Blog

Thanks A is for Africa! [2019-01-16]

Last August we had the great good fortune to be introduced to Rick Smith from “A is for Africa”, a US non-profit headquartered in Maryland.  The introduction was through Arusha District Executive Director Dr. Charles Mahera, and it happened when coincidentally both Rick and members of Reneal’s Board of Directors were in Arusha.  Now here we are just a few short months later celebrating completion of a joint project to install a Reneal server in the computer lab at Matim Primary School facilitated by AIFA!

Reneal Scholarships: Part 2 [2019-01-05]

Happy New Year from Reneal!  The first blog post of 2019 will be continuation of the final post of 2018.  We talked last about the Reneal scholarship program in the Philippines, now in its tenth year.  This time we’ll be focusing on the Reneal scholarship program in Tanzania.  This program, a long-time dream of Neal’s, finally came to fruition in 2018.  Just like in the Philippines, a few dollars can go a very long way in helping students in Tanzania reach their dreams!  We couldn’t do this without the dedication and hard work of Reneal School Liaison David Nyangaka.

Reneal Scholarships: Part 1 [2018-12-31]

Reneal hit a major milestone in 2018 – we are celebrating the tenth year of the Reneal scholarship program!  The program was born back in 2009 as we looked for new ways to help promising high school students in the Philippines achieve their dreams.  What was striking was that it took so little money by US standards to make a huge difference in the lives of Filipino students.  We are so grateful for our in-country partners who do the hard work of managing these two programs!

Heading toward Cebu! [2018-12-21]

Reneal has had a big year, installing ten new computer labs in 2018 with six of these new labs in the Philippines.  Thanks to some wonderful donations in 2018 (including Free Geek in Portland, OR, World Computer Exchange, Sound Family Medicine in Bonney Lake, WA, Maloney Elementary School in Fremont, CA, and UNeed2 in Tracy, CA), Reneal has had a wealth of computer hardware to share with schools in the Philippines.  We were especially pleased this year that Reneal Team Philippines organized and executed three installations while Neal and I were far away in the US. 

Reneal Team Philippines: Meet Ervin Formentera! [2018-11-15]

Reneal installs computer labs in high schools in both the Philippines and Tanzania, and we just couldn’t do it without our dedicated teams in each country.  The newest member of Reneal Team Philippines is Ervin Formentera, a student at Cebu Technological University in Danao City.  Ervin is doing his on-the-job training in his final year of college under Sir Jade Reyes at Arcelo Memorial National High School.   Jade, long-time Reneal intern during his own high school and college days, is now a high school computer teacher at Arcelo.  Part of Ervin’s responsibility is supporting the Reneal projects in Cebu, and he works closely with Reneal computer technicians Rhog Sampan and Lloyd Tuñacao.  Together these three computer wizards have installed several computer labs in Cebu the last few months.  We are very grateful for their skill and effort.  It’s time to meet Ervin!

2018 Tanzania in review [2018-10-29]

Planning for the 2018 projects in Tanzania started in late 2017, right as we returned from Arusha.  It is gratifying to look back now and see that Reneal Team Tanzania was able to achieve our goals.  Thanks to our partners at the Arusha District Council, Arusha Regional Office, Habari Node, and Arusha Node Marie – we couldn’t have done it without you!  And of course a huge THANK YOU to our partners in the schools, the school heads and computer teachers who bring Reneal’s resources to the students.

Home again [2018-10-19]

Here in California, it’s 1 a.m. Friday morning.  Back in Arusha, It’s approaching midday at the schools.  For much of the last two months, at this hour we would have been well into our work for the day – installing a new computer lab, making repairs in an existing lab, talking with the computer teachers – with the sounds of the school surrounding us.  How very strange it is to be back home suddenly without a school to visit tomorrow.

SUPER! USERS! [2018-10-14]

This week was the crux of Reneal’s time in Arusha in 2018.  Thanks to an amazing team effort, everything got done and we’re down to just one more school visit before Neal and I head back to the US.  Our room, full of Reneal t-shirts and servers and piles of equipment just last Sunday, is much more spacious now.  We visited three schools this week to share with them the new updates in their servers, and our team completely rewired one of our 2013 schools.  Best of all, we had fantastic meetings yesterday with the school heads and the Super Users (computer teachers) of the fourteen schools in Arusha District with Reneal computer labs!

Four in a row [2018-10-07]

Almost from the moment Neal and I got home from the 2017 Tanzania trip, Reneal’s Tanzania team has been planning for this year’s work.  With the help of many generous donors, Reneal gathered 115 laptop computers to bring to the schools here.  Neal built four new servers, and we worked with our trusted vendors in Arusha to reserve the equipment we purchase here.  David scouted for candidates for new computer labs, and he guided them carefully in preparing the computer room with tables, chairs, electrical outlets, and security features.  With the help of Reneal Board members Sharon Fingold and Katherine Yen and their husbands, we transported 18 boxes of computer equipment from California to Arusha.  With tremendous support from our partners at Habari Node and Arusha Node Marie, the equipment has been installed.  After all of the hard work and angst of the past year, it’s so thrilling to look back and see four new secondary schools with computer labs in Arusha District!

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