In December, 2008, provided Kwala Secondary School with a computer, printer, and photocopier. Until that time, Kwala’s teachers had to use scarce funds to pay an outside service to type, print, and photocopy their examinations, a process that cost up to $2,000 yearly. After the teachers receive computer training from an NTC-funded computer technician this month, they will be able to prepare their own examinations.

In 2009, Kwala Secondary School became the first government school in Tanzania to have access to the internet. Using the internet will enhance communication between Kwala and their partners in the United States, increasing visibility and the extent of NTC’s cultural exchange projects.

NTC expanded the use of computers at Kwala Secondary School by teaming up with Smallbean, a non-profit organization committed to collecting and reusing excess personal electronics to provide interested citizens in diverse places with the electronic tools to document their lives and communities. NTC and Smallbean purchased ten computers for the use of students in Kwala Secondary School’s new computer lab, powered by solar electricity. Funding for the project came largely from Peet’s Coffee and Tea’s Annual Holiday Fundraiser in December, 2009, and the private fundraising efforts of Smallbean. NTC also worked with Kwala Secondary School’s headmaster, Michael Kitinya, to convert an unused classroom into a computer laboratory. Smallbean visited Kwala in late January, 2010, to train students and teachers how to use the computers and other electronic equipment to pilot their Citizens Archivist Project. Smallbean also trained Kwala Secondary School’s secretary to teach other children and teachers how to use the computers.

Kwala Secondary School anticipates adding the Tanzania’s national curriculum for computers for the 2011 school year, an extremely rare opportunity for most community schools in Tanzania.

NTC’s Project Director Lisa Walker also implemented a system in which students can sign up for computer training classes, giving them an advantage in a competitive job market after graduating from secondary school. Lisa will also run programs for teachers to learn how to use the computers so they can continue to teach students how to use computers in the future. Students and teachers accessing the internet will also be able to more regularly and easily communicate with their friends in Newton, enhancing NTC’s cultural exchange programs between the two communities.

Smallbean Builds the Solar Power Computer Lab in Kwala, TZ from Smallbean on Vimeo.

Computer Project from NTC on Vimeo.