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By an inexact estimation, there are probably somewhere between 20 and 30 computers in the town of Dabo, where I currently reside. Just about all of those are owned by teachers or other community leaders, who use them for their own work/personal purposes, and understandably, do not share them with the community. In fact, I’m still not sure anyone in my village knows I own a computer and store it in my hut (we’ll see…maybe they will after this blog post).

I imagine few of you likely know that I have spent much of the last three months wrangling 11 volunteers to arrange the shipment of 200 computers to Senegal through a wonderful NGO named World Computer Exchange. Twenty-five of those computers are going to my dear community, where they will be shared between the College and the Community Center, and available to thousands of youth in Dabo.

Think of how much time we spend on the computer. I wrote this blog post on the computer and when I get to where internet is available, I will post it to the Internet, where you are reading it right now. This is far from unusual in the United States, it’s downright normal. You won’t be shocked to know that would be highly abnormal here, particularly in smaller, more rural communities.

That said, the impact of computers here is awe-inspiring. Students here eat up whatever technology they are given. They watch terrible, painfully abysmal soap operas from India because there is nothing else on television. They would love to browse the web, to explore worlds unknown, even just to get the answer to that often-asked question, “Is France in America?” (Don’t laugh, people really do ask that)

I don’t have to sell any of you on the benefits of the Internet, or even just computers. Having computer skills is essential in the United States, and is becoming increasingly important here. As technology further spreads throughout Senegal, opportunities are popping up all over the place for those with a basic level of computer skills. Simple computer manipulation, even typing, may seem to us unexciting, but here it unlocks a whole world of possibilities.

While my program is technically Environmental Education, I believe that my best work is often done working to expand students’ horizons and help them see the benefit of technology and staying in school. In a country where high stakes exams often lead youth to quit school early, it is important for them to see where an education can take them.

I don’t believe access to computers will change every student’s life, maybe not even most of them. But if enough students are inspired enough by the skills and information they learn using computers/the Internet that they stay in school and work hard toward a professional career, my project will have more than provided a return on investment.

My school director is a motivated man. During our two-week school vacation for Easter, he personally taught computer classes, free of charge, using a few laptops donated by USAID. Though he gained no monetary benefit of it, he sat in a classroom on his vacation teaching students the basics of using a computer.

I have spent a substantial portion of my Peace Corps service so far trying to see that he and his students in Dabo have access to resources that we in America take for granted. I would like now to ask for your help. If you would like to contribute to this project, you can donate here (and please indicate that you want your donation to go to Senegal).

Between the 11 of us, we need to raise around $15,000, so this won’t be easy. But I wouldn’t be undertaking this project if I didn’t think it was worth my time and yours. Thank you.

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