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<p>Tyler Cinnamon is a American programmer and entrepreneur. He started TechLit Africa with Nelly Cheboi in 2018 to disrupt poverty with used IT devices.</p>

Founder & COO

Reports and Insights from Rural Africa | How We Teach Computer Classes in Primary Schools to Unlock Global Opportunity in Rural Africa

Blog - Effective Digital Skills at Scale

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<p>Nelly Cheboi is a celebrated social entrepreneur, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/nelly-cheboi/?sh=179de9a85764" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Forbes 30 under 30</a> honoree, and<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/14/world/education-technology-recycling-kenya-poverty-cnnheroes/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> CNN Hero</a>. After growing up in rural Kenya and lifting her family out of poverty, she focused on her community.</p>

CEO | CNN Hero | Forbes Under 30

<p>My name is Nelly Cheboi. I am the co-founder of TechLit Africa, techlitafrica.org. TechLit Africa fosters a more technologically literate Africa by building computer labs in schools. We are more than just access, we strive for effective use. We aim to consistently monitor key indicators of digital literacy and collect feedback from our students and their communities.</p><p>I was raised in Mogotio, Kenya, in abject poverty. At nine years old, I collected wild vegetables on my way from school to cook for my younger sister. I would go to corn plantations after harvest to collect left-over corn kernels and ravage through trash pits in the nearby estate to cook something tasty for my younger sister. Both my elder sisters were out in boarding high schools and my mom was always gone raising tuition for them. She would sell clothes, grains and sometimes vegetables depending on the season. When things got really tough I knew I could count on Christmas. Because on Christmas day we wear nice clothes and have plenty of food. I remember this particular Christmas, my mother had gone to the Nakuru, a town an hour from Mogotio to sell vegetables. Having made a profit a few days prior she used the money to buy more vegetables forgetting it was Christmas. She didn't sell anything that day. She didn't even have enough for a bus fare back home. She didn't come home that day. We didn't eat anything that Christmas. I hated my reality. I promised that no kid should ever have to worry about food ever again. So I studied hard, I knew that is the only thing I could do at the moment. I did very well after my primary placement test. I got admitted to a National high school as a result. I graduated with flying colors got admitted to Zawadi Africa and through Zawadi Africa came to Augustana College, IL.</p><p>My childhood dream was to be a pilot. Just the idea of flying out of poverty was so intriguing. I flew for the first time when I was 18. I hated it. I knew then I didn't I want to be a pilot. I regretted that I had banked in this dream having not known much about it. So in a new country, and no dream I majored in Chemistry. I was good at but I didn't like it. I then discovered computer science my junior year of college. I loved it. I decided to do a bachelors in computer science and also build a school to foster a more technologically literate Africa. I looked around at my classroom, I was competing with people who were coding since they were nine. I could barely type. I double down on my work-study program, some donations from friends and four months later I launched Zawadi Preparatory. We admitted 30 kids at its launch in January 2016. Barely 3 years later, are at 150 kids.</p><p>In summer 2018, Tyler and I built a computer lab at Zawadi Prep. We collected computer donations, equipped them with various educational software and programming languages. We downloaded terabytes of content for our local server. The offline content included Wikipedia pages, khan academy videos, stack exchange, engineering podcasts, programming books, children's songs and so much more. Using one of the computers as a server, we had all this content served in our local area network. We opened up the lab to the villagers free of charge. The villagers were introduced to web development.</p><p>We came back to Chicago and incorporated Technologically Literate Africa Limited (TechLit Africa). Our mission is to foster digital literacy. Our goal for 2019 is to build 10 computer labs, an average of 20 computers each, across 10 primary schools in Kenya. We are collecting computer donations, please reach out to us at nelly@techlitafrica.org. I always wanted to end poverty. No child should have to worry about food. I want to do in a sustainable way. To me, teaching digital literacy is the best way I know how.</p>

Flying Out Of Poverty | Why Nelly Cheboi Started TechLit Africa | Growing Up In Rural Kenya | Disrupting Poverty With Used Computers

<p>My name is Nelly Cheboi. I am the co-founder of TechLit Africa, techlitafrica.org. TechLit Africa fosters a more technologically literate Africa by building computer labs in schools. We are more than just access, we strive for effective use. We aim to consistently monitor key indicators of digital literacy and collect feedback from our students and their communities.</p>

