Wednesday, June 8, 2011

4 OLPC Laptops Get Comfortable in a Special School

A school for nuns, monks and lay children, the School for Himalayan Children is the only private school in Nepal to be fully funded by charity. Their education follows a well-rounded government curriculum enriched by instruction in Tibetan language and culture, as well as teachings of the Buddha. The children take part in prayer and meditation every day. Indeed, it is the most profoundly peaceful school I've ever visited. When I first walked through its gates two years ago to run a writing workshop, I knew I'd stepped into something special.

Here is information about their students taken from their Web site:

Our students come from the high mountains of Nepal, from villages that have no electricity, no toilets, no sanitation, no telecommunications, no hospitals, no roads and no schools. Our kids come from villages that are 6 to 14 days' trek from the nearest road, villages that lie above 10,000 feet (3000 m). Getting word to and from the villages sometimes takes months, depending on weather conditions. Most of the children are from the north of Nepal, but culturally and linguistically they are Tibetan, and their thinking is Buddhist. For centuries, the teachings of the Buddha have flourished without interruption in the Himalayas of Nepal.

This year, I run a special writing and critical thinking workshop for some seniors.



After my workshop, I stop by the school's main office with 4 OLPC laptops. The staff is thrilled to have these wonderful educational tools. They are figuring out how to spread their use to over 600 students, with hundreds more on the waiting list.

Here we see the vice-principal, computer teacher and my old student, Migmar Lama, begin their exploration.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

3 more OLPC laptops get lots of love at Nepal Orphans Home

The girls at Nepal Orphans Home, rescued from bonded labor, also flock to the computers. Although most have never used a laptop, they immediately feel at home. Their hunger for knowledge is so loud I can hear its buzz.



2 OLPC laptops find a home at Asha Nepal

I bring two of the OLPC laptops to Asha Nepal and am immediately surrounded by eager faces. Asha Nepal helps women and children who are victims of trafficking or abuse. The children flock to the computers, learning all sorts of things much faster than I ever could.


Thank You, OLPC Volunteer Kevin Mark!

Before I show photos of the children's smiling faces as they work on their new computers, I want to go back to New York for a moment and give a big thank you to OLPC volunteer Kevin Mark, who met with me and other members of the Children of Tomorrow team in the city the week before I left. With Kevin's help, I began to discover the amazingly rich resources the XO laptop offers.

So, thank you Kevin Mark of Staten Island, NY, for helping me improve my work as an educator. These upcoming smiles are for you!

OLPC Educates the Children of Nepal

Well, I just returned from a very busy 15-day trip to Nepal. Thanks to the wonderful organization One Laptop Per Child, I brought 10 of their amazing laptops with me and distributed them among various orphanages, schools and shelters. Before I handed them out, however, I met with Rabi Karmacharya at Open Learning Exchange Nepal, headquartered in Kathmandu. Rabi and his tremendously helpful team took time from their busy schedules to download special Nepali educational programs onto my laptops. The programs included various curriculum created by the OLE Nepal team of experts.





Rabi showed me some of the curriculum, and I was extremely impressed. I was even more impressed when I saw how quickly the children took to the learning materials. Rabi and his team are implementing innovative and high-quality programs into Nepal's public education system, a system that unfortunately has numerous flaws and obstacles. An engineering graduate from MIT, Rabi could have chosen a very cushy life. Instead, he and his talented team are focusing their skills and brain power to educate the neediest among us. Thank you Rabi and all the great people at OLE Nepal!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Students at Skylark School Create Their Own Storybooks, Too!

Another school where I taught is the Skylark School in the Dhapasi section of Kathmandu. I worked with a couple of hundred eager students for five intense days, and they were very proud of their efforts! With help from One Laptop Per Child, we will enhance their storybooks through amazing computer technology.





Students at the School for Himalayan Children write their first books!

Over the past couple of years, I have been traveling to Nepal and running creative writing workshops for children at various schools and organizations. Here are photos of the children at the School for Himalayan Children working hard on their storybooks. It was the first book they'd ever written,





and they were very proud! With the help of One Laptop Per Child, we will be able to enhance these workshops with wonderful computer technology.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Meet Our "Think Big Nepal" Team Participants

Tauheed Khan--CEO



Tauheed is a Co-Founder and the CEO of Children of Tomorrow, which he started with Debra Ryan in 2008. Tauheed brings passion to providing solutions to communities with large-scale educational challenges, a keen eye for providing measurable results to all stakeholders and the ability to provide deliverables that make a difference.

Tauheed has an MBA in Corporate Strategy from Leicester Business School, UK, and an MSc in Decision and Information Sciences from the University of Florida, US. He has been involved with many public sector organizations and has been an active member of corporate responsibility groups within each organization.

