3 years on

We visited Bamburi Primary school a few days ago. They were having an end of term awards ceremony and we were invited along as 'special' guests to the event.

Bamburi primary School was one of the first schools to receive computers from Camara 3 years ago. They are one of a number of schools that will get an upgrade in the next couple of weeks (we expect refurbished computer to have a shelf life of about 3 years.

3 years ago we were sending out Pentium II computers with 64Mbytes of ram and a very basic edubuntu operating system. The minimum specification for computers these days is a Pentium III computer with 256MBytes of Ram and Ubuntu 6.10 which is considered one of the best educational based operating systems around. Things have come a long way.


We inspected the laboratory and discovered that about 65% of the computers were still going strong. About 25% were un fixable and the rest were giving trouble but still being used. The main problem seems to be the power supplies. Eventually, with mains power going on and off at the regularity it happens out here, the power supplies go.













Our power supply requirements were not as stringent then when we were handing over computers as they are today. UPS (uninterrupted power supplies) have become much more affordable these days and we new make it mandatory that schools invest in UPS infrastructure before we hand over the computers. Bamburi primary will have to do this before they get newer computers.

The other good news is that as the penetration of computers increases people are finding ways of keeping the computers going including ways of repairing damaged power supplies. These skills will ultimately create jobs.












Bamburi primary is on the Bamburi Cement (the biggest cement company in East Africa) campus. The company actually built the school and then handed it over to the government (with disastrous consequences). Hopefully we can convince the company to re-engage with the the school and the Digital Hub here. They have significant resources at their disposal.

The awards ceremony was very enjoyable. The school hosts some of the most deprived children in the area but it never ceases to amaze me how children here can remain positive and cheerful irrespective of their circumstances...

On a more positive note...;)

After a pretty 'challenging' first few days things have settled down and are looking up!

We have moved location to an apartment block just outside the city and much closer to the Digital Hub. We are assured that the security is excellent!

I have spent a lot of the last two days in the hub here. During the school hours girls and boys alternate taking turns in the training center. At any one time there is almost 100 people in the hub either training, refurbishing computers or having meetings about various projects.

I am amazed at the technical level some of the people have to got to and with no formal training in many cases! When the Camara volunteers arrive next week they are going to be hard pushed to show them anything new. However, Camara is hoping to have all their training (and in particular the training of trainers) officially certified so this year an official pilot of a FETAC level 3 basic ICT course will be run to see is it viable in a specific timeframe. If it is, this will become the anchor training mechanism for all engagements in the future.

A container of over 400 computers is presently being cleared in Mombasa port. The excitement level in the hub in anticipation of the computers arriving is palpable. It promises to be a fantastic occasion to be here for and I will hopefully be photographing and documenting it in a few days.

It has certainly been a challenging start - probably the most challenging start I have experienced to date coming out here. However, when you spend time in the hub and see the positive impact it is having on peoples lives you realise, even more, how important it is to remain positive and hopeful despite the challenges.

I really believe that poverty creates desperation and desperation and human beings are not a good mixture. On the flip side good education can provide a way out of poverty and ultimately thats what Camara is all about. Giving people access to technology, education and knowledge so they have more choices for their future.