Founding TechLit Africa | Nelly Cheboi

<p>Nelly Cheboi is a celebrated social entrepreneur. She grew up in rural Kenya, worked in tech startups and returned to help her community.</p>

CEO Nelly Cheboi

Nelly's Story

Founding TechLit Africa

<h2>44 laptops, 140 desktops and five months in Kenya</h2><p>Last Saturday, I landed in Nairobi, Kenya with 44 laptops. Tyler and I plan on flying back and forth from Kenya to the States a few times every year. Every time we’ve flown as TechLit, we’ve packed about five laptops per person. Forty-four is a new record!</p><blockquote>We introduced over 1200 kids to computers in just a few months.</blockquote><p>You’ve probably seen our stories from 2019. They were all about running an “open lab”, where kids from any economic background were entitled equal access to a computer. We introduced over 1200 kids to computers in just a few months, and here’s the kicker: we did all that with 16 computers.</p><blockquote>Imagine for a moment the impact we will achieve with 200 computers.</blockquote><p>Now we have 200 working computers in Mogotio! You may remember that we shipped 140 desktops through Mombasa to Mogotio early in 2020. We introduced 1200 kids to technology with only 16 laptops, imagine for a moment the impact we will achieve with 200 computers.</p><blockquote>Thank you all!</blockquote><p>There are so many people who helped make these shipments happen, from our generous monthly donors, to our venerable board and the tireless volunteers across the world who resonate with our vision. Thank you all for making our work possible!</p><h2>Reimagine&nbsp;<a href="https://techlitafrica.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">techlitafrica.org</a>&nbsp;with us</h2><p>We have an all-new approach to stewardship, and it starts with positivity, excitement and hope! From here on, our stories can be as deeply visual as they are powerful. Everyone: head over there, send us your feedback!</p><blockquote>Our stories can be as deeply visual as they are powerful.</blockquote><p>For the techies: *We’re migrating from Ruby on Rails and Bootstrap on haml with jQuery to React on NextJs through express with Typescript and tailwindcss, but we’re still on Heroku for the time-being.*</p><h2>Let’s transform Mogotio, Kenya</h2><p>When I started Zawadi in 2015, I had no idea how far it would go. For me, Zawadi is about holistically transforming communities by involving all segments of the population. It started with just a few kids in primary school. The future of Zawadi will enable adults to further education, from technical training to basic literacy. Now Zawadi will serve kids, youth and adults alike.</p><blockquote>It started with just a few kids in primary school.</blockquote><p>Next week, we start building four more floors of Zawadi. The first floor will be for the primary school, and the last three floors will each host a different community-focused nonprofit. The third and fourth floors will host Neema for the Vocational Training and Read Across Africa for the Library and Adult literacy programs. The second floor will have TechLit, with enough room for our African headquarters.</p><blockquote>You can empower the entire population of Mogotio, Kenya.</blockquote><p>We, TechLit Africa, are on a mission to raise $60,000 to build the second floor of Zawadi Yetu. Through techlit, you can empower the entire population of Mogotio, Kenya.</p>

<p>Last Saturday, I landed in Nairobi, Kenya with 44 laptops. Tyler and I plan on flying back and forth from Kenya to the States a few times every year.</p>

The Merge 2: Karibuni Mogotio, Kenya 🤗

<p>The Merge is our monthly newsletter, where we share everything TechLit from the last four weeks.</p>

Digital Skills Unlock Global Opportunity | Disrupting Poverty in Rural Africa | Computer Classes for Primary Schools | Social Impact

