Child Ownership of the XOs

Our group decided to try something different with the XO's. Instead of simply having a computer class for two hours a day we decided that we would let the children check the laptops out before school. We did not want the laptops to be a distraction from their classes so we have a meeting with the students and teachers. We told the students to keep the laptops in their desks unless their teacher wanted to use them for that class. We made sure the teachers understood that the children should be able to use them during their break times, lunch, and after school. We wanted to test the waters so we did an experiment day where the teachers were in charge of the laptops. We shadowed them to make sure everything went smoothly.

The results were fantastic. The kids picked up their assigned laptops and carried the XOs to class. Not one single child disobeyed the teacher when class was going on. On break, all the children were gathered under trees using their XO's in excitement and wonder. One boy had illustrated his family tree using paint and then wrote a story about each of his family members. One girl drew a house using the same application and then inside the house, wrote out the names of everyone who lived with her. Now we do need to keep in mind that the children of Pokot do not live in houses. They live in huts. The concept of "house" was different for these children.

I'm a Survivor

Teacher training has been going very well. We decided to keep the teacher training all throughout the time we are spending at Pokot. Right now they are learning about Scratch (which has to deal with animations) Chat, and Measure. The older teachers are still having problems with clicking and dragging items on the laptops while the younger teachers have already started teaching their students different programs on the XO's.

We were able to saturate the entire 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and the 6th graders at Asilong Primary school. We gave them their assigned laptops and divided them into two groups. We have the 2nd and 3rd graders together and the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders together. When teaching the younger group we found out that it was rather difficult because we had to go through each program and each step over and over and over again. They couldn't even type their own story using "write" so instead we started out with them just typing out the alphabet. The older group however, was able to grasp the concepts of the programs. They are doing very well with each of the assignments we have given them.

Our goal for this next week is to let the children take full responsibility of their laptops. They will be able to sign them out and take them home, charge their laptops at the school using the Charging Schedule, and to start an after school program where the children can decide what they want to learn.

We had a meeting with the parents which was successful. Even though they are very traditional they were excited that we brought this new technology to their tribe. We let them look at the laptops and we took pictures of them using the XOs. They want their children to learn more about the lap tops so in turn the children can teach their parents. We are having another parent/teacher conference this Thursday, the 16th.

Besides our priorities we have been able to dance with the tribe, sit in the back of a chicken truck, fix up the children using our first aid kits, climb Mount Sequot, see a chicken get slaughtered, and eat 2 small meals a day. Leila, Sharon (our NGO Representative) and I have started a Girl's club. We meet everyday and talk to the women about hygiene, equality, and education. We want them to know that women can have a future besides being a wife. They tell us they want to wear pants but they are scared to be beaten. They also tell us what they want to be when they grow up. We want them to have a safe place where they can express their concerns, fears, and hopes.

It has been a very interesting trip to say the least.

Teacher Workshop Week 1

This has been an adventurous week. When we first arrived we had no sleeping bags so we slept on rocks for about a week. We had no running water so in order to take a shower or cook we had to travel to the well and fetch buckets of water. There are no toilets, just an outhouse. There is no electricity so you must get everything done before the sun sets. Cory slaughtered a goat and we were able to feed the whole community. The women here are treated like property. They are circumsized and have their bottom teeth pulled out. They fetch the water, cook, clean, tend the children, plant, water the plants- basically any chore you can think of. The men sit on their "special chairs" made out of wood under the shade. They sunbathe naked and have many wives. They are very lazy and it makes me sick to my stomache. If a woman gets caught sitting on the "chair" they are beaten and must sacrifice one of their goats.

I can't be totally pessimistic, education is improving, and will be even more with the XO's OLPC has donated. More girls are being allowed to attend instead of getting married when they turn 13.

We started teaching the teachers about the XO and its programs from 3pm to 5pm every day. The first day was very fustrating because they could not grasp the concept of the mouse. It took about 30 minutes just for them to get a hang of clicking and dragging the mouse. We started with record and write. Then we tried to get them to copy and paste a picture into write and illustrate a story- big mistake for the first day. Each day got better and better. The second day we taught speak and wikipedia which they really enjoyed. Then we taught them memorize and calculate. They made their own memorize game by matching a swahili word with an english one

i.e. Jambo-Hello Asante-Thank you

We moved on to ruler, implode, and moon activity. We have accomplished so much in only four days. We decided that we will start teaching the children in the morning and continue the teacher workshops from 3-5pm each day. I also decided that I am going to start an after school program where we will go more in depth with the XO's so that they will fully understand the functions. Some of the OLPC team have become full time teachers- they have taught english, science, and of course computer science. The solar panels we installed are a huge success and we were able to also put in a light so that the children can learn at night.

