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Blog

Endings and beginnings [2014-04-05]

We are right about the halfway point in our time in the Philippines this year.  This week was significant in that we finished up the installation and teacher trainings at the last of the six schools in our original project plan.  It’s been a huge amount of work but with the help and support of so many people here, we have met our initial goals for the 2014 trip.  It was also a week filled with joy as we joined in several graduation and recognition ceremonies marking the end of School Year 2013-2014 here in the Philippines.

Mayhem and destruction [2014-03-29]

Since our last blog post, we’ve had a chance to visit areas affected by Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda) and a magnitude 7.2 earthquake, both of which struck the Philippines in late 2013.  We saw just a tiny slice of the destruction, but the stories we heard brought home to us how devastating these calamities have been for the Philippines.  Nonetheless, the indomitable spirit of the people here continues to shine through in spite of these challenges.

Class time [2014-03-15]

The big event for us this week was system administration training for the IT teachers at the six schools where we are working this year in Cebu.  This is the first opportunity we’ve had to offer such training, and it was a wonderful day.  Fifteen IT teachers participated from the six schools and as usual, there were many others “behind the scenes” helping us to make this day a reality.

Five down… [2014-03-07]

Each day this week found us at a different location to tie up loose ends in the installation of the IT labs as well as to begin making small fixes and enhancements to the software:  Monday at Estaca Elementary, Tuesday at Compostela Central Elementary, Wednesday at Sapak Extension High School, and Thursday at Carmen National High School.  Today (Friday) we ventured to Cebu City to meet with some key Department of Education officials in the Region VII and Cebu Province Division offices.  These visits were spearheaded by our colleague from Aboitiz, and we were joined by the principal at our “home school” of Compostela National High School.  It was a joy to see many familiar faces again at the Dep Ed offices and to meet new, energetic leaders. 

“Hapit na” [2014-03-02]

Another exciting week for Reneal IEO has gone by here in Cebu.  We finished up the teacher trainings at Compostela Central Elementary School this week, along with installation of the server computer and 15 laptops at Estaca Elementary, also here in Compostela.  We have some wiring to tidy up at both elementary schools, plus teacher trainings yet to be done at Estaca.  Completion is tantalizing close for five of the six schools that we have targeted for 2014.  But each day we learn the folly of saying “we are almost done…” (“hapit na” in the local language of Visayan).  Invariably there is some new adventure awaiting us when we think we are nearing completion!

 

A very full week [2014-02-23]

It’s one of those weeks when events that took place just last Monday seem like they happened a month ago.  Our work spanned three different schools this week, which contributed to that effect.  We were able to finish up the installations at Tayud National High School and Carmen National High School, and by the end of yesterday we had a huge amount done at Compostela Central Elementary School.  As is so common in our work, we were aided by some incredibly talented and dedicated people; Neal and I were marveling last night at how quickly the work got done…  and how long it would have taken if it had been just us.

In the groove [2014-02-16]

It’s Sunday morning here, time to take stock of the week.  As we say in America, this was the week that the rubber met the road for the 2014 projects in the Philippines.  Monday we began our first installation at Tayud National High School.  We had a few minor glitches but overall it was miraculously smooth. 

Staring up at the mountain [2014-02-07]

The initial visits to the six new schools to be served by Reneal IEO in the Philippines in 2014 went very well this week.  As we had anticipated based upon our evaluation visits last year, we will be working with some fantastic people.  Our main goal this week was to identify any additional equipment we might need as well as additional modifications the schools might need to make prior to implementing the low-cost computer infrastructure.  Probably the most challenging aspect of this year’s work in the Philippines is that each school is a little bit different in what will be installed.  Unlike Tanzania where we have typically begun with a blank slate for the IT lab, most of these schools have some existing (but dissimilar) computer capabilities that we will be complementing with the low-cost computer infrastructure approach.  The unknowns, multiplied by six, will more than fill our next few weeks here.

Let the work begin [2014-02-02]

After months of planning, preparation, packing, and anticipation, we have arrived in the Philippines and are embarking on the 2014 projects!  There are always anxious moments as we check in our baggage at the airport, but thankfully all 250 pounds made it here to our home in Compostela on the island of Cebu.  Combined with the many boxes that we shipped in advance, it is a formidable pile of gear!  We have unpacked and at least partially organized the equipment that will be installed in six new schools this year.

Many hands make fast work [2014-01-26]

In an earlier post, I mentioned that Reneal IEO was recently the grateful recipient of about 70 used laptops to support our 2014 projects in the Philippines and Tanzania.  As a recipient, Reneal IEO commits to donors that this equipment will receive new life in schools; this means that the hardware must be prepared for use in the low-cost computer system.  However we also make a commitment that we will ensure to the best of our ability that a donor’s information security is protected.  This adds important steps to our processing of incoming donations, in particular secure disk wiping.  Neal and I immediately got the disks wiped and memory checked.  However there was still much work to be done to turn these obsolete computers into opportunity for students...

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