So my sojourn is East Africa came to an end after 10 great days. Met a lot of people, exchanged culture and had mad fun. The downside was falling ill for almost a week which was a NO NO for me, this also crippled most of the activities i got lined up for ME.
Day 1 in Kigali, hooked up with the Ghanaian teams (all 3 of em) Opoku, Sammy, Paul, Siisi, Siegfried, Oliver aka Hungary and Paul aka New York. We were taken to our Hotels unfortunately the cool cats(Hungary & NY) had to be taken to another Hotel aka Bethel while the rest of the crew chilled at the Hiltop.
Day 2 was at KIST (Kigali Institute of Science & Technology) where David Cavallo and some of the OLPC Core teams talked to us as well as each team coming up on stage to talk about their plans for their deployments after which we head to the "Republika" for Happy Hour....the hours spent there was indeed happy after several bottles of Udeme and the likes.
Day 3 was the VIP day with dignitaries like the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, the OLPC Chairman, Nicholas Negroponte, OLPC Coordinators in Haiti and Paraguay as well as several Government officials. After all the formalities, a welcome party by the Rwandan Dance Troupe ensued and trust ur boy, i sure joined in the fun with my other fun peeps.
Several days went by and i learned a few tricks on the XO, made loads of friends and tried my best memorizing everyone's name. I can proudly say i know 50 Corps members on 1st name basis ain't that something.....had so much fun till i got struck by malaria, ain't that a bitch? had to go to the hospital, get my blood sample just to be sure and was given drugs that had no affect on me at all as i was ill for the better part of the workshop.
Malaria or no malaria, didn't let that weigh me down, went out a couple of times to KBC, played a football at the stadium with a local team and we were leading 4-0 in the 1st half alone with Coy getting on the score-sheet after a pile driver from Eli my Jewish (lol) friend. Our team played a 4-4-2 diamond formation, consisted of amateurs including yours trully playing on the left side of the attack, Olesia (a girl) playing the the middle, John also in the middle, Innocent Obumba aka PELE(left wing), Coy (right wing), Coy (defender) and Victoria and we had local team fill the remaining spots.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Why i joined the OLPCorps
It was my NYSC (National Youth Service Corps) year and I was lucky to be sent to a private firm (Ateq.ICT) for my internship for a period of a year. Alteq.ICT happens to be a consultancy and project based firm. One of the projects they where handling back then was the pilot phase of the One Laptop per Child Initiative at the L.E.A Primary School, Galadima, Gwarimpa, Abuja. I was attached to the team as Technical Support, my job was to fix all broken XO’s, update software build, send broken XO’s to Quanta (XO manufacturer) as well as make sure the school had Internet connectivity at all time.
The team was made up of Tomi Davies (Alteq.ICT’s Chief Operations Officer) who guided the team during the whole deployment period, Carla Gomez of the OLPC for the learning content (constructionist learning), Roland Igwe was to assist her with this, Ahmad Dan-Hamidu and I were in charge of Technical Support and Asabe Yabani later joined the learning team. Towards the end of the project, Chukwuka Uzoegwu and Hassan Ogunlowo (my team member) later on joined the team to aid with technical support of the project. At first it was business as usual but as days passed by, I became interested in the XO and activities embedded in it thanks to my interaction with Carla.
I took it upon myself to learn about constructivism and interacted with the kids to find out how they faired when they worked on the XO’s, I realized the impact the laptops had on them was immense as some of the kids who couldn’t write their names knew how to a few weeks after the XO’s were introduced. Some of the kids even helped me out in fixing broken XO’s (Kabiru of primary 6 and Shuaibu who was in primary 4). I realized these kids can be anything they want to be and achieve all they want in life with the aid of the XO thus my interest in the OLPC.
The project ended on a sad note for me as the Federal Government who had previously promised to purchase a million (1,000,000) XO’s decided not to as they felt there were other needs the kids needed instead of laptops which shouldn’t be a priority instead they will rather build more classrooms and give out more books.
I had the opportunity to interact with Julia Reynolds throughout the duration of the project as she was the contact person from Boston who handled the receipt of broken XO’s and replacements. It was during this period we became very close friends and I look forward to meeting her at Kigali.
It was Julia who told me about the OLPCorps Africa project based on my interest in the OLPC after which I decided to contact some of my buddies to put together one of the 220 proposals sent to the OLPCorps and later picked as one of the 30 finalists.