All is well!

Asilong Primary School at the Pokot Tribe

The school in Pokot is very different from the schools you find in America. First of all, to build a school they use pieces of wood for the frame, then they put the mixture of of cow dung, water, and dirt over the wood. The desks are long wooden benches with a slab of wood for the tables. There are little chalkboards in each of the rooms. They have levels 1-6, along with books for each grade. The books however, are very outdated and most of the English books have mistakes in them. Some of the children actually live near the school in these little houses (like a dormitory.) They sleep on the floor without pillows and blankets. When they wake up they eat porridge and head out to school around 8am and get out at 3pm. There are 8 teachers total, including the head master. They are very estatic to learn about the XO's, most of them have never seen a computer before. Each teacher has at least 2 to 3 subjects that they teach. They have science, social studies, mathematics, swahili, english, and religion. Most of the teachers do not have teaching certificates- just a diploma from high school. The kids are very happy to see us. They always stare and say "Karam" which means good in Pokot or they say "how are you, how are you."

Pokot Tribe

We are on our way to the middle of no mans land! I have a lot of mixed emotions about this trip. I am not a huge fan of camping by any means however, we will be making a huge impact on them- more than we could for anyone else. There will be no electricity, running water, shelter, or even food. The Pokot have a drought and usually do not have enough food to eat. So basically we are living in tents and bringing our own supplies. This is a real tribe- I'm talking about loin cloths, cow's blood, and eating tree bark. The whole nine yards! I will try to update the blog as much as I can.

Simba's Village Orphanage

On our way to the orphanage we stopped at Java house for Lunch. The food was delicious- great milkshakes, guacamole, quesadillas, and basically everything on the menu. Afterwards we took a taxi through Ngong, which is a little town where everybody knows everybody. We saw some of the Masai tribe tending after the goats. We even saw a spider monkey crossing the hilly dirt road. It was very lush and green- opposite of the savannah we traveled through yesterday on our way to Mount Kilimanjaro. We finally arrived at the orphanage and met the staff. When we went outside to play with the children all you could see was a group of kids running towards us. Especially Brandon and Cory, the children remembered them from last time. The kids guided us through their garden which had cabbage, tomatoes, carrots, and other vegetables growing. They even had a water system which UBC help set up. There were these two little boys who always wanted to be carried, Dupert and Otieno. Dupert was this adorable little toddler who was at first very shy. Slowly he would take a step towards me…one by one. Finally he came to sit on my lap and wanted me to pick him up and swing him back and forth like a rocket ship. The girls decided they wanted to braid my hair while the boys played soccer in the cow fields with Alex and Brandon. Afterwards we played hide and go seek and this game similar to dodge ball. It was almost impossible to leave, we had gotten attached to the children. I hugged and carried Dupert all the way to the taxi. When I put him down he stuck his thumb in his mouth and looked like he was going to cry- that made me want to cry. I just wanted to take him home with me!

-Sophia

Genocide Museum

Towards the end of our workshop in Kigali we went to visit three different museums. First we saw the King's hut, second we went to the National museum where we bought many souvenirs. Lastly we visited the Genocide museum. It was very emotional hearing the stories and reading the articles of the murders. It first started with the Belgiums who separated the Tutsis from the Hutus. They said that the tutsis were more intelligent, lighter skin, taller, and treated them better than the Hutus if they were loyal. This was a stereotype because for generations the Hutus and Tutsis have been intermarried.
The plan backfired and the Hutus wanted revenge so they shot down the President's plane and started the mass killings. They showed no mercy- using machetes to cut off various body parts of people, raping women, killing babies, and many other horrendous acts. There was a room in the museum where Rwandans brought pictures of those killed in the genocide. There were pictures of children, teenagers, parents, and grandparents. The next room had bones and skulls in a display box. The skulls looked so tiny I though that they must have come from children. The upstairs was dedicated to the babies who were killed. There was a picture and a description of the baby's favorite thing to do, favorite food, and how they were killed. It was definitely the room that effected me the most. It is disturbing to know that people could do this to little innocent babies. Outside we saw the mass cemented graves which is said to have over 250,000 bodies buried.

If you ever get the chance you must read Left To Tell by Immaculee Ilibizagia- it gives you an account of the history as well as her own story about the genocide.