The Merge | Monthly Newsletter from TechLit Africa

The Merge

<h2>The Network</h2><p>The Network is a passionate and determined group of monthly givers on a mission to bridge the digital divide in our lifetime. People like you from different corners of the world, giving anything they can to prove how unstoppable we are when we work together.</p><p><a href="https://techlitafrica.org/the-network" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Join The Network</a></p><p><br></p><h2>We're Joining a Code For Good Summit</h2><p>We are co-hosting a summit called Code for Good on February 7th-11th, 2021 with Code Your Dreams, a nonprofit teaching kids to code. The kick-off event will be in a 3D virtual environment called Gamerjibe.</p><p><em>Saturday, February 7th, 2PM - 4PM CT</em></p><p>CoderHeroes will lead a CoderYoga session for kids and a regular yoga session for adults.</p><p><em>Wednesday, February 10th, 6PM CT</em></p><p>Apple, Microsoft, Chicago Public Schools, MIT and Code Your Dreams host a panel: "The Future of Coding Education".</p><p><em>Thursday, February 11th, 6PM CT</em></p><p>TechLit Africa, Snap, GET Cities, JusticeText and Plasticity Project host a panel: "Using Technology to Build a Better World".</p><p><br></p><h2>Introducing Computers in Uganda</h2><p>We are also working with The Collective Effect, a nonprofit based in Uganda and Atlanta, to introduce kids in the Akenna Home to computers. The Akenna Home is a transitional home for 20 kids in Kampala, Uganda.</p><p>So far, we have sent one laptop, and are planning on sending more this year.</p><p>You can read more about The Collective Effect online,&nbsp;<a href="https://techlitafrica.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c3cf2ed89c3d6428e4b39f8bf&amp;id=1f481754ef&amp;e=43a775406c" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p><br></p><h2>Objectives for 2021</h2><p>Coming back from Kenya in late 2019, we were excited to get back as soon as possible to build out our next ten computer labs, but covid has kept us in the States. This year, we have a few objectives for our time spent waiting for covid, and a few objectives for when we feel it is safe to continue our work in Kenya.</p><ul><li><em>Waiting for Covid</em></li><li class="ql-indent-1">We will ship one new parter lab every month. Our partners typically cover the cost of packing and shipping from our storage facility to their school or community center.</li><li class="ql-indent-1"><em>After Covid</em></li><li>We will build ten operating school computer labs before we leave Kenya (not including Zawadi Prep). This includes:</li><li class="ql-indent-2">hiring and training local teachers for each school and a local operations manager,</li><li class="ql-indent-2">finding local funding for employees and operations, and</li><li class="ql-indent-1">all labs hosting regular classes.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">We will pursue waivers to ship everything we have in storage.</li><li><em>Regardless of Covid</em></li><li class="ql-indent-1">We will be better stewards by sending a newsletter every month.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">We will open-source our computer lab software.</li></ul><p>If you would like to help with these goals, please reach out.</p><p><br></p><h2>Show Your Support with TechLit Apparel</h2><p>Cloztalk raises awareness for nonprofits. In our agreement with Cloztalk, they promise to donate a share of their profits.</p><p><a href="https://techlitafrica.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c3cf2ed89c3d6428e4b39f8bf&amp;id=03a2ce76f0&amp;e=43a775406c" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shop for Good - Wear TechLit</a></p>

<p>The Network is a passionate and determined group of monthly givers&nbsp;on a mission to bridge the digital divide in our lifetime.&nbsp;People like you from different corners of the world,&nbsp;giving anything they can to prove how unstoppable we are when we work together.</p>

