Thermometers
Category : News
Thanks to generous individual donors, these fifteen thermometers will be on their way to Zambia tomorrow. This will help schools check that pupils attending do not have a fever.
Giakonda Solar Schools
Powering Potential for Zambian Schools
- 2nd September 2020
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- 25th August 2020
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Thermometers for schools
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.
Thanks to generous supporters we have raised enough money for 8 non contact digital thermometers for schools in Siavonga Zambia. Can you help us increase this even more and help even more schools check that their pupils are safe to come to school. The children below are from Bbakasa Junior and Secondary School.
- 30th June 2020
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Achievements to date
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.
- 8th June 2020
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The power of Zoom
Category : News
We’re keeping busy during COVID-19 lockdown preparing and delivering training materials. Through the use of Zoom we are able to connect with some of our Zambian colleagues to share the latest news from Zambia and Wales. We can demonstrate how to use various packages by using the Share screen facility.
While Bridget is completing the cabling at Bbakasa school, Howard is on hand on WhatsApp to answer any queries she may have.
Meanwhile I’m busy applying for grants to enhance our support to all the rural solar schools by supplying them with routers and internet bundles so that we can train groups of teachers directly.
That’s as well as using Zoom to share our expertise with Dolen Cymru; and to join in with a meeting on e-learning next Friday organised by Hub Cymru Africa.
- 3rd June 2020
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- 22nd April 2020
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2.6 challenge
Category : News
Raise money for us
The London Marathon is cancelled this year. It was due to take place on 26th April. A lot of small charities benefit from the runners raising money for them.
This year instead you are invited to support the charity of your choice by undertaking the 2.6 challenge. Could you get people to sponsor you and donate the money to Giakonda Solar Schools?
All on a 2.6 or 26 theme.
Ideas:
Run 2.6KM
Keep a ball in the air for 26 keepie-uppies.
Walk twenty six times around the garden
Hula hoop 26 times or for 2.6 minutes
26 pressups
Dance for 26 minutes
Jump up and down 26 times on trampoline.
Do 26 star jumps
Send us your video clips please.
Let’s see who has the craziest idea.
- 8th April 2020
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NAQEZ letter
Category : News
We are honoured to have received endorsement letter from NAQEZ, the organisation of educational professionals that seeks to improve standards in Zambia.
- 7th April 2020
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They’re the Bees Knees
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.
- 2nd April 2020
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NAQEZ
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.
- 6th March 2020
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Developing solar power at Bbakasa School
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.