Berth, I advice you buy locally especially if the vendors can give local technical support. As you confirmed in your presentation vendors sell at prices close to pcretros price without the problemss of tranportation, customs and repairs off your organisation if my experience in Nigeria is anything to go by. It will also allow you to get spare parts easily and local support for your project from local business persons and professionals. Jare Oyesola [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Beth Kanter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Hello all, I am seeking some advice for a project we're planning to implement in Cambodia next year for The Sharing Foundation (www.sharingfoundation.org). The Sharing Foundation supports many different development projects in a small village about an hour outside of Phnom Penh. Education is at the center. We have a pre-school, support the village school, support english program and school library for K-8, a khmer literacy headstart school for poorest residents as well as high school and now college scholarships. We are hoping to add computer instruction K-8 as well as for high school/college students. Right now focusing on the K-8 - we'd like to add a mobile computer lab (using laptops) that can be used in the various locations. We're looking at all the issues (instructional support, curriculum, hardware, software, sustainability, etc.). But, I have a question about hardware acqusition which is not my strong expertise. We have some options. Option A: Get donated laptops in US, recondition them, have staff hand-carry on the plane to Cambodia or raise money to purchase refurbished laptops from a place like pcretro. (Note, we have lots of individuals who support us and we could do a little campaign where donors contribute and they get their name on a screensaver or something) There are local sources for repair as I understand it, although not fast repair. I'm also researching locally to see if there are particular computer brands available and only limit donations to those types. Also, there are students who are studying this in local colleges - so we could provide some employment for a student. Option B: Purchase computers in country. There is a small, but growing market. I've had some referrals to vendors who have worked with ngos in country. The pricing is comparative to US market and vendors also offer support. We'd have to raise a lot more money to go this route. So, I'd like to know about your experiences with hardware acqusition in third world countries. I want to know the success stories and the horror stories. For that matter, I'm also seeking any case studies, best practice guides, etc of running computer training room in third world country. I know there are a lot of differences based on local issues, but I'm sure there are some basic best practices. Advice, help would be appreciated. Thank you. _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. Jare Oyesola [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------- Yahoo! FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click. _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