The Merge 1: 2021 Goals

The Merge: 2021 Goals

<h2>In Short</h2><p>TechLit builds computer labs in rural Africa and supplies computers to rural African schools and libraries. This one of many posts sharing what we learned while running an open computer lab in 2019.</p><p>If you're busy running a computer lab and just need a summary, here's what we have to say:</p><ol><li>Let students explore without interruption.</li><li>Set predictable boundaries around access.</li><li>Build a safe and inviting atmosphere.</li></ol><h2>Rural Schools And Libraries</h2><blockquote>We build computer labs in rural Africa.</blockquote><p>TechLit builds computer labs in rural Africa. This one of many posts sharing what we learned while running an open computer lab in Mogotio, Kenya, in 2019.</p><blockquote>This series is for rural schools and libraries.</blockquote><p>This series is for rural schools and libraries. Specifically, it is for those with limited data or electricity, and for those who are starting to introduce computers to their classrooms.</p><p><br></p><h2>We Foster Tech Literacy</h2><blockquote>Content alone does not build tech literacy.</blockquote><p>Our mission is to foster tech literacy -- *the confidence and knowledge you need to take advantage of technology.* Many organizations focus on providing content, but after a few years of providing content, we learned that content alone does not build tech literacy.</p><blockquote>Tech literacy comes from practice.</blockquote><p>We focus on immersion for primary-school students, because we believe early adoption of technology leads to long-term benefits. Our approach is to mix games and learning together so that students are excited to practice. This is the best approach because tech literacy comes from practice.</p><p><br></p><h2>Unleashing Curiosity</h2><blockquote>We learned how to encourage self-teaching.</blockquote><p>We believe that self-teaching is a important part of tech literacy. For example, if you are tech literate, you can often use the internet to answer your questions. We learned how to encourage self-teaching.</p><blockquote>Learning computers became the most popular activity in town.</blockquote><p>Over time, we found a few activities that drew crowds of students returning day after day. We noticed some students becoming curious, confident and even helping others through tech problems. This reinforced what we believed before, that tech literacy comes from practice. Learning computers became the most popular activity in town.</p><blockquote>Games are the most effective incentive for computer practice.</blockquote><p>At first, we were hesitant to encourage these activities, but they caused the learning outcomes we needed. We only had one computer game on the computers at first, but when we added more, we saw the outcomes improve. Games are the most effective incentive for computer practice.</p><p><br></p><h2>Setting Boundaries</h2><blockquote>Bigger kids can bully younger kids, leading to unequal access.</blockquote><p>Our conservative approach to curriculum meant that our labs early on were chaotic. This led to one serious problem. Bigger kids can bully younger kids, leading to unequal access.</p><blockquote>Each student deserves to use a computer uninterrupted and free of peer-pressure.</blockquote><p>The majority of kids travel accross town to spend hours watching their peers use computers. That amount of curiosity was being wasted. We saw it as our duty to enforce clear boundaries, because we believe that each student deserves to use a computer uninterrupted and free of peer-pressure.</p><blockquote>We saw differences in ability disappear within days.</blockquote><p>Each student at our open lab was entitled to twenty minutes with their own computer. We saw differences in ability mostly disappear within days. Every student learned, mostly on their own, how to find, launch and close applications.</p><blockquote>Setting clear boundaries encourages planning, focus and reflection.</blockquote><p>Having less time on the computer meant the students needed to focus. It caused them to reflect on their previous sessions and plan their next sessions carefully.</p><p><br></p><h2>Building Community</h2><blockquote>Setting boundaries causes students to wait and watch nearby.</blockquote><p>Within a few weeks of establishing clear boundaries, our lab was overflowing with students. We had to start sessions earlier just to give everyone a turn. Ultimately, setting boundaries caused students to wait and watch nearby.</p><blockquote>Meeting every student at the front door is necessary and beneficial.</blockquote><p>We needed to keep track of names to ensure everyone had a turn. This forced us to meet every student at the front door. But it was more than necessary, it was also beneficial. We were able to set expectations about behavior early, to explain where the restrooms and water were and to tell them about new content and upcoming events.</p><blockquote>Providing shade, water and entertainment make waiting possible.</blockquote><p>We noticed that the longer the wait time, the more students would leave before using a computer. To make the wait easier, we opened a faucet and found cups for drinking. Available rooms nearby were made into waiting rooms for waiting students to stay out of the sun. Finally, we used a TV to play educational content like documentaries and cartoons to make use of their downtime.</p><p><br></p><h2>To Summarize</h2><p>Here's what we learned:</p><ol><li>Let students explore without interruption.</li><li>Set predictable boundaries around access.</li><li>Build a safe and inviting atmosphere.</li></ol><h2>What You Can Do</h2><blockquote>You can request computers from us.</blockquote><p>We send computers to partner organizations. If you help run a rural school or library, you can request computers from us. We will provide an online form to apply soon. For now, email us to apply for computers.</p><blockquote>You can use our games and content for free.</blockquote><p>If you already have computers or want to try or contribute to our games and content, you can use our games and content for free. We will provide instructions for using our software soon. For now, email us to use our games and content.</p><blockquote>You can subscribe to our newsletter.</blockquote><p>If you want to support us, learn more about our work or share your stories, you can subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.</p>

Open Lab Handbook | Tyler Cinnamon | TechLit Africa Equips Kids With Digital Skills | Equitable Learning With Constraints

<p>TechLit builds computer labs in rural Africa and supplies computers to rural African schools and libraries.&nbsp;This one of many posts sharing what we learned while running an open computer lab in 2019.</p>

(1/10) Open Lab Handbook - Equal Access

<p>We hosted an open computer lab for a few weeks in 2019. We learned useful techniques for empowering thousands of children with digital skills on a shoestring budget and with very limited resources.</p>

