Digital Literacy Bolivia Project #45093

Teach 24 Bolivian Students Basic Computer Skills

by Help Bolivia Foundation

Project Report | Apr 7, 2021
Computer Lab Update - April

By Lydia Hill | Project Leader

New computers

Happy Spring!

We are very excited to write this report, as there has been some exciting progress with this project!

In March wifi was installed at the Tahuantinsuyo Community Centre, after a delay of about 3 months due to the high demand for this service. The Bolivian government decided that the 2021 school year would be online for urban students, making it more important than ever for the children to obtain both wifi and a device to access online education. Once wifi was set up at the centre, the children began coming in for their online classes, which they could access with their tablets, which we had been fundraising for since last summer. To date 20 families have been provided tablets! Most families were struggling with sporadic internet at home that we provided with prepaid SIM cards. With wifi at the centre, the children have somewhere to go to learn safely and securely.

With the centre in operation again, our cook, Rosalia, began to prepare food in the kitchen for the families to take home in addition to dry goods. It will be awhile yet before the children return full time and eat lunch in the centre, but for now it is safe for them to come in for online classes, and to keep up with their education. Our educators and psychologist continue to support the children both at the centre and at their homes.

With wifi at the centre, and the children coming in for online classes, it became apparent that desk top computers would be beneficial given that the children could write reports and then print them at the centre, even if we could only buy a few. Last week 4 computers were set up with funds sent to Bolivia last month for this very purpose. In addition to the computers, a printer/copier was purchased so that the printed curriculum materials sold by the schools could be copied for the families that could not otherwise afford all that they needed for their children. At long last, our computer lab is up and running! And the timing could not be more perfect. The families are grateful that their children will not be left behind. Thank you for that.

We are extremely grateful for donors like yourself that made this possible. We will continue to fundraise for both tablets and computers (4 is not enough for 64 children!), and to that end we have created a joint fundraiser page on GlobalGiving and will be shutting this one down. The pandemic is far from over in Bolivia, with no vaccine even on the horizon, so the children will be needing these devices for school work for a long time to come.

Thank you so much again. You have provided hope, and the means of moving forward during very troubling times. We hope you enjoy the photos and video - link below. Muchas gracias.

Using the new computers

Using a tablet at the centre

Links:

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Jan 19, 2021
January Update - Computer Lab

By Lydia Hill | Founder/Secretary of the Board

Learning to use tablets

Happy New Year! January Update:

As you may know, due to the pandemic, our programs have had to pivot. Our Lunch program for the children became a monthly food distribution, which has become critical for the families, most of whom have been out of work since March. Our education and psychological support programs have pivoted online where possible, and to visits by our educators and psychologist to those families without online access. Everyone is waiting for the pandemic to end, so that our programs can resume at the Centre. However, the situation continues to be dire in Bolivia, with the second wave expected in February/March, when the new school year begins.

The Bolivian government has decided that the 2021 school year will be a hybrid of online learning and part time in class learning. Typically our programs begin in March to align, but this year we will continue the monthly food distribution in January and February, as the food support is too critical for the children’s health to stop over their summer holidays. Thank you for helping us make this possible.

In October the children were finally able to get together for an outing, where they saw their friends for the first time in many months. Their day of adventure was a highlight of 2020!

On December 13^th a year end Christmas party was held at the Centre (outdoors for safety), where gifts were given to the children, and a great time was had by all. Thank you to those of you who contributed for the gift fund!

There are 34 families registered in our programs. 20 tablets have been purchased and distributed to 20 families so far, so that the children can access school and school assignments, download educational videos, research tasks, and the mothers use it for meetings with the team from the Community Centre. Training sessions were held at the Centre for parents to learn how to use the tablets. To assist our educators, internet is being installed at the Tahuantinsuyo Community Centre. The families continue to access internet with prepaid data cards. We continue to fundraise for the remaining 14, and as of this writing, have raised enough for 9 more! We hope to purchase the rest of the 14 tablets prior to the beginning of school in March. Thank you to everyone who helped get the kids online!

Once the tablet fundraiser is over, we will continue to focus on building our computer lab. To date we have received enough funding for 3 computers! We expect to have the new computers up and running some time in 2021. Thank you for making this possible!

We are grateful for, and humbled by, our donors who have allowed this support for the children and their families be possible. Together we are making a difference in their lives, and for that we thank you so very, very much. Stay safe, stay healthy!

Monthly Food Distribution

Students and teacher connect

Adventure in October!

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Sep 22, 2020
September update

By Lydia Hill | Project Leader

September 2020 Report

We are now six months into the pandemic, and Bolivia’s COVID-19 cases are finally starting to flatten out. This country has been hit especially hard by the virus, dwindling its scarce resources even further, and setting the country back years in terms of development and GDP. We are grateful that we have a terrific team on the ground, and are well positioned to help the children and their families deal with the aftermath. They need us more than ever.

With the families still in lockdown, the schools and our community centre will remain closed for the rest of 2020. Our Hot Lunch program pivoted to become a monthly food take away, and this month we were able to secure fresh fruit and vegetables in addition to the dry goods. With the loss of income, most of the families would not have the means to purchase food, so our support is crucial.

Our education and psychological support programs have pivoted, and have become a combination of online programming, and in person visits by our dedicated team. Access to psychological support is also crucial at this time, as the children are suffering from stress due to the pandemic and their family’s poor economic situation. As only half the families had access to a smart phone when our programs closed, we began fundraising to purchase tablets to ensure that all children have access to online programming. The first batch were delivered in July, and the second batch will be delivered in the next few weeks. We still have more families that require tablets, but as our micro project on GlobalGiving has come to its 90 day end, we will continue to fundraise elsewhere. Follow our website for more info, and to see the progress of the tablets for Bolivia.

Once it is safe to do so, the community centre will re-open, and we will immediately begin purchasing computers with the funds raised to date. The importance of digital literacy has come to the spotlight with so many children having their education moved online this year. We are grateful for our donors for bringing digital literacy to the children at the Tahauntinsuyo Community Centre.

We are grateful for, and humbled by, our donors who have allowed this support for the children and their families be possible. As we see the suffering going on in many parts of the world due to the pandemic, we can take comfort in knowing in the Tahuantinsuyo community of El Alto, Bolivia, we are making a difference.

Thank you. Muchas gracias.

Links:

https://helpbolivia.org/

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