The summer holidays are over and children are back to school hungry for more!
After a year long involvement with the school in Sawra, we and the children have come a long way in our IT education program. I would say the children have taught us more than we have taught them. Of course we knew the software and how technology makes life easy for people and all that jazz. But the children taught us many deeper things like: dedication is not just a word in dictionary, it's a habit. Challenge is not for others but for yourself. And last but not least, will power, it's in their will to change the future.
Now I have not written all this to make my article a nice read. I really mean it. I have seen dedication in some of the children here which is beyond praise. The children run this school, it doesn't matter if the government funds come in time or not. The school garden, equipment, books and even building paint are well looked after by these dedicated children. Every where children love holidays or a day off from school; but at Sawra students are always in campus either doing extra reading, drawing something on the computer or just watering the plants.
I am really glad we started the IT literacy program from Sawra. Because this made us realize that if you give people what they really need, they will take the lead and out-perform your expectations.
Review and plans:
After working on various levels for one year and introducing computer education at Sawra school we have realized the children are quick to finish off what's on their plate and are always looking for more. They have been grabbing every possible opportunity to get extra time on the computer to do what they like to do or help their classmates by sharing what they know. But now we have reached a level where we need to raise the bar and go next level of training and make children more competitive and skilled, so they will not hesitate to brush shoulders with children from city schools.
After working on various levels for one year and introducing computer education at Sawra school we have realized the children are quick to finish off what's on their plate and are always looking for more. They have been grabbing every possible opportunity to get extra time on the computer to do what they like to do or help their classmates by sharing what they know. But now we have reached a level where we need to raise the bar and go next level of training and make children more competitive and skilled, so they will not hesitate to brush shoulders with children from city schools.
We have started work on building a custom assignment book which will ensure children use computers to do school projects, assignments and other learning modules. This will help us measure success and the extent of IT literacy in their mind.
Results begin to show:
One of the indications that we are on the right track is Sachin, a school dropout who had to spend all his time on farming. He has now decided to attended a training course on Desktop Publishing and in less than 6 months he has got a full time job as a DTP operator in a nearby town. Rest assured Sachin and his family will now be less dependent on the forest, hence reducing the pressure on the little remaining tiger forests of India.
Results begin to show:
One of the indications that we are on the right track is Sachin, a school dropout who had to spend all his time on farming. He has now decided to attended a training course on Desktop Publishing and in less than 6 months he has got a full time job as a DTP operator in a nearby town. Rest assured Sachin and his family will now be less dependent on the forest, hence reducing the pressure on the little remaining tiger forests of India.
The problem: downtime
Plans look good, feedback sounds encouraging but all is not well as every now and then the IT program goes in indefinite pause due to computer downtime. The major cause of this downtime is software crash and at times hardware malfunction, all because of frequent power failure. Once the computer is down, it takes about 2 to 3 weeks for it to be fixed as Sawra is a remote village close to tiger habitat and the nearest town where a computer can be fixed is a three hour drive away.
We require:
To solve this problem we have realized that a good UPS for each computer is needed, so when there is a power cut, the children have enough time to save their work and shut down the computer hence reducing the risk of any damage.
To solve this problem we have realized that a good UPS for each computer is needed, so when there is a power cut, the children have enough time to save their work and shut down the computer hence reducing the risk of any damage.
We would need 5 UPS systems to ensure the IT literacy program is running effectively and we are able to help these under-privileged children secure a better tomorrow.
We would like to send out this appeal to individuals and corporates. If you can sponsor new or donate used UPS for computers in Sawra school, it will make a world of difference to the children and the volunteers working for this cause.
We would like to send out this appeal to individuals and corporates. If you can sponsor new or donate used UPS for computers in Sawra school, it will make a world of difference to the children and the volunteers working for this cause.
While we were thinking that we were able to match the expectation and excitement of children in Sawra, the hunger for learning had already spread far and wide and neighbouring villages had started investigating what's turning Sawra into a talent mine. It did not take too long for the schools of Teliya and Zinzeriya to approach us and insist that we start the IT program in their schools too. So now the IT education program is being carried out in a total of three villages.
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