E-Readers Bring The World's Library to Rural Africa

When I was volunteering in Ghana one of the things that struck me was the lack of access to quality books. The primary school in Sogakope had a library filled with Canadian legal text books and other extremely out of date books. It got me thinking about how people like Andrew Carnegie helped shape literacy & education in the U.S. by funding libraries. Worldreader.org is working to bring books to Africa through the use of eBook readers. With the costs of the devices coming down quickly, eBook readers are becoming a more economical option to printed books.

Check out this post from Read Write Web on World Reader's efforts in Ghana.

MIT Students and Alumnus Teach in Africa

The following is a post from the MIT Slice of Life website.

If you think MIT students do interesting work during the school year, wait until you hear about their summer plans.

Founded in 1993, the Africa Information Technology Initiative (AITI) is a student-run organization that sends a handful of MIT students to Africa each summer to teach students about information technology and communications, as well as entrepreneurship. Previous groups have worked in Gambia, Ethiopia, and Zambia, however this year’s teams are teaching at Strathmore University in Kenya and (for a two-week pilot program) Kigali Institute of Science and Technology in Rwanda. Coursework will focus on designing and developing mobile phone applications—products that are considered valuable to many African consumers and whose projected and real growth is large and potentially lucrative.

Four students make up the 2009 Kenyra/Rwanda team:

• Michael Gordon SM ‘02, CSAIL PhD candidate and president of AITI
• Zachary Stauber, an undergrad who recently attended the Global Startup Workshop in Cape Town, South Africa
• Cory Smith, an undergrad economics major interested in international development
• Julian Yuen, a computer science undergrad with a passion for mobile application programming

You can follow the group’s adventures in and out of the classroom on their blog: http://aiti.mit.edu/blog/

AITI also accepts donations and notes that “100% of donations will be used for program initiatives.”

Brining the Internet to Africa

From a recent NY Times article on bringing the internet to Africa:

In recent years the mobile phone has emerged as the main modern communications link for rural areas of Africa. From 2002 to 2007, the number of Kenyans using cellphones grew almost tenfold to reach about a third of the population, many of whom did not have land lines, according to the International Telecommunication Union.

But many of the phones were simple models made more for talking than Web browsing, and wireless data networks are slow, with sporadic coverage.

Satellite connections are faster and more stable, which is why they are attracting interest from the likes of Google, as a way to provide Internet connections to the estimated 95 percent of Africans who, according to the telecommunications union, have no access.

Higher Education in Africa

While working in Africa I had numerous conversations with young people who were passionate about improving themselves but had no way to continue their education. By U.S. standards higher education costs in Ghana are modest, around $1,000. However, this is a truly unattainable number for somebody who makes $50 per month and has no access to loans. For this reason, there is a lack of university educated role models which is evident in the career aspirations of the primary school students. Most of the girls wanted to grow up to be a hairdresser or cook while the boys wanted to learn construction. They had little to no understanding of careers requiring education (as opposed to vocation).

This video is a great commentary on the situation of higher education in Africa.

Bringing Communications to Rural Africa

One of the things that struck me on our trip to Africa was the lack of access to quality sources of information. In the United States we take it for granted that we can buy a book, access a library, or get on the internet. When these things are missing or too expensive, it becomes very difficult to learn and make informed decisions. For example, in Ghana the average salary was about $50 - $100 per month. A newspaper cost $0.50 - $1.00 and to get on the internet to check email was easily $2.00 or more. Consider the choice you would make if a newspaper or the internet cost roughly one day's salary.

Inveneo is trying to solve this problem by bringing low cost communication technology to rural parts of Africa. Check out this CNN video on their efforts and follow the link to their website to donate.

Give on Get One

It's that time of year again. The One Laptop Per Child program is running their give one get one campaign. When you buy a XO laptop for your family one will be sent to the developing world.

As you may know the XO was developed at MIT. I have had the opportunity to hear Nicholas Negroponte speak a few times and he has a wonderful vision. Unfortunately they aren't in Ghana yet but maybe they will be soon. For more info check out the project website or just buy a laptop on Amazon!

Alicia Keys African Documentary

I just found out about a new website called SnagFilms that has full lenght documentary films for free. Unfortunately they didn't have any on Ghana yet but this one on AIDS in Africa is a good one.

Notes from our trip to Ghana

When Kristen, Katie, and I traveled to Ghana in January to volunteer we had not clue the impact our trip would have on us. The warmth of the Ghanaian people had been described to us by our Ghanaian classmate & friend, Victor, but we could hardly imagine his contagious laugh magnified exponentially.

In the days leading up to our trip Kristen was a bit nervous about traveling to such an unknown destination. The experience of visiting such a different place was especially moving for her and upon returning she feverishly wrote more than thirty pages of her impressions. Below you will find some of her impressions on teaching in Sogakope.

When class begins, which seems to me a somewhat arbitrary time as there is no clock in the room, and no bells, the children sit on their wooden benches. Some, but not all, have shared tables in front of them. None of them have books, workbooks, or pens. There are no brightly colored posters, no alphabet painted around the room, no visual aids or fancy wipe boards. It is an open-air cement room with a dirt floor and a tin roof, a chalkboard, and thirty small children. This is grades 3 and 4- in one classroom. Garrett introduces me as his fiancé, and the class stares in bemused silence, smiling and wondering at me. I smile back and tell them I’m happy to be here. I watch Garrett begin the math lesson, slightly nervous. I have no lesson plan, no idea of the curriculum or level of the students. How can one possibly teach without a plan?

This summer we hope return the gift that was given to us launching a non-profit focused on helping the people of the Volta region. Check back later for more info on that effort.

Heifer Project gets $42 million from Gates Foundation

The Heifer Project is an organization that is focused on relieving hunger around the world. They provided needy individuals with livestock, education, and micro loans. Today Heifer received a four year $42 million donation from the Gates Foundation. Heifer is doing a lot of good work in Ghana and they provide many volunteer opportunities for individuals and groups. Take a look at their website and see how you can get involved.

Kids' book on microlending

I recent heard about a new book called "One Hen" that tells the story of microfinance efforts in Ghana. Through the micro loan, the main character, Kojo, is able to buy a hen, sell the eggs, and help feed his family. Boston.com has a write up of the book and you can also check out the book's website.