The Open Lab Handbook | TechLit Africa

The Open Lab Handbook

<p>The surge in the fourth industrial revolution has echoed the relevance of technology in driving economies.</p><p>Technology is the route to uniting the world, leveling education, commerce, and fighting poverty. Most importantly, playing a role in putting Africa in the development equation is the best gift we can give it.</p><p>This article focuses on technological milestones, challenges Africa faces while attempting to succeed technologically, and why we should rethink donation as the path to Africa’s success. Read on to find out more.</p><h2>Tech Milestones</h2><p>Computers have come a long way to impact our daily lives. The major milestones are the ENIAC of 1946, IBM’s PC (1981), the birth of the world wide web in 1989, and the genesis of a connected world in 2000.</p><p>After that, Moore’s law, which implies computing power doubles per two years, has been influential.</p><p>Fast forward, we are now discussing Artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, 5G, nanotechnology, robotics, 3D printing, and solar photovoltaic.</p><p>And here is the more exciting part.</p><p>You may wonder, “How does technology grow?” A chunk of the magical technological advancements has been through donation.</p><h2>How Does Donating Technology Impact Growth?</h2><p>The advanced technological world we enjoy living in today has grown fast through open-source. Open-source is a type of donation where software developers dedicate their time and expertise to write and freely give their code to be used in productive activities.</p><p>NPM (node package manager) alone has more than 1 billion free packages to help developers. The junior and intermediate developers can then have an easy time writing code for the good of society.</p><p>Many developers benefit from YouTube tutorials, free programming books, and charity organizations.</p><p>These developers end up creating programs that ease e-commerce, remote working, e-learning, and community connection by building social media, commercial, and educational apps.</p><p>The sad thing is that despite the free resources, Africa lags technologically. Why?</p><p>Let me tell you a short story.</p><p>Nelly Cheboi, like many African kids from a humble background, struggled to survive. She scavenged garbage pits for food. She shed tears seeing her family drowning in an abyss of poverty.</p><p>Through hard work, she met well-wishers who sponsored her tech studies at Augustana College, IL, in 2012. She is now a software engineer. After seeing the light, she is reflecting it to Africa through TechLit Africa.</p><p>TechLit Africa empowers Africans by donating laptops to children of humble backgrounds. You can contribute to the mission here. The enlightened Africans can tackle trending gigs such as digital marketing, software development, and content writing.</p><p>Like many African tech evangelists, she has realized two main challenges dragging Africa’s technological growth.</p><h2>What's Hard about Tech in Africa?</h2><h3>We Start too Late</h3><p>First, most Africans dive into technology when they are above 20. In most technologically advanced continents, children grow with technology.</p><p>For example, Bill Gates was a software developer at 13. Kids aged 9 to 13 are likely to grasp new technology faster because they are more creative. Besides, they have better concentration power because they face less pressure from family obligations.</p><p>To propel technological growth, Nelly introduces kids to programming as early as she can. This reduces the kids’ learning curves.</p><h3>The Background Demoralizes</h3><p>Many African children possess the urge to study software development, but they lack the means to utilize free online resources. Think about Elon Musk.</p><p>Although he was born in Africa, he sold one of his games at $500 when he was 13 — like most kids from developed continents do.</p><p>Technology transformed his life at a tender age because he had early exposure to computers. He is now transforming other lives through his products and motivation.</p><h2>Conclusion</h2><p>Nelly Cheboi’s story is a typical example of an African software developer’s journey. We struggle to find learning resources. Well-wishers hold our hands, putting a smile on our faces, and we find life worth living.</p><p>In the end, we can spread Africa’s digitalization through giving.</p><p>Now that we understand the challenges dragging Africa’s technological growth and how we can help, it is our turn to donate technology.</p>

Fourth Industrial Revolution | Tech Milestones | Social Impact Growth | African Digitalization | Global Opportunities With Digital Skills

<p>This article focuses on technological milestones,&nbsp;challenges Africa faces while attempting to succeed technologically,&nbsp;and why we should rethink donation as the path to Africa’s success.&nbsp;Read on to find out more.</p>

Want to Empower Africa? Donate Technology

<p>This is Sheila Jelagat. She is in sixth grade. It was her first day at the lab. Like most of our users, she had never used a computer. We introduced her to touch typing, she was leaving five minutes in.</p><p>I ran into her on her way out. "this is really hard. I have never touched those things", she said. I convinced her to come back. I handed her a pen and paper for the arithmetic and showed her tux math. She loved it. One hour in she wanted to give touch typing a go.</p><p>She did not come back. I later learned it was because she was helping her mom harvest tomatoes to sell door to door. This was not uncommon with the girls in our lab. I for one would not have been able to attend TechLit's open lab session if it existed when I was growing up. I spent my weekends herding cattle or selling food.</p><p>Not to worry though, we have just shipped enough computers for our next phase of the project which is ten schools with computer labs. They will all get equal access in schools.</p>

