i've been able to talk (i love skype) to a few of you about the desperate need for access to information here. really, if i could name one thing that holds people back in benin (or any developing nation, for that matter) it would be the limited accessibility to internet. yes, you can get on the internet. i wouldn't be blogging otherwise. there are internet cafes, etc. but they cost money to use, and if you have the choice of buying an hour of internet or buying a meal, obviously food wins! and even if you did have money to spare on internet, because computers are so sparse, people don't really know how to use them. at least not efficiently. i helped one of my students to a search for education opportunities the other night (universities, scholarships, etc) and it took me 5 minutes to do what could have taken him 2 hours, simply because i've grown up in a digital world.
if i only had 6 months to be here, and $6,000 to work with... i would secure office space, get a table and 7 laptops, a projector and internet access... then i would teach my students how to get all the information that's essentially free back home. i think it's truly the most effective way to teach people to help themselves. it's the quickest way to level the playing field. i mean, my kids are smart! and creative! they just lack information.
well, this program has a similar idea. they're doing what they can to get technology in the hands of kids that need it the most. like i said in my last post, knowledge truly is power. this is essentially giving knowledge.
through december 31, you can buy one of these innovative laptops for yourself (ingeniously designed to be used in developing nations) and give one simultaneously. for $399, one computer will be sent to a child in need, and one sent to you.
if you're really fired up, and think you could raise the $30,000 needed to do so... you could buy 100 computers at $299 to be sent to the specific location of your choice... like... jeunesse pour christ benin!
check it out.
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