Computer Labs now installed!

We are so happy to have seen the progress made these past several weeks with the installation of the computer labs at Kyaithani and Lower Yatta secondary schools.  Each lab has 20 student Aleutia T1 computers and 1 teacher Aleautia R50 server computer, all networked together and connected to the internet by satellite.

The desks and solar system arrive

Custom built desks and benches

Secured cabinets for the solar batteries

Excitement is building!!

Panels for the new solar system

As well, each lab is powered by its own solar system, and each lab is outfitted with custom built desks and benches so that up to 40 students can easily have shared access to the 20 computers.

The lab at Lower Yatta awaits its computers

The computers being installed with the desks at Kyaithani

Next week Kenya Connect will be conducting training sessions for the teachers and some students from the two secondary schools.

Everyone is so excited!

Thank you to all the donors and supporters of this Rotary Global Grant.

Project progress on all fronts

It's now about 6 months since we were notified that we had received approval of our Rotary Foundation and Government of Canada grant applications.  We are well on our way with the project.

Computer Labs:
The 42 Aleutia computers for the two secondary school computer labs have arrived safely in Nairobi and are now at Stonehouse (the Nairobi distributor for Aleutia computers).  Stonehouse has been installing smaller computer labs for 45 primary schools in Kenya under a contract with Safaricom (Kenya's major cell phone company).  Stonehouse is fabricating desk/benches for our labs and will be installing these along with the computers and solar panels/batteries in mid-July.

In conjunction with the computer installation, we will be arranging for the installation of satellite service for the two labs so that the teachers & students can be connected to the internet.  Our partner, Kenya Connect, regularly conducts joint classes linked by satellite between the 55 schools that they currently support and schools in the USA.  We will be working to get Kyaithani Secondary and Lower Yatta Secondary schools, our two schools with the new computer labs, included in this network.

In mid-August James and Patrick from Kenya Connect in Wamunyu Kenya will be conducting a week long computer training and computer lab orientation session for the secondary school teachers of Kyaithani and Lower Yatta schools.

Solar Light rent-to-own Program:
Sample lights are now available for the teachers and parents at the 7 schools in the Kyaithani Cluster to try.

Sun King Pico solar lights will be made available for each student, at a cost of about 50 cents per month for 24 months.  Sun King Pro All-Night solar lights (with cell phone charger) will be made available for each teacher, at a cost of about $1.25 per month for 24 months.

This monthly cost is much lower that the current cost of paraffin that parents and teachers are spending for the only current source of lighting in this area.

We are expecting that by the end of July we will have lists of the students and parents who have committed to the solar light program and hopefully have the lights available for the start of the school term at the beginning of September.

Primary School Teacher Online Training:
Our project intends to pay for the enrollment of 70 primary school teachers from the 5 primary schools within the Kyaithani Cluster of schools.  Four teachers from each of the 5 schools will be enrolled later this fall for the online KICD (Kenya Institute for Curriculum Development) PTO (Primary Teacher Orientation) 8 month certification course.  The remainder will take the course next year.

There currently is no electricity, and no computers, at these primary schools.  The teachers will take the online course using the new computer labs at the secondary schools.

Scholarship Program:
This is not a part of our global Grant project, but has been a project that we have supported for about 6 years.  The scholarship program is made possible by donations from individuals and Rotary clubs.  This year we have just provided 48 scholarships to 20 boys and 28 girls at Kyaithani Secondary and Lower Yatta Girls Secondary Schools.  Check out our scholarship blog for more information.   www.ndandini-scholarshipfund.blogspot.com .


 

Computer lab progress update

This past weekend Terry and Jan attended the Rotary District 5040 conference in Whistler BC where some 500 Rotarians, spouses, Rotary Interactors (high school Rotary club members) and Rotary Exchange Students attended.

As part of the conference, Terry and Jan worked at the Poster Showcase sessions where they shared information about the 1300 solar light project for Kyaithani cluster students and about the computer labs for Kyaithani and Lower Yatta Secondary Schools.

Terry highlighted the support that we are getting from the Kenya Connect people both in Maryland and in Wamunyu Kenya.

We are glad to report that we now have two Aleutia computers operational at the Kenya Connect Learning Resource Centre in Wamunyu and that James and Patrick from Kenya Connect are working on updating their training materials to reflect our new computer hardware and software.

