[Olpc-za] Expanding OLPC in South Africa

One Laptop Per Child South Africa olpc.za at gmail.com
Thu Sep 11 14:50:32 EDT 2008


OLPC-ZA,
Good afternoon, my name is Paul Commons.  I led the Limpopo deployment this
past month and am now trying to expand OLPC-ZA as an intern for the
organization.  I'd like to get an idea of how much interest and involvement
we have in the olpc-za list serve. The following email details what olpc-za
is planning to accomplish in the coming months and how you can take part.
We'd like to see OLPC expand in South Africa, but to do so we'll need to
become more structured and organized.  I'll try and be concise in laying out
some of what needs to be done.  We need all the support in getting us off
the ground.  Everyone has a different set of skills, unique network, etc.
Please let us know how you see yourself contributing. If nothing below
applies to your skill set, please email us with your ideas on what you'd
like to see happen w/ olpc-za or ways you'd like to help.  This is an
organically evolving project, we have nothing set in stone, yet.  Once we
get a level of involvement, we'll set goals.

*How you can help with olpc-za:*
**
*OLPC-ZA's Gmail Account:*
I'm emailing from OLPC-ZA's new Gmail account.  I recently created this to
serve as one centralized account for organizational purposes.  As we expand
OLPC in South Africa, we'll need to stay organized, maintain better
communication, etc.  Gmail is capable of storing all emails and has an easy
search tool to find old emails.  I believe Google with it's different tools,
such as google docs, will help us organizationally.  If you'd like to
contribute, please reply and I'm happy to share the password.

*Outline of Project Proposal & Strategy Plan*
Attached is an *outline *of a business plan fused with a project proposal
outline.  It was taken from several different sources online to serve as a
format only.  So that nobody reinvents the wheel, we are going to create 1
extensive document covering all aspects, including description, marketing,
competition, operating procedures, project proposal, time frame,
monitoring and evaluation, etc, etc.  This doc will be tailored to OLPC-ZA.
The purpose of writing this is to allow us to approach companies for
additional Give Many donations, apply for grants, etc.  Marco Rosa, who will
be taking a lead role in developing olpc-za, and I discussed creating a doc
w/ a strategy for presenting to donors, this will serve that
purpose. Investors need to know this (1) works (2) sustains itself (3) is
supported by a locally structured organization.  We intend to do that via
this doc.

If you have knowledge or experience in the following, please let us know, as
your expertise is needed: writing business plans, project proposals, or
grants, have academic knowledge on the government's past or current role in
education, or finance.  We can delegate sections to maximize our resources.

*OLPC-ZA PowerPoint Presentation*
I'm currently sifting through the PPT Presentations on the Wiki page (wiki
search Presentations, click Presentations/May Country Workshop, click on the
download option on the top).  We'll use some images, logos, ideas, etc from
these but tailor them to SA.  The idea, like the PP & SPlan above, is to
create 1 detailed PPT presentation.  That way each of us can download it
and tailor it to our specific audience.  If you have experience creating
profession PPTs, please contact us.

*OLPC-ZA as a Non-Profit*
We'll primarily be working under the umbrella of Kliptown Youth Project, a
Johannesburg-based organization.  They were the first deployment, have the
most experienced, and will be able to provide long term support, monitoring
and evaluation programs, etc.  They also are an established non-profit.

*Descriptions of Existing Projects on the Wiki*
The wiki page is an invaluable resource we're not using to its full
potential.  I need 1 or 2 people to help me organizing and structuring the
wiki page.  Ideally, we should post descriptions/reports of the existing SA
projects with updates every month or two.  Once we finish the PP & Splan and
PPT presentation, we'll post them on the wiki page.  We'll use this as our
main resource, eventually.

 *OLPC Awareness*
Once we've compiled the above information, we need to create Press Release
packages to send to news media, NGOs, companies, personal networks, etc.
This will require someone to compile a database on every relevant
organization.
**
*General Updates & Info*
**
*Communication*
Please CC any internal communication between olpc-za members to
olpc.za at gmail.com.  This will help us in information flow, as we're not all
based in SA.  If you'd like to stay updated on OLPC-ZA activities, please
reply to this message and I'll add you to the listserve.  I will be sending
out updates as we move forward.

 *Software Event in Joburg*
Contact Morgan Collett for info on next week's event in Sandton.  Also, he's
receiving XOs from OLPC to expand South Africa's contributors network for
anyone interested.

 *Current Situation:*
South Africa has ~200 XOs.  100 in Soweto and 100 in Limpopo.  A 100XO
deployment will be arriving in Kwazu Natal in the coming month.  In
addition, 115 more XOs will be coming from Larry Weber this October (100 to
Soweto & 15 to Limpopo).  Finally, I should be returning in May with 100 or
more XOs.  We're gaining awareness and momentum, but there's much more to
do.

*Visiting an OLPC site:*
Contact olpc.za at gmail.com if you're in the Johannesburg or Limpopo region
and would like to see one of the two current projects.


Looking forward to develop OLPC in South Africa,
Paul
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