Recent Shipment to Peace Corps in Senegal

The Peace Corps country director, Christopher Hedrick arranged for safe space for the sorting of the computers into the amounts for each school and arranged for the delivery of the computers to each site as Peace Corps cars are making their regular rounds.

WCE works through a network of 570 vetted Partners in 71 developing countries.  Partners in each country are assisted by one or two or our 230 volunteer Programme Officers.  Our lead Programme Officer for Sénégal is Lettie Heer of Louisville, Kentucky, USA was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sénégal from 2002 to 2004.  She spends part of each year in Sénégal.  During her last visit, she met with representatives of the Peace Corps country office and some Peace Corps Volunteers to discuss for the shipment that previously arrived adn plan for a next shipment.  This past shipment  was a change in the way that WCE usually works with Peace Corps.   When WCE has worked with Peace Corps in many other countries, there has only been one prior shipment (El Salvador) where the Peace Corps country office, headed by Mike Wise, acted as the consignee handling the details of the container's arrival from the port.  WCE has made 20 shipments of computers to schools assisted by Peace Corps Volunteers in: Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Malawi, Moldova, Philippines, Sénégal and Tanzania.

In Sénégal, nine Peace Corps Volunteers found that the 16 schools that they assist were interested in receiving working used Pentium 3 and Pentium 4 computers.  They gathered funds from their communities and then also encouraged their friends and families to make tax-deductible donations to WCE.   One of the PCVs recently posted the following: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=7306&uid=2224131220 

For this past shipment, Lettie led other WCE volunteers in the Sponsor Campaign to raise inside of the USA, 1/3 of the funds needed to cover the WCE sourcing and shipping costs.  Volunteers from the WCE Baltimore/Washington Chapter assisted her in raising $5,014.  When WCE ran a "Friends and Family" online fund raiser in June 2009, eight of the 50 donors gave to support this shipment and their donations were generously matched by an anonymous donor.  A big assist came from a team of volunteer from Booz Allen Hamilton who helped hold a fund raiser in a restaurant in Morgan Adams part of Washington DC - that also donated to this Sponsor Campaign.

In her recent annual visit to Sénégal in February of 2010, Lettie again met with Peace Corps representatives to begin to plan for WCE's third shared and Sponsored container of 200 computers to help connect more rural schools in Sénégal. 

The following is a quote from a Peace Corps Volunteer who is just about to receive 23 computers delivered by a Peace Corps car for the schools that she is assisting:  "The opportunity to offer 2,000 children computer and Internet training is incredible, and I genuinely think it will offer them a better future. I can’t really say in words how wonderful it would be for them to have this opportunity. Senegal is a poorly educated country; students who are still in school at the middle and high school level are committed to receiving an education. In today’s world, that requires computers." 

Three doxen volunteers of the WCE Chicago Chapter worked over three months to gather and test the computers.  Then a month before the shipment, they added a French version of Ubunto with Open Office into each of the computers.  The WCE Chicago Coordinator, Jack O'Donnell said, "My son was in Peace Corps and I was especially pleased that our volunteers took care to get the computers ready for the schools assisted by Peace Corps Volunteers in Senegal."  "It was fun that one of our most active volunteers is originally from Sénégal." Jack O'Donnell explained the shipment, "The work to gather the computers for our partners in Sénégal was a  wonderful collaboration of many individuals and groups. Computers came from individuals, community refurbishers, nonprofits, museums, community colleges, small businesses and large corporations. These computers were tested, loaded with software and packed by 30 local volunteers. Special mention should be made of Hady Ly, Carl Landahl, John Kugler of the Youth Technology Corps and Millie Liggins of the Black Data Processors Association, who greatly supported the gathering of volunteers. We hope to provide our Senegalese partners with remote support as the put these computers in schools in their communities."

The following groups are receiving the 191 computers in the second container to help connect 10,436 youth in 17 schools and youth centres and the names of their Directors.  

• CEM-Passy (Ndiaye), Passy Ecole #1 (Badji), Passy Ecole #2 (Ndione), Passy Ecole #3 (Sene), Passy Ecole #4 (Diouf) ~ Implementation Plan   
• Georges Flattery in Passy:  Directeur Ndiaye 
• SCOFI in Louga:  Mr Cisse
• Les Cracks Primary School in Louga:  Mr. Cisse
• WHEPSA 10,000 Girls in Kaolack:  Viola Vaughn (working with Suffolk University)
• Ecole 4: Thierno Souaibou Souare de Vélingara: Dowda Baldé ~ Implementation Plan
• Health Center's Community Center in Saraya
• CEM-Kounkané:  Mr. Balde  ~ Implementation Plan
• Lycee de Kanel: Mr. Diallo
• Radio Communautaire, Kedougou:  Famakan Dembele
• Ecole Barnol Sow in Barkédji:  El Hadji Ndiaye
• International Bilingual School:  Pastor Andy Kings    ~ Implementation Plan

The average annual income in Sénégal is $1,700 and 5% of the population use the Internet.

84 Cash Donors for Sénégal: One World Foundation of New York, Madam's Organ Restaurant, The Strategic Group, Casamance Renaissance Foundation, and the following individuls: Amanda Arnold, Emmanuel Anzele, Richie Ashcraft, Heidi Bailey,Linda Billingsley, Stacie Bono, Claire Brittain, Katherine Brownson, Catherine Burkey, Rick Casetllini, Alexander and Maya Cherney, Dimitry Cherney, Katie Cincotta, Lorenzo Clemons, Timothy Comer, Jonathan Creonte, Michael Damron, Robin Dearing, Gayle Appel Doll Ph.D, Jean Driscoll, Tommy Fitzsimmons, Steve Gibson, Rachael Gilbert,Janet Graham, Tom Graham, Joanne Grigg, Johanna Hagen,Susan Haldeman, Mary Hammes,John Hayes, Daniel Hebert, Margaret Hebert, David Heer, Lettie Heer, Alison Heittman, Thomas Hoctor, Dawn Jensen, Stephen Jantzen,Krystal Kafka, Katjar Kasri, Joseph Kent,Sue Kingston, Julie Klapka, Kevin Krachman, Rochelle Krispin, Colleen LeBlanc, Jeremy Leonard, Judith Lippmann, Sarah Loch, Nathalie Lonsdale, Johweyeh Lowenthal, Kari Matthews, Rafferty Mc Dougall, Jacob McMahon, Joaquin Mejia, Jenifer Miller, Pamela Morris, Heather Moore, Kyle Oliver,Evangeline Ortega, Evelyn Philbeck, Daniel Quinn, John Quinn, Sue Quinn, Robb Rill, Jacquilynne Schlesier, Sara Schlotterbeck, Chad Spraker, Brian Stack, Beverly Stephans, Theresa Suico, Ashley Tanner, Fay Timmerman, Jennifer Tomlin,Mary Tripp, Samuel Walker,Angelique Walters, Lelia Weinstein,Sarah Wendell, Christina Weng, Nicholas Whipps, Thomas Whitaker, Alan Wildstein, Judith Wilson, Heidi Williamson and Doug Zemsky.  Thank you!

Corporate Computer Donors for Sénégal:

• Barnes & Thornburg LLP
• Best, Vanderlaan & Harrington
• Blackman Kallick: CPAs and Consultants
• Chicago History Museum
• Dimension Craft
• Flexible Benefit Services
• Global Capital, Ltd.
• Haldex AB
• HealthCare Alternative Systems
• Kankakee Community College
• Lewis University
• Our Lady of Loretto, Hometown
• Walgreens
• Youth Technology Corps