Powering Potential for Zambian Schools
We are super excited that Canonical have released Ubuntu 20.10 for the Raspberry Pi. As followers will know, we have been using Raspberry Pi computers in remote schools in Southern Zambia for over 5 years as a low power, cost effective and very efficient solution.
Well now we can run the full-fat Ubuntu on the Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB and 8GB versions).
We’re using COVID lockdown to hold twice weekly Zoom training sessions with Zambian teachers interested in learning Python and Scratch in order to teach coding to their pupils. It’s going well so far in spite of some technical problems- thanks to Howard sending support and practise materials and thanks teachers for hanging in there.
Schools in Zambia have now welcomed back all pupils and are trying to take as many precautions as they can against COVID 19.
Thanks to some generous individual donors, we have sent fifteen schools non-contact digital thermometers to test temperatures before letting students into school.
The non contact digital thermometers for schools in Zambia have arrived at last. Generous donations from individuals enabled us to buy 15 of them for our solar schools to make coming to school a safer experience for teachers and children.
The Education department picked them up and has begun the task of distributing to schools. Siavonga Basic School were the first recipients.
To support Bbakasa School in this time of pandemic, we sent a non-contact digital thermometer so that teachers could identify and send home anyone who turned up for school with a high temperature. They are finding it so useful, that we have started raising money to provide at least 14 more of these. Each thermometer costs £30 but every pound donated will be used to help remote African schools.
Category : News , solarpower , zambia
We’ve come a long way since our first visit to Zambia in 2015.
Here is a flavour of what we’ve achieved to date.
We have installed solar power in 14 schools in Siavonga District and 3 schools in Monze District. This enables them for the first time to have lighting and the infrastructure for computers.
We have supplied the learning resources of RACHEL (Remote Area Community Hotspot for Education and Learning) to 5 schools with mains power via a Synology NAS server.
But our main focus has been the Raspberry Pi. It acts as a wifi hotspot and does not need mains power. We have used this as a server supplying RACHEL. 80 schools are now regularly using this resource for teaching and learning.
A fundamental part of our project is the training of teachers. On each visit we run courses on solar power, the use of RACHEL off-line learning resources, networking and general computer maintenance, and office applications. To date, in the three districts we visit, a total of 157 teachers from 61 schools have attended one or more of these sessions.
In addition to this, thanks to large donations of equipment we have sent out 128 PCs, 79 monitors, and 160 laptops. These were distributed by the local District Education Board Secretaries.
We have also been able to provide training in beekeeping delivered by a trainer from Monze, along with two beehives per school for those who attended. Some of them have been able to start selling jars of honey.
Category : zambia
We’re pleased to report back on the success of our Bees Knees project. We hope this will be a sustainable environment-friendly way of providing some income for the Women’s Group and the four schools that are taking part.
It all
started in 2018 when we liaised with Phillip Nsakilwa (a beekeeping trainer in Monze) to go down to Siavonga for three days to train interested parties from Bbakasa, Kabbila, Kawila and Matuwa schools and the Miyombo Womens Cooperative.
Everyone was very enthusiastic if a little nervous at first. He showed them the whole process of setting up and looking after hives. He also demonstrated how to extract the honey from the honeycomb.
We provided each group with two top bar hives and bee suits.
Phillip returned in August to check how they were getting on. There were some teething problems but he gave them advice on overcoming these.
At Kawila they gave one of the hives to community members to look after and kept the other for the school. This year they are finally seeing the benefits.
The Womens Cooperative reported a lot of bees around their hives.
They looked to see if there was any honey and filled three large buckets with the honeycomb. They have started to extract the honey. They have 30 litres so far. They also have people eager to buy it from them.
We are proud to have received the following notification from NAQEZ. This stands for National Action for Quality Education in Zambia.
From our Executive Director Mr Aron Chansa, both of you from today hence, become HONORARY Members of NAQEZ (National Action for Quality Education in Zambia) for being instrumental in Uplifting the standards of ICT in Siavonga rural schools, through your able organization GIAKONDA.
It’s good to be appreciated.
Category : solarpower , sponsors , zambia
Thanks to Welsh Government’s Wales and Africa Grant Scheme, we are developing the solar power capability of Bbakasa School in Siavonga District. We first visited this remote school on the Lower Zambezi River, in 2015. We put up a very basic solar panel and battery for them and they have used it well to run two Raspberry Pi PCs and to charge teacher laptops. We also provided a Raspberry Pi server which acts as a wifi hotspot to deliver learning resources RACHEL (Remote Area Community Hotspot for Education and Learning).
The school has now become a Junior Secondary School and has more extensive needs. We have therefore supplied four large panels and four batteries to power a hub of Raspberry Pi computers, teacher laptops and a large screen to use for class teaching.
Our suppliers Muhunya Solar of Lusaka make a very professional job of the installation.
Our Zambian colleague, Joel, held a training session for us in Lusaka. He demonstrated the use of a Raspberry Pi as a fully functioning PC which can be mounted neatly on the back of its monitor .Thanks to VOTS school for letting us use their building for training. A total of fourteen teachers
attended and all were impressed with the power and versatility of this tiny computer.They also used the Raspberry Pi to connect to a server delivering RACHEL learning resources.
We are setting up a hub of Raspberry Pi computers at Bbakasa School thanks to Welsh Government’s Wales and Africa Scheme.