We have on order all the equipment required for the two computer labs.  We expect both labs to be installed during July and training for the 20 secondary school teachers will be done in August.

Rotary Foundation Honours our work in Nandini/Kyaithani

What a huge honour last night for Terry at the Rotary District 5040 annual conference in front of almost 500 attendees. Terry received the Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service presented by the District Governor John Anderson at the 5040 a District Conference in Whistler BC. This award was for Terry's long years working on Rotary Foundation supported humanitarian projects in Kenya .

Only 11 of these have been awarded to all members of District 5040, so it is a real honour from the Rotary Foundation.

Terry adds that without the tremendous support of his wife Jan, none of this would have happened.

Thanks Rotary and Thanks Terry & Jan.

Terry receives Rotary Foundation Meritorious Award from
Rotary International Director Julia Phelps and District Governor John Anderson

Kyaithani Cluster Schools project receives grant from Rotary Foundation

After almost 3 years of grant seeking effort, our project has finally succeeded.

Just before Christmas we received the news that The Rotary Foundation (in the USA) had approved our grant application for the enhancement of education within the cluster of 7 schools in the Kyaithani area of Kenya.

With all the grant funding our project will be able to:
1. implement a solar light rent-to-own program to provide a light for each of the 1300 students and teachers in the 7 schools.
2. implement a computerized Learning Resource Center in each of the two secondary schools.
3. provide certificate level online training for the 70 teachers in the 5 primary schools.
4. provide solar-powered teaching materials at each of the 5 primary schools.

The project will take about 2 years but we expect that the solar program and the implementation of the Learning Resource Centers will be complete in 2016.

Some of our 1300 students with the 140 solar lights from our pilot project

Thanks to:
our 10 Rotary Club sponsors
Rotary District 5040
The Rotary Foundation Canada and the Government of Canada
The Rotary Foundation (International), and
all our supporters of all our work iin Kyathaini.

For individuals and other Rotary Clubs, you can help our efforts at these cluster schools by supporting our scholarship program.  Check out www.ndandini-scholarshipfund.blogspot.com . 

Project team meets in Kenya

November 1st was a great day.  All our project members got together in Wamunyu village at the Kenya Connect Learning Resource Centre, which is midway between Kyaithani (where our schools are located) and Machakos (where our host Rotary Club is located) and only about an hour from Kyaithani village.

Our Project team meets in Wamunyu Kenya 

It was the first time that the teachers and administrators from the two secondary schools had met together with our Rotary project members from Machakos and Canada.

Even more significantly, we were meeting at Kenya Connect's Learning Resource Center and meeting with their two IT field managers/trainers (James and Patrick).

Over the past several months we have been working together with Kenya Connect in Maryland USA and Kenya to determine how we can best work together to leverage off their experience in implementing/operating a Learning Resource Centre so close to our own area of eastern Kenya.  The opportunity to have three similar Learning Resource Centers with common objectives and sharing the support structure is encouraging and compelling.

In addition to updating everyone with the status of our project, everyone learned about the capabilities of the Kenya Connect Learning Resource Center and was able to see it first hand, including some computer demonstrations by two grade 6 students being taught by Patrick and who first touched a computer only 3 months ago.

Kyaithani Cluster School Project gets Rotary Canada grant

In August 2015, the Government of Canada agreed to provide The Rotary Foundation Canada (TRFC) with funding for the next 5 years to support international humanitarian projects.  Grant applications could be submitted starting October 1st.

We are happy to report that our project was the first Canadian project to receive this new Canadian Government grant funding.

As a resut of this extra funding, we will be able to expand our project deliverables.  Instead of providing only a few computers to start a small computer lab at Kyaithani Secondary School, we will be able to implement a full computerized Learning Resource Centre at both Kyaithani Secondary School and Lower Yatta Secondary School (the 2 secondary schools within the Kyaithani Cluster of area schools).

Each Learning Resource Centre is expected to have 20 student computers with a large local/offline repository of educational and vocational material as well as internet connectivity.

Below is a photo of a Learning Resource Centre that we will be modelling our own centers after.

Kenya Connect's Learning Resource Centre at Wamunyu 

Thank you TRFC and Government of Canada!