Meet Our "Think Big Nepal" Team Participants

Irene de Vette--Communications Coordinator



Irene is a graduate from Boston University with MSc. in Journalism. Currently based in Rome, she is working as a freelance writer and web editor, focusing on culture and travel. Previous assignments included working with the UN Millennium Campaign in Rome and New York. She has been instrumental is starting the European operations of Children of Tomorrow. Irene works with our various partners in Pakistan, Nepal, EU and the US to ensure proper communication is in place to work with the shareholders and media.

Meet Our "Think Big Nepal" Team Participants

Taeka Haraguchi--Project Coordinator


Taeka is an assistant and coordinator for Children of Tomorrow. She has had experience in fundraising, as well as various humanitarian projects in India, the Philippines, and Thailand. As a recent college graduate with a degree in Political Science, she is interested in pursuing a career in the NGO and non-profit field. She has lived in Japan, New York City, Poland, and the UK.

Children of Tomorrow Partners with One Laptop Per Child to Provide Laptops to a School in Pakistan



A few years ago, Children of Tomorrow (CoT) worked with One Laptop per Child (OLPC) to enhance the education of Pakistani children. Children of Tomorrow is very pleased to be working with  OLPC again to start a  new project helping to educate the children of Nepal.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Girls at Nepal Orphans Home Studying Hard

Rescued from indentured servitude, abandonment and other immense challenges, the resilient girls of Nepal Orphans Home work hard to catch up on all the schooling they missed throughout their lives.




Children of Nepal










Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Objectives for Project Think Big Nepal:


The objective of this project is to create a yearlong extracurricular academic and mentorship program for 10 children—mostly girls—who have been rescued from slavery or abandonment in Nepal. Through the use of the laptops, the program will encompass a wide-ranging curriculum that will enhance the children's understanding of themselves and the world and will foster cognitive, psychological and emotional development.

The curriculum will be divided into 3 parts; each part will take 4 months to complete:
  • The first part of the curriculum focuses on geography, peoples of the world, cultures and religions.
  • The second part focuses on government, law and human rights.
  • The third part focuses on health, the environment and basic science.

As stated, each section of the curriculum will take four months from start to completion and will include focused readings, writings, and creative exercises for the particular subjects. The participants will be responsible for teaching younger children at the orphanage what they're learning, and mentor those who will participate in the program the following year. Although Children of Tomorrow is starting off with ten children due to the OLPC contributors program guidelines, the goal is for this program to grow and expand for years to come.

The objectives of the project are:
  • To fill in the gaps in the children's education due to lack of schooling.
  • To broaden their understanding of themselves, society and the world.
  • Enhance cognitive development through the use of technology.
  • To enhance critical thinking skills through a specialized curriculum in contrast to the rote lessons inherent in the Nepalese school system.
  • Develop creative thought and communication skills through various in-class and independent exercises.
  • Enhance emotional development through self-empowerment and confidence-building exercises needed after years of victimization.
  • Increase interpersonal skills between the students at all age levels, encouraging them to move into leadership roles in the future.
  • Create a mentorship program between older and younger children in order to maximize the program's benefits for years to come.
  • Enhance student interaction with each other through the use of technology, fostering an innovative learning experience outside the classroom.

Team Members--Project Think Big Nepal


Lauren Yanks
Project Coordinator
Lauren Yanks is a children's advocate, journalist, and professor at the State University of New York. Over the past two years, Lauren has traveled to Nepal and taught specialized literacy and self-empowerment workshops to children rescued from slavery. The goal is to enhance these workshops through the use of technology.
  
Tauheed Khan
Tauheed is a Co-Founder and CEO of Children of Tomorrow. Tauheed brings passion to providing solutions to communities with large-scale educational challenges, a keen eye for providing measurable results to all stakeholders and the ability to provide deliverables that make a difference. Tauheed has an MBA in Corporate Strategy from Leicester Business School, UK, and an MSc in Decision and Information Sciences from the University of Florida, US. He has been involved with many public sector organizations and has been an active member of corporate responsibility groups within each organization.

Irene DeVette
Irene is a graduate from Boston University with MSc. in Journalism. Currently based in Rotterdam, she is working as a freelance writer and web editor, focusing on culture and travel. Previous assignments include working with the UN Millennium Campaign in Rome and New York. She has been instrumental in starting the European operations of Children of Tomorrow. Irene works with CoT's various partners in Pakistan, Nepal, EU and the US to ensure proper communication is in place to work with the shareholders and media.

Taeka Haraguchi
Taeka is an assistant and coordinator for Children of Tomorrow. She has had experience in fundraising, as well as various humanitarian projects in India, the Philippines, and Thailand. As a recent college graduate with a degree in Political Science, she is interested in pursuing a career in the NGO and non-profit field. She has lived in Japan, New York City, Poland, and the UK.