Sewenkani School

Sewenkani

Computers for Remote Education

Project Summary


Sewenkani is a small, agrarian community 5 hours travel from the capital city La Paz. The adults farm rocky soils, tending potatoes fields and small flocks of sheep and the children attend one of Bolivia’s first indigenous schools founded in 1945.

Education has long been a priority for this community, yet its remote location and poverty has made it difficult to improve the school's resources. As a result, many students finish their schooling in the eight-grade, lacking the general skills to be competitive for jobs outside their town. Community leaders of Sewenanki want to address this deficiency by teaching computer skills to 70 students. However, the school's one old computer is insufficient to meet the need.

One Computer TERRA met with community leaders, presenting them to Grupo de Avance Tecnologico (GAT), a Bolivian non-profit organization that provides well-equipped computers to rural schools for only $100 and training classes for teachers and students. Their mission is to utilize the integration of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) to improve education in rural areas of Bolivia. GAT gives opportunities to enter into higher education, enable enterprise development and, ultimately, create jobs for disadvantaged community members.

Classroom in Sewenkani Sewenaki agreed to purchase 3 computers, selling a flock of sheep to raise the funds. TERRA purchased an additional 2 to complete the school’s small computer lab, a first in the rural area. TERRA will also purchase several educational programs and databases, vastly improving the school's didactic tools and library (which currently consists of several books).

The five computers will have numerous community benefits. Students and interested adults will be taught basic computer knowledge and reading and writing will improve, building skills attractive to employers. In addition, greater access to information will broaden the students’ knowledge, serving their immediate community and their futures.

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Project Brief
Title:
Nucleo Central Sewenkani y Colegio Gualberto Villarroel: Computers for Rural Bolivia
Status:
Funded and completed
Location:
Community of Sewenkani, La Paz, Bolivia
Participants:
TERRA Resource Development International, El Grupo de Avance Tecnologico (GAT), and the Community of Sewenkani.
Cost:
$500 USD
$300 USD  -  Community of Sewenkani
$200 USD  -  TERRA