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The Mission of Lights & Computers:
Computers and the Internet offers rural disadvantaged villages such as Solentiname an opportunity to leapfrog out of their isolation and poverty into our global village. The objectives of the project is to bring the benefits of computers and information technologies (IT) to Solentiname. Since there is no conventional electricity, solar technology must be developed to power computers and to light both schools and houses.
The Challenge
Located in the southern end of Lake Nicaragua, Solentiname is one of the most rural areas of Nicaragua. Its situation reflects the poverty, isolation, and limited educational and commercial opportunities that is common to much of the "third world" . Quality education is one of the keys to ending the cycle of poverty. Without literacy and computer skills matched to 21st century jobs, Solentiname's disadvantaged children will have little prospect of bettering their lives.
Delivering quality education is a challenge everywhere, but even more difficult in places without electricity. The problem goes well beyond a lack of bright light for reading. The absence of power also means that schools can not take advantage of basic technology that is so central to modern education; imagine teaching with computer, televisions with VCR's, copy machines, and of course without the Internet. Without the tools to succeed in their work, many experienced and skilled teachers shy away from schools without electricity, further exacerbating the problem. Without good teachers and good technology resources, students predictably under-perform, drop out, and ultimately join the ranks of the 60% of Nicaraguan's who are unemployed or underemployed .
But is doesn't have to continue to be that way. The computer is an ideal project to transform small disadvantaged rural communities. Using a computer was almost unimaginable two years ago in Solentiname. It not only offered a source of education and job skills, but also symbolized entry into a modern world that was closed to them. For the younger generation, the new school computers have been magnets. While the shelf of donated books gathered dust, the computers gathered knots of students, dressed in blue and white uniforms. 'I very much want to go to University, but I don't know if I can because we are poor,'' said Evert Ugarte, 17 years old. Studying the keyboard, he added, ''I want to learn computers for my future.
Project History:
The project grew out of ideas presented at a local forum in 2006.
- We have set up central computer lab with 6 desktop units, and 35 laptops in January 2007. The computers were provided by www.WorldComputerExchange.org .
- Presently there are 75 students attending voluntary classes 2 days a week.
- The rural nature and lack of transportation in Solentiname makes a central lab difficult, and in fact we have been spending over $250.00 monthly on transportation into the central computer lab. The goal is to decentralize and put computers in the homes, and transport the teacher to the outlying islands. 15 laptop computers have been distributed in the community as a pilot "computers in the casa" (house), but charging the battery has been a problem due to the lack of conventional electricity.
- Internet and email access was introduced in February 2008.
- All six of the primary school teachers have attended class, and have purchased a laptop for their school.
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