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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...

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. 

Neal and I were intensely focused on our work for those few short weeks in Tanzania, spending most of our time either confined in IT labs or seated in front of our computer screens at the home of our colleague where we have been staying.  However a couple of things intruded upon our consciousness that we’d like to share.

Reneal IEO struck gold yet again, this time at Mlangarini Secondary School.  We found there a visionary school head, a committed and knowledgeable IT teacher, and students and teachers eager to use computers.  It seems almost miraculous that all three of the 2013 Reneal IEO projects in Tanzania would fall on such rich soil!