Henry and Ellie's 1st Day at FOH

After an arduous journey from Washington to Lusaka (with Rome, Addis Ababa, and Lilongwe somewhere in-between) we arrived dazed and bleary with fatigue. After recuperating and preparing, we made our first visit to Fountain of Hope today. Bringing with us 10 XO laptops, we distributed them and started immediately; the results were quite encouraging. After we taught the fundamentals of the laptops, we were thrilled when we saw that interest in the laptops had gone beyond our demonstration on basics and that the kids were genuinely engrossed in what the laptops had to offer.

From the moment that we showed how to open the computers, the kids became enthralled and the crowd started to grow, with up to 5 or 6 people sharing one computer. The two activities the kids showed the most interest in were the "Speak" and "Record" programs. The Speak program is essentially a (particularly charming) talking face, ready to pronounce anything written into it's speech box. The kids were enthused with its pronunciation of their names, and small phrases often involving them ("Joshua rocks.")

The Record activity is quite simple, utilizing the built in camera and microphone in the side of the laptop. Selecting either photo, video, or audio, the kids can record themselves in any format, and view themselves on the screen at all times. Photogenic as they are, much creative mayhem ensued following the discovery of this application on the laptops (as soon as we can figure out how to retrieve the pictures/videos from the laptops, we will be sure to post them here for you.)

Soon after this, the batteries slowly started to dwindle one by one. With plugs and adapters yet to be bought, this signaled the end of the day's ΧΟ festivities.

But the impression was clearly made upon the kids, who continued to approach us throughout the day, asking when the laptops would return.

As much as we miss our friends (we love you, Ben) we have had an exceedingly good first day, and are very excited for those to come!

~ Ellie & Henry