We started with...

 All over the world in underdeveloped countries, volunteers are  introducing and deploying thousands of these amazing XO machines to  primary schools. Born at MIT, the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) initiative  has captured the hearts and most importantly, the minds of the world’s  high school and college students, as well as professors and  professionals in an effort to provide low-cost computers to the children  in underdeveloped countries. All over the world, adventurous souls are  training children, teachers and administrators in the value of a  computer that instantly networks within a classroom, fosters  collaborative learning, and is capable of communicating with the rest of  the world. How much better is an education, if not only a village  educates, but an international community is enabled to provide the  support for children to enter the global economy in their near future!  How much better is an Africa where its students have the education, the  connections and the love of learning to pursue their dreams! [XO]

 So  what is this XO computer? It is an amazing little machine that looks  deceptively like a toy. Instead, it embodies the tools of learning,  creative expression and communication so necessary for today’s effective  education. From research to writing, from drawing to animation, from  email to browsing, this low-cost machine is transformative. In a country  where pencils are precious, these machines provide pencil, paper,  library, telephone, camera and geographic independence.  

In one  small little package, it can carry information, skill building  activities, survey polls and questionnaires from university  professionals down to teachers, to schools, to students, to households.  It can document results, record photos and narrations, and feed this  information back up to the stakeholders at the universities in the US  and Uganda who can deliver results. It is a top down delivery system and  a bottoms-up reporting system. 

If you would like to donate a new XO laptop, please contact me at joanne.clemente@venturesforgood.org . If you have a used one to donate please send a note at the same email address