Bringing the XO laptop to Lubuto Libraries!

Henry Meyers and Ellie Tomlinson will be introducing the One Laptop Per Child XO laptops at the Fountain of Hope Lubuto Library next month. Henry and Ellie are juniors at Washington DC's Field School and this project is their winter internship during the first two weeks of February.

A program for introducing this technology to Lubuto's children was developed by Lucy Leggiero, David Savarese and Mary Talley Garcia, and they have drafted a manual to guide the introduction. We have 10 XO laptops on their way to Zambia, where Ellie and Henry will beta test the manual working with various Lubuto volunteers and the children themselves, who will then pass their new skills on to others at the Lubuto Library.

One of the great things about the XOs is that children can share their work among the computers even though there is no internet access at the Fountain of Hope. We see the most important initial application as giving the children the opportunity to express themselves and share their stories and thoughts... and making it possible for us to put those thoughts on this blog in the future! If the trial is successful, we will seek funding to buy 100 more, to be used in the libraries we are building throughout Zambia.

Ellie is also a talented photographer, and Henry a talented musician and artist, and they will be sharing their skills and artistry with children at the Lubuto Library as well.

Watch this blog space for news from Henry and Ellie on their internship at the first Lubuto Library. And then... news from Lubuto's children themselves!