2024 Phase 1 Progress [2024-08-23]

It has been a busy time since my last post.  The 2024 Phase 1 boxes had a smooth trip to Tanzania, and Reneal Team Tanzania has completed installation of all 12 of the new computer labs!  The Team is now in the process of doing the computer lab training for teachers at these schools.  Reneal, with the invaluable assistance of our Country Director David Nyangaka, has now installed over 100 computer labs in Tanzania!  And of course, we couldn’t have done this without the support of our generous donor, Apto Solutions!

The 2024 Phase 1 projects were focused in Kilimanjaro Region, Mara Region, and Lindi Region.  This represents new areas for Reneal support.  Reneal now has computer labs in ten regions in Tanzania.  We continue to evaluate our efficiency at keeping the labs maintained, but Reneal Team Tanzania, now six technicians strong, helps make it happen.

Neal and I are getting ready to head to Tanzania ourselves in less than two weeks.  He has been working on a major software update to convert the system to the latest version of Ubuntu.  The software that manages the client-server interaction has changed a lot, so it’s been a big job.  The goal is to deploy this in 2025, although we are hoping that we can set up a beta test site during this upcoming trip.  Thanks to Apto Solutions, we are also planning to replace some of the oldest server computers in the fleet with some micro desktops they provided.  This is an exciting opportunity for us to revitalize some of Reneal’s earliest schools.

 [Photos: computer training at Bumangi Secondary School, Butiama Secondary School]