First Day In The Computer Lab | Building Confidence At The Keyboard | TechLit's Open Computer Lab | Digital Skills Through Playing Games

<p>It was her first day at the lab. Like most of our users,&nbsp;she had never used a computer. We introduced her to touch typing,&nbsp;she was leaving five minutes in.</p>

Sheila Kiplagat | Computers Before Sixth Grade

Sheila Kiplagat

<h2>November 1992: We have a problem: Poverty stinks.</h2><p>I grew up in abject poverty. I wanted to move my family out of that shack. We had it bad, but we were average compared to other families in my community. I wanted to help them out too.</p><h2>January 2000: Study really hard in school</h2><p>At nine years old, the only way I knew out was through education. I studied really hard. I was top in my district, graduating from primary school and again from high school.</p><h2>August 2012: Studying hard worked. Landed a full scholarship at Augustana IL. And I can make money too. From Campus jobs.</h2><p>I planned to make as much money as I can from a 20-hour-a-week USCIS limit and $8.25 Illinois minimum wage. Then take all the money and pay out of poverty.</p><p>This is the house I grew up in. We were too embarrassed to take pictures inside.</p><p>The house would flood during the rainy season. We had to walk a few miles for water and latrine.</p><p>We had only two tiny beds between the five of us (My Mom, four sisters, and my niece). My sister Babra(in the background) and I slept on the floor.</p><p>On my path to moving my family out of that shack, I bought 1/8th land, costing $800. I was planning on building a house.</p><p>Building a house proved to be very expensive. I only had only $300 after buying the ticket home. So I borrowed $700 from a friend, got to Nairobi, bought furniture, rented a truck to Mogotio, found a $40 two-room apartment with a latrine on-site and water tank, moved in.</p><p>The party was not complete without a run to Goodwill to buy those fancy dresses.</p><h2>December 2013: Minor Glitch. They can't afford that house.</h2><p>Babra worked as a cashier making $15 a month, Sharon made $10 a month as a waitress. They were barely scraping by on that $4 a month shack. I had increased their rent ten-fold, not including the electricity bill. I was sending $100 a month home to just sustain that apartment.</p><h2>February 2015: Helping them be self-sufficient</h2><p>I went back home in February 2015. Sharon had gotten a job running a school. She was phenomenal but only making $30 a month.</p><p>I optimistically thought building a school would cost me $2,000. I already had land! So I built Zawadi Prep.</p><p>No. It wasn't $2,000.</p><p>I have been spending 80% of my income on it ever since.But thinking it would be cheap got me started.</p><p>The kids pay ~$100 a year. Now, I only send money for the big projects.</p><h2>AgroVet Owner</h2><p>Babra now owns as successful agrovet shop. She only needed a $1000 capital to get started.</p><p>At the back of the shop, she incubates eggs. She buys them for $0.1, incubates them for three weeks, feed the chicks for another three weeks then sell them for $2!</p><blockquote>On to my community. What to do ....</blockquote><h2>October 2018: Digital literacy: Build a computer lab</h2><p>Most people in my village have never used a computer. I, for one, didn't until I was 18 when I traveled to Nairobi to apply to American colleges. I stumbled upon computer science during my junior year in college and I was in love. I went on to become a software engineer.</p><p>Digital literacy will give them endless opportunities. So I collected laptops donations to bring it with on my next trip to Kenya.</p><p>Tyler and I had been dating for two years when we went to Kenya last October.</p><p>We were only there for two weeks. The launch was great. We had about 200 people attending the lab and using computers a day. My niece even started her own classes. She was seven.</p><h2>March 2019: We Need more computers</h2><p>We came back and planned to build 10 more computer labs in 2019. We formed a non-profit TechLit Africa.</p><p>We had a goal for $300 computers. We were really worried about collecting enough in time. Oh my, I would give anything for my biggest worry to be about collecting computers. Anyway, We had more than 400 within three weeks.</p><p>Collecting as an Entity, TechLit Africa, rather than as ourselves helped.</p><h2>April 2019: Going fulltime</h2><p>We needed to make room in our apartment to accommodate the computers. We started getting rid of furniture. Our dinner table was the first to go. Our lease was expiring in five weeks.</p><p>I quit my job with only two weeks left on the lease. I figured we had enough time to get the computers on a boat to Kenya.</p><p>We were planning to pay for everything out of pocket. We thought it wouldn't cost more than $10,000.</p><h2>May 2019: Fundraising is not fun.</h2><p>We made a pro forma budget. We needed to raise $80,000. We quickly realize it will take us months to raise that much. Rejections were really painful.</p><p>We decided to raise just enough for shipping, $12,000.</p><h2>June 2019: Fundraising is a walk in the park compared to Customs and Clearance</h2><p>After weeks of 3 AM Calls, we learned that our budget was way off. We needed $30,000 to get ourselves and the computers there.</p><p>We only had $12,000. We tried making a few computers work.</p><p>Most of the people we talked to had given up on customs and clearance. They lamented on its unpredictability. We wanted to understand it. There was a surplus of computers in the west and scarcity in rural Africa. If we figured customs, we would make redistribution easier for everyone. So we started documenting it.</p><h2>Air Ticket Purchased</h2><p>We bought the tickets. We planned to bring 30 laptops and go through the importing and customs ourselves.</p><h2>July 2019: Actually, Customs and Clearance is not bad if you get all the documents.</h2><p>We also got a hold of a customs agent who walked us through the process. He assured us that clearing wasn't difficult if we had all the right document.</p><h2>First Document: Certificate of Conformity issued after inspection</h2><p>We needed to get an inspection done. Everything was going well. The inspector came and okayed the laptops.</p><h2>Inspection failed.</h2><p>22 hours before our flight. We got a rejection email from the inspector. The US power cords were not acceptable. The inspector said if we get the right cords he could virtually inspect and issue the certificate.</p><p>We called a friend. He was on it. He did Amazon Prime now, the one-hour delivery, he had the adapters before we got to him.</p><p>We called the inspector saying we have the adapters. He said adapters were not acceptable, only power cords. We couldn't get them in time.</p><h2>We had to make our flight.</h2><p>And the learning continues...</p>

