Shipping computers to kids in Mexico

We need help shipping computers to a school in Mexico. http://www.kidsoncomputers.org

We’ve selected the “18 de Marzo” elementary school in the town of Huajuapan de Leon, Oaxaca, Mexico. The school we’ve selected is on the outskirts of the town and is located in a poor neighborhood.

The students are primarily Mixtec students who do not have access to computers at home or at school. (Currently the school does not even have a phone line.) The parents and teachers all chipped in a while ago to create a room as a computer lab, but the computers never came. We want to help fix that problem to make sure these students are well prepared for the technology they’ll encounter in middle school and the rest of their lives. Plus the computers will help their learning experience.

They have identified a room, figured out the power situation, arranged for customs free delivery of the computers, and are willing to give up summer break time to learn how to use the computers. They are also trying to get access to an internet connection and on-going system administration support.

Although literacy rates in Huajuapan are high, only 47% of people graduate from elementary school and only 23% attend some high school.

We have computers – all installed with open source software! Now we just need to get them to Mexico. Several of us will be flying down to set them up and train the teachers.

Please help us with a donation towards shipping!