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Laying the foundation for 2014 [2013-04-13]

As I mentioned in an earlier post, one of our major tasks for this year’s trip to the Philippines is to evaluate schools for 2014 projects.  We were able to visit four schools a couple of weeks ago.  I (Rene) returned to America last Sunday, but Neal has one more week in the Philippines and will visit two more prospects.

IT labs for schools in Tanzania are usually starting from zero with respect to equipment, but schools in the Philippines offer a different opportunity.  The Department of Education in concert with other government agencies and foreign donors has been very active at placing computers in high schools.  However many systems are underutilized and/or inefficient due to viruses, aging hardware, lack of networking, and other issues.  By adding a single powerful server computer and networking switches and cables, the Reneal IEO low cost computer infrastructure offers new life to such systems.  The existing computers can simply be commanded to boot from the network instead of from their hard disk, and they are then running the Linux and Open Source software without any further modifications required.

We visited two large schools near Compostela (Tayud National High School in Consolacion with about 1500 students and Carmen National High School with 2400 students) that would be excellent fits for the Reneal IEO system.  Our IT head at Compostela National High School suggested these schools, and they have the key attributes of experienced and enthusiastic IT teachers, principals committed to innovation, and a set of computers that could be immediately used in the low cost system.  We were thrilled to be able to instantly bring up computers already in their labs using Neal’s laptop as the server.  With relatively little expense, these labs can be much more efficient and effective for the students and teachers.

The other two schools that we visited are both in Compostela and represent quite different (but equally exciting) opportunities.  The first is Bagalnga Integrated School, with about 500 students.  This school, a few kilometers from the National Road, historically served as an elementary school for students living nearby.  Last year it began offering high school classes as well.  Such a school allows poor students to continue their schooling since they might not be able to afford the few pesos it would take every day to get to the main high school in town.  Like many other schools away from the main road, they have few resources – but what they have, they use fully.  The municipal government in Compostela has been a key player in creating the integrated school, and their support along with a very enthusiastic teacher-in-charge looks like a promising partnership for Reneal IEO.  The final visit was to a very small extension high school in Compostela for street kids.  They have computers (including a powerful one that could be used as a server), so it would be very little effort and low cost to convert to the Reneal IEO system.  The final two schools to be visited this week are elementary schools in Compostela. 

Once Neal returns to America, final decisions will be made about the 2014 projects.  However it appears that there are numerous exciting opportunities for Reneal IEO next year in the Philippines.  Please contact Reneal IEO at contact.reneal@gmail.com for information regarding donations of equipment or funds to support these projects.