I hope to prove everyone who thought the OLPC was a waste of time wrong as well as make a case to the fellows in charge of Education in the Country and NGO’s who are willing to champion this cause.
The team was made up of Tomi Davies (Alteq.ICT’s Chief Operations Officer) who guided the team during the whole deployment period, Carla Gomez of the OLPC for the learning content (constructionist learning), Roland Igwe was to assist her with this, Ahmad Dan-Hamidu and I were in charge of Technical Support and Asabe Yabani later joined the learning team. Towards the end of the project, Chukwuka Uzoegwu and Hassan Ogunlowo (my team member) later on joined the team to aid with technical support of the project. At first it was business as usual but as days passed by, I became interested in the XO and activities embedded in it thanks to my interaction with Carla.
I took it upon myself to learn about constructivism and interacted with the kids to find out how they faired when they worked on the XO’s, I realized the impact the laptops had on them was immense as some of the kids who couldn’t write their names knew how to a few weeks after the XO’s were introduced. Some of the kids even helped me out in fixing broken XO’s (Kabiru of primary 6 and Shuaibu who was in primary 4). I realized these kids can be anything they want to be and achieve all they want in life with the aid of the XO thus my interest in the OLPC.
The project ended on a sad note for me as the Federal Government who had previously promised to purchase a million (1,000,000) XO’s decided not to as they felt there were other needs the kids needed instead of laptops which shouldn’t be a priority instead they will rather build more classrooms and give out more books.
I had the opportunity to interact with Julia Reynolds throughout the duration of the project as she was the contact person from Boston who handled the receipt of broken XO’s and replacements. It was during this period we became very close friends and I look forward to meeting her at Kigali.
It was Julia who told me about the OLPCorps Africa project based on my interest in the OLPC after which I decided to contact some of my buddies to put together one of the 220 proposals sent to the OLPCorps and later picked as one of the 30 finalists.
I hope to prove everyone who thought the OLPC was a waste of time wrong as well as make a case to the fellows in charge of Education in the Country and NGO’s who are willing to champion this cause.
OLPCorps Journal
The countdown is on, just 3 more days before we head to Kigali but we need to make sure some sort of infrastructure is put in place before we leave.
The team embarked on a trip to Minna on the 3rd of June, our main aim was to address a workshop/seminar and make a presentation to shed more light on our intended deployment which was scheduled for 10:00AM Thursday. Unfortunately, the presentation had to be postponed as most of the participants sent word about not being able to attend.
The presentation would be combined with the program launch slated for 29th June, a week into our deployment.
We also planned to resolve the connectivity issues and power issues. We settled for a Ku Band VSAT from Direct ON PC Limited who provided the solution at a subsidized rate. Also, we made provision for a generator as back up for power as well as set up the power adaptors for charging the laptops in the classrooms.
We headed to the Niger State Ministry of Science & Technology to see the ICT Director, Engineer Abubakar Salisu but we were told he went to the customs office to see how he can get a tax waiver for the XO shipment. Akin headed to the school to supervise the VSAT Installation while I waited for the Director.
When he returned, we had a meeting where we talked about the sustainability of the project and plans he had for IT in education in Niger State as well as how the ministry intend to support the project
So far, he and the Ministry have been very supportive of our deployment; they are taking various steps in supporting us during the course of the project some of which includes;
•Getting the team accommodation throughout the duration of the project
•Giving us 5 (five) facilitators from the Ministry of Science & Technology to assist us during the project
•Taking care of logistics for the opening and closing ceremonies
•Souvenirs which includes banners, t-shirts, bags for the XO’s, face-caps and badges for all participants
•Publicizing the project
Engineer Abubakar has also helped in the receipt of the UK chargers and he is seriously working on getting a tax clearance for the XO’s as soon as they can get the tracking number of the XO shipment.
For the opening and closing ceremonies, the Niger State Ministry of Science & Technology will be inviting various stakeholders in the State to grace the occasion, they plan on inviting the Governor of the State, all Local Government Chairmen, the state UBEC (Universal Basic Education Commission), the Emir whose palace happens to be opposite the school, the PTA (Parents-Teachers Association), Alumni of the school which includes prominent Nigerians (two past presidents) and other important Government officials who can help in the sustainability and expansion of the project. The team plans on inviting the Federal UBEC, the NPC (National Population Commission) and several corporate bodies that might be interested in the project.
