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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...

Exciting prospects for 2014 [2014-01-08]

The New Year has begun well for Reneal IEO.  In the last month, we’ve received donations of 70 used laptops from Bay Area corporations!  There is still much work to be done to determine how many of those can be transformed into seats in school IT labs, but early evaluation appears promising.  Combined with monetary contributions from generous donors, this assures that the planned 2014 Tanzania projects are well-positioned for success. 

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