When I saw AOET’s Rehaboth School “computer lab” in May of last year, the room was completely empty. In fact, there wasn’t even any glass in the windows. This isn’t such a horrible thing: most schools in Uganda are rather shabby affairs often with dirt floors and a complete and utter lack of a proper building. But AOET’s Rehaboth School is a shining example of what’s possible for one person with tons of passion. Sam Tushabe witnessed a child digging through a trash heap and took it upon himself to take the child in and care for him. After ten children, he couldn’t take in any more, but his passion to save children burned brighter than ever. Today, AOET supports hundreds of children in five African countries, providing food, medical care (for the child and the entire family), shoes, a uniform and most importantly- an education. This model also includes the empowerment of parents through skills training and education. There’s too much to write here, but AOET is on the right track to disrupt the cycle of poverty and through education seriously deter the spread of diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS.

I agree with Sam’s vision, and Sam and I also agree about the importance of Information Technology (IT) in education. Young people armed with proper IT training are much more likely to secure well-paying jobs, even if they decide to venture outside their loal rural areas to modern urban areas. Adults, too can benefit from IT training, and AOET empowers them by not only giving them training but providing them with the skills required to start and maintain their own business in IT, a field which is in high demand even in the most remote areas of the planet.

Knowing what a difference computer training has made in my own life, the sight of this empty computer lab broke my heart, and I vowed to do something about, but I was not equipped to do it on my own. But as a body of donors, we’ve done it. I present to you the Rehaboth School computer lab, made possible through donations to Hackers for Charity.

The glass in the windows, which protects the equipment in the room from the ravages of dust was purchased through financial donations, as were the 2000w power regulator, electric bars (power strips), keyboards and mice. Specifically, these donations came in the form of Shmoocon T-Shirt sales and No-Tech Hacking pre-release book sales at Shmoocon. (So yes, hackers are funding computer labs in Uganda. Cool.) The laptops themselves were a personal donation from Jethro Taylor (RustyBadger), and the mouse pads came from Proteus Technologies.  Students at Rehaboth school will use this lab as a daily part of their training, and the lab will be open at night to train adults through AOET’s empowerment program.This little lab is just the beginning though. I have some really big plans for our little group, and it’s exciting to realize the potential we have when we work together as a team. I commend each and every one of you that stepped in to make this lab possible. Thank you all! I promise to keep plugging away to make your efforts even more worthwhile.

I’m blessed to be with my family during this trip, so here are some family photos!