The planned presentation did not hold but….
Today (4th of June) was the original date we set for the workshop/seminar for the project but due to unavailability of the stakeholders and other participants supposed to attend it had to be canceled. That didn’t deter us as we decided to have an introductory session with the 5 Teachers and 5 Facilitators from the Niger State Ministry of Science & Technology. Akin did a little presentation on the constructionist learning method and I introduced them to the XO and XO Activities. We also briefed them on possible projects the kids can work on and asked them to think of other projects that can be carried out. We were able to shed more light on our intended deployment in general. I am sure by the time we get back from Kigali, we will have a more intense session as the participants didn’t have any questions for us and they were very comfortable with our presentation.
We took some pictures with some of the kids and the XO. The kids were highly interested in the XO as we showed them some of the activities. I can tell our deployment will be a successful one based on the reactions we got from the kids.
We took some pictures with some of the kids and the XO. The kids were highly interested in the XO as we showed them some of the activities. I can tell our deployment will be a successful one based on the reactions we got from the kids.
The team embarked on a trip to Minna on the 3rd of June, our main aim was to address a workshop/seminar and make a presentation to shed more light on our intended deployment which was scheduled for 10:00AM Thursday. Unfortunately, the presentation had to be postponed as most of the participants sent word about not being able to attend.
The presentation would be combined with the program launch slated for 29th June, a week into our deployment.
We also planned to resolve the connectivity issues and power issues. We settled for a Ku Band VSAT from Direct ON PC Limited who provided the solution at a subsidized rate. Also, we made provision for a generator as back up for power as well as set up the power adaptors for charging the laptops in the classrooms.
We headed to the Niger State Ministry of Science & Technology to see the ICT Director, Engineer Abubakar Salisu but we were told he went to the customs office to see how he can get a tax waiver for the XO shipment. Akin headed to the school to supervise the VSAT Installation while I waited for the Director.
When he returned, we had a meeting where we talked about the sustainability of the project and plans he had for IT in education in Niger State as well as how the ministry intend to support the project
So far, he and the Ministry have been very supportive of our deployment; they are taking various steps in supporting us during the course of the project some of which includes;
•Getting the team accommodation throughout the duration of the project
•Giving us 5 (five) facilitators from the Ministry of Science & Technology to assist us during the project
•Taking care of logistics for the opening and closing ceremonies
•Souvenirs which includes banners, t-shirts, bags for the XO’s, face-caps and badges for all participants
•Publicizing the project
Engineer Abubakar has also helped in the receipt of the UK chargers and he is seriously working on getting a tax clearance for the XO’s as soon as they can get the tracking number of the XO shipment.
For the opening and closing ceremonies, the Niger State Ministry of Science & Technology will be inviting various stakeholders in the State to grace the occasion, they plan on inviting the Governor of the State, all Local Government Chairmen, the state UBEC (Universal Basic Education Commission), the Emir whose palace happens to be opposite the school, the PTA (Parents-Teachers Association), Alumni of the school which includes prominent Nigerians (two past presidents) and other important Government officials who can help in the sustainability and expansion of the project. The team plans on inviting the Federal UBEC, the NPC (National Population Commission) and several corporate bodies that might be interested in the project.
The planned presentation did not hold but….
Today (4th of June) was the original date we set for the workshop/seminar for the project but due to unavailability of the stakeholders and other participants supposed to attend it had to be canceled. That didn’t deter us as we decided to have an introductory session with the 5 Teachers and 5 Facilitators from the Niger State Ministry of Science & Technology. Akin did a little presentation on the constructionist learning method and I introduced them to the XO and XO Activities. We also briefed them on possible projects the kids can work on and asked them to think of other projects that can be carried out. We were able to shed more light on our intended deployment in general. I am sure by the time we get back from Kigali, we will have a more intense session as the participants didn’t have any questions for us and they were very comfortable with our presentation.
We took some pictures with some of the kids and the XO. The kids were highly interested in the XO as we showed them some of the activities. I can tell our deployment will be a successful one based on the reactions we got from the kids.
We took some pictures with some of the kids and the XO. The kids were highly interested in the XO as we showed them some of the activities. I can tell our deployment will be a successful one based on the reactions we got from the kids.
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