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Cebu news [2018-04-17]

The Reneal Board of Directors met on Sunday evening.  One of the main topics on the agenda was reporting on the recent work in Cebu as well as reviewing candidate schools that were evaluated while we were there.  I am happy to report that the Board has approved moving forward with projects at Calero Integrated School in Liloan, Cantumog National High School in Carmen, and the main library at Cebu Technological University-Carmen.  While these schools must still agree to and meet numerous expectations, we are pleased to start down the path of implementation with them.

Thanks WCE! [2018-04-06]

We’ve been home for three weeks now, getting settled back into our US routine.  At long last, we got the new version of the Reneal System Administration Manual completed and distributed.  This manual is focused on the systems with Ubuntu 16.04 and it also includes procedures for the new programs that Neal has developed in the last year and a half to assist the computer teachers.  The big news this week though is that we have a bonanza of computers, thanks to the World Computer Exchange!  We’re still working our way through them, but it’s a huge step forward for the 2018 and 2019 Reneal projects.

Back home [2018-03-21]

It was a long journey, but we’re back home in California now.  It’s always good to be home after a lengthy trip, but we are surely missing our friends, family, and colleagues in the Philippines.  The last few days there in Cebu were incredibly hectic – there’s never really enough time to share everything we’d wish to with the teachers – but we felt like we were able to finish what we’d planned: eight server operating system upgrades, seven server software and content upgrades, three new server installations, lots of client computer repairs, and meetings with the scholarship committee and scholars.  In addition, we evaluated three candidates for future projects.  Neal also added some more advanced capabilities at CTU-Carmen for the college students and professors.

Three more days [2018-03-14]

We’re down to our last three days in Cebu.  It’s not over yet, but thankfully all of the planned work is now behind us.  We are so grateful for our computer technicians Lloyd Tuñacao and Rhog Sampan who make our work lighter.  They, like Neal, work with such intensity and focus.  Their mentor Sir Jade Reyes taught them well!  In the last week we’ve been to Tabok NHS and Labogon NHS in Mandaue City to do updates and repairs, and we were back at Compostela Science and Technology High School yesterday to finish the installation and training.  We’ll be back at CTU-Carmen tomorrow where Neal will add some additional capabilities requested by the professors there.

Dwindling days [2018-03-05]

Now that the calendar has turned over to March, it seems to us that the clock is speeding up.  Thankfully it was a productive week of work, including our fourth time to provide Reneal System Administration training here in Cebu.  It was a small but energetic group, and we were so pleased to have them bring up their questions and concerns.  We were also very grateful that our entire Reneal Team Philippines had a chance to present – Sir Neal, Sir Jade, Lloyd, and Rhog did a great job!

Back to work [2018-02-27]

We’re back at work after ten days off.  It was definitely time for a break, especially for Neal.  The operating system and software upgrades that he’s been doing at each school never seem to be routine – there is always some weird new issue that needs to be worked.  That fact in itself is frustrating but I guess once you get up to 40-odd computer labs (installed over multiple years in two different countries), configuration control becomes difficult no matter how careful you’ve been.  Anyway, we’re both recharged and ready to finish off the remaining work here in Cebu. 

Speeding through Weeks 3 and 4 [2018-02-13]

It’s hard to keep up with everything happening here.  Last week, our third in Cebu, was spent in northern Cebu in the town of Daanbantayan.  We began computer lab projects there in 2014 in response to Typhoon Yolanda which devastated so many communities here in the Philippines.  Last week we focused on two schools, Daanbantayan National High School and Tominjao National High School, making updates to their servers and fixing client computer problems.  While we’ve already done this operation several times now, it never seems to be routine!  We got back home to Compostela on Saturday afternoon, tired but satisfied.  Sunday night we met with the scholarship committee at United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) to start discussing plans for the next school year.  We’ll visit two schools this week for updates and client repairs before heading off Thursday for 10 days of R&R.

Week 2 in review [2018-02-05]

Most of last week, our second in Cebu, was spent in the town of Carmen which is about a 40 minute bus ride north of Compostela.  In a Reneal first, we installed our system in a tertiary institution, Cebu Techological University-Carmen.  Two labs at CTU-Carmen have now been equipped with Reneal servers.  We also visited Carmen National High School, historically one of our most active schools and home to two Reneal servers.  We ended the week feeling really great about the opportunities for students to get hands-on time with the computers at these schools.

On location in Cebu [2018-01-27]

One more time, we’ve made that amazing 24-hour transition from our ordinary American existence in Fremont California to residence in the little town of Compostela in Cebu.  Some of the basic facts of life come back immediately (“take off your shoes at the door”, “use your spoon to eat rice”) and others have to be painfully relearned (“don’t leave food outside of the ant-proof containers”).  We’ve joyously greeted friends that we haven’t seen for 10 months and are reveling in the smiles and good humor of the people here.  Our work schedule for the first week turned out to be slightly optimistic, but in general we’re off to a good start with our 2018 projects here in the Philippines.

Going home [2018-01-18]

The blog has gone by the wayside these last three weeks, between some personal travel and preparation for our trip to the Philippines this coming Saturday.  Thankfully most of the equipment was shipped already, so we’ll be traveling “light” (at least relative to Tanzania).  We have a tentative schedule arranged for the school visits as well as for the two new school installations.  We are very excited to be heading back to our second home in Cebu!

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