<p>I grew up in abject poverty. I wanted to move my family out of that shack.&nbsp;We had it bad, but we were average compared to other families in my community.&nbsp;I wanted to help them out too.</p>

Are we there yet? Our Overnight Success

<p>I am a software engineer by training and vocation, a co-founder of a non-profit organization, and an advocate to end child illiteracy around the world.</p><p>I grew up in rural Kenya, Mogotio. The situation here was dire. Circumstances forced me to raise my younger sister when I was just nine years old. I would go to garbage pits and scavenge for food. I hated my reality growing up. Through hard work, determination and a lot of luck, I landed a full scholarship to Augustana College, IL in 2012. Coming to the United States and studying computer science changed my life. While an undergrad, I saved 80% of income from my various campus jobs and invested it in my community back in Kenya. Education and digital technology seemed like the most important contribution I could make and I was determined to make it happen. I built a school there, Zawadi, and later started TechLit Africa.</p><p>TechLit Africa is a non-profit American organization that redistributes surplus/recycled technology from the developed world to build computer labs in African schools. My co-founder and I are creating an Africa where every child is able to access and leverage modern tools to learn and reinvent their world. Incidentally, we have just returned from a five-month trip in Kenya hosting computer labs in Mogotio. While there, we had the joy and the privilege of teaching over 1000 kids. Most of them would have most likely never seen a computer their whole life. I myself first used one when I was eighteen. We also just shipped 200 workstations this past week for our next 10 computer labs.</p><p>From its inception, Zawadi now has morphed into a community center for the village of Mogotio. My dream is to be able to provide all the required resources a typical school would have to help these children learn and become productive adults in their community. Unfortunately, much of the government funding does not extend to millions of children in remote areas across Africa, so their growth and development is often forgotten. We have also started to explore ways to leverage the facility outside of school hours as a place for community development. One concept we are exploring is to host trade training and literacy classes for adults in the village who never had the opportunity to go to school. We have accommodated this in our current expansion of Zawadi.</p>

Village Community Center | Nelly's Dream For Mogotio | Resources for Productive Adults | Coming To The United States | Working At Augustana College

<p>From its inception, Zawadi now has morphed into a community center for the village of Mogotio.&nbsp;My dream is to be able to provide all the required resources a typical school would have to help&nbsp;these children learn and become productive adults in their community.</p>

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