[University-chapters] Environmental management student looking for projects in Sierra Leone

[Mel Chua]

Michelle,

I just wanted to follow up on this, and ask whether you had any further 
questions or ideas we might be able to help you out with. There is a 
mailing list, http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/university-chapters, that 
some current chapter leaders hang out on - I've cc'd the list, and would 
suggest joining it if you're like to share ideas (it's quiet right now, 
but we're trying to change that).

I just found out on Friday that David Sengeh and Paul Commons, both 
students at Harvard, are taking 30 XO laptops to Sierra Leone over their 
winter break; I don't yet have contact info for them, but there are 
several Harvard students on this list (hi, Mack, Katelyn!) who might be 
able to help you find his contact information faster than I would be 
able to.

So what's up? Let us know what you'd like to do - everyone here is here 
to help!

--Mel

Mel Chua wrote:
> Glad it was helpful - I'd love to hear about what you end up doing. I 
> just had a great conversation about sharing OLPC-related work that 
> students and universities especially are doing, and we're actively 
> looking for stories about this sort of thing to share.
> 
> -Mel
> 
> Michelle Villeneuve wrote:
>> Thanks Mel!
>>
>> M
>>
>> On 12/11/08, Mel Chua <mel at laptop.org> wrote:
>>  
>>> Hello, Michelle!
>>>
>>> There aren't any official large-scale OLPC/government deployments in
>>> Sierra Leone, and I'm not aware of grassroots efforts working on such,
>>> but think your project sounds like a great idea and would like to
>>> encourage it.
>>>
>>> The grassroots volunteers are going to be your best resource for this. I
>>> would try asking on the mailing lists listed at
>>> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Grassroots, and hop onto
>>> http://forum.laptop.org/chat and ask if someone can help connect you
>>> with existing grassroots volunteers who might be able to give you advice
>>> or contacts. (It might take several tries, since the channel isn't
>>> always staffed by volunteers.) If you can think of specific activities
>>> you would do with a small number of loaner laptops in Sierra Leone, try
>>> applying for some http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Developers_program machines
>>> for the 9 months while you're there.
>>>
>>> Hope this helps, and good luck with your work!
>>>
>>> -Mel
>>>
>>> Michelle Villeneuve wrote:
>>>    
>>>> Hi there!
>>>>
>>>> I am beginning my graduate studies in Victoria, BC, Canada, next
>>>> month. I am studying Environmental Management, and will be writing my
>>>> thesis on post-war land reclamation in Sierra Leone. I will be
>>>> spending 9 months of my 2-year program in Koidu Town/Sefadu, Sierra
>>>> Leone, working on the project, and am considering using an OLPC to do
>>>> my work over there, both as an example, and because Africa has a
>>>> tendency to kill my laptops ;).
>>>>
>>>> I was wondring if there are any past, current or future rollouts
>>>> proposed in the area (Kono district, Sierra Leone)? If so, I'd like to
>>>> help, and potentially incorporate the use of the OLPC into my thesis,
>>>> workng with community members how to record and analyse agricultural
>>>> data on the computer (for example). I'll be in the area off and on
>>>> from March 2009-December 2010.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks for any input!
>>>>
>>>> Michelle
>>>>
>>>>       
>>>     
> 
>