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Supply lines [2018-07-07]

My main focus again this week was equipment.  I finally went through the laptops that have been accumulating to take to Tanzania in August.  The good news is that we have 92 that are ready to go!  I also worked with Reneal Team Philippines to prepare for their trip to northern Cebu to visit the schools there.  There’s a lot of work to be done during this visit, and we’re grateful to have three hard-working guys heading up there.  The other exciting news this week is that seven new students have been identified for the Philippines scholarship program; that will give us a total of 20 scholars in Cebu for School Year 2018-2019.

When I made my 2018 hardware wish list for Tanzania nearly a year ago, the total quantity of laptops desired was over a hundred.  That seemed an unreachable goal, but thanks to Junior Achievement, World Computer Exchange, UNeed2, Asante Africa, the National Cristina Foundation, and many individual donors, we’ve nearly made it!  We ended up purchasing 12 laptops from the World Computer Exchange to make sure we meet our goal, but I’m still hoping for a few more donations so we can have a very secure replacement stock in Arusha when we leave.

My work this week on the Tanzania laptops was a multi-step process.  I began by sorting all of the units by manufacturer and model.  One-by-one, I evaluated the units and removed extraneous parts (batteries, hard disks, and excess memory) to reduce weight and send only the capability that’s needed.  I did a test to make sure each laptop booted to the server properly.  I cataloged the model numbers and individually numbered the laptops.  I also matched laptops with the appropriate adapters and made a list of adapters we were lacking (thanks to eBay, 39 missing adapters are either here already or on their way).  Then the laptops were placed into boxes ready for packing.  It was a rather tedious process, one that I’ve been avoiding, but it’s nice to have it done.  In just a few short weeks, those laptops will be traveling to their final homes in schools in Arusha!

Our computer technicians and OJT in Cebu, Rhog, Lloyd, and Ervin, will be traveling to northern Cebu this coming week.  They will be installing a new Reneal system in the library at Daanbantayan National High School.  It’s been a bit of a challenge to figure out what needs to go where.  Lots of messages have been flying around between the guys, Sir Jade, and me.  Our guys will be using equipment directly shipped to DNHS, equipment from both the North and South spares inventory, the server and switch that colleague Rogie Abala carried back from the US, and cable and power strips newly purchased in Cebu.  While they guys are there, they will also be doing some rewiring at Calape NHS and Kawit NHS, plus visiting the other nearby schools for repairs.   We have lists, and lists of lists.  We are very grateful to Sir Chester Roselejos of DNHS who is coordinating transportation for our team to the north!  And of course, we are grateful to Sir Jade, Rhog, Lloyd, and Ervin for their hard work on behalf of Reneal IEO.

On the scholarship front, the UCSAP Committee met with the new student candidates last Sunday.  We are expanding the program from 13 students to 20 students this year, ranging from Grade 9 to Grade 12.  We are so grateful to the committee for their hard work in selecting and monitoring the students, and for providing them their transportation allowance weekly.  This is a big job, and they track the disbursements down to the centavo.  Reneal is very thankful and fortunate to have such dedicated partners in this enterprise!

 [Photo: Philippines scholarship candidate interviews by the UCSAP Committee]