Week 1 in Cebu [2019-01-26]
We had an exciting start to our time in Cebu, visiting four schools this week. Three of them were 2018 installations, and for two of those schools it was the first time we had a chance to see the new computer labs. We are so grateful to Reneal Team Philippines for carrying on the work even when Neal and I are in the US. Meanwhile in Africa, Reneal Team Tanzania completed a new lab installation at Osiligi Secondary School on Wednesday, our 15th school in Arusha District!
Wednesday we visited Calero Integrated School. Here in the Philippines, an integrated school includes elementary, junior high, and senior high grades. Our computer technicians Lloyd and Rhog along with college OJT Ervin installed the Calero computer lab in July, and Sir Jade did teacher orientation in October. We had some client repairs to do and needed to replace a keyboard and mouse. Neal also did some updates and fixes on the Calero server. During his work, the server crashed twice. Hmmm, not good. We ended up bringing the server with us back to our apartment for further inspection. Thankfully Neal was able to discover the problem pretty quickly. Due to the positioning of the card slots on the motherboard, the video card heat sink ended up being just a fraction of an inch away from the second LAN card. Once he removed the second LAN card, the crashing went away. Whew! The heat here in the Philippines really challenges computer equipment. Neal also made some software updates, and the Calero server is now ready to go back to work.
Thursday we visited Cantumog National High School in Carmen. We were so pleased to be reunited with Principal Fedelina Entero; we’ve worked with Ma’am Entero for years and are excited to be partners now to support the students and teachers at Cantumog. The Cantumog computer lab, installed by our Team in October, looks fantastic! Neal spent the day with Sir Vince and Sir Lymar, showing them the Super User tasks. We also reviewed the various applications and educational resources on the server. We will head back on February 6th for teacher orientation. We hope that the system will serve the students and teachers at Cantumog well.
Friday took us to Compostela Science and Technology High School. We installed a Reneal system there early in 2018. Lloyd, Ervin, and I tried to repair some units that were down (partially successful) while Neal checked out the server and made some minor updates. We also discussed with Principal Tess Selanoba the possibility of putting a Reneal system in the library there for student research.
David Nyangaka, Reneal School Liaison in Tanzania, sent the happy news Wednesday that the installation of the new computer lab at Osiligi Secondary School went very well. We are so grateful to our wonder partners there in Tanzania, Habari Node and Arusha Node Marie, for helping Reneal make this happen! Osiligi SS is the 15th secondary school in Arusha District with a Reneal system.
We are grateful to donors and supporters who make all of this work possible!
[Wednesday with Reneal Top: Osiligi SS installation in Tanzania, Bottom: Calero IS visit in the Philippines]