May « 2011 « Hackers For Charity

100 Drobos for Africa

Update: This is a contest entry for “100 Drobos” (check here). We’re trying to win 100 Drobos for HFC! Our code is 31337 which can be entered on this page or by sending the code to 100drobos@drobo.com. Help us make a difference with 100 Drobos!

Hackers for Charity is a non-profit organization that leverages the skills of technologists. We solve technology challenges for various non-profits and provide food, equipment, job training and computer education to the world’s poorest citizens.

Our largest program focusses on the country of Uganda, East Africa. Uganda is one of the poorest countries in the world. Devastated by abject poverty, HIV/AIDS, malaria and a host of infrastructure problems, most Ugandans are in a daily struggle for survival.

We’re doing what we can to help.

Our work in (Read More…)

Yesterday was a horrible day. More on that later. I did help one lady that came in, and I see that as my single accomplishment. She brought in this thumb drive she had taken to a print shop in town. They put it in their computer and it stopped working. Take a guess why. One computer did this.

I’m back from the US and I just wanted to send a quick thank you to the folks that put in the time and energy to send us gear this time around.

- Sam Kinch for downloading Rachel (again) along with lots of other goodies too big for us to download ourselves.. And for the Tableau.
- ‘Chrisnguyet’ for the load of beef jerky
- Frank Forrester for the hard drive and the massive downloads
- Regina for the really fun LOTR posters
- Andy Rosenzweig at Merit for (still!) handling the packages for us

I really appreciate each and every one of you!

Thanks again!

We have worked with Children of Grace (link) for quite awhile. This week we trained more than 30 of their kids in our computer training center. They were all Senior students (high school equivalent) with limited computer training. We provided classes in typing, Microsoft Word and Excel and gave them free time at the machines to play around. The training lasted for three days and along with our other students really packed the place. The first set of pictures show our center which is completely packed out with students. You’ll see our staff members Teo, Andrew and Gerald hard at work helping instruct and assist the students.

We also worked in the COG office. Their office is very modern, with new furniture and equipment, but it’s also one of the more complex setups we’ve worked with here in Uganda. We helped them troubleshoot some network problems and updated the high-speed Internet setup which we installed a few months ago. The last two photos gives you an idea of the setup we’re supporting for Children of Grace.

Even though they’ve had a few hiccups, they are very happy with their office setup and we’re happy to support them in their mission to assist the vulnerable children here in Uganda.

We installed a massive ncomputing system in Iganga, Uganda, East Africa this month. At 24 stations, it’s our largest installation to date. We cut their costs in half with our solution and after this install, we will concentrate on repairing their old machines, improving their Internet connection and training their staff and students.

This was also our largest RACHEL installation to date.

Much more info and photo gallery after the break.

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I worked with Bobby Garner from Kibo Group (link) on a submersible well camera last week. His existing camera rig wouldn’t go deep enough so I helped extend the range. Lots of solder and splicing and hacking ensued and the result is a camera that will get about 100 feet into a flooded borehole to assess problems.

Engineers can charge thousands of dollars for this service, which is a shame because these donated wells provide clean drinking drinking water to thousands in the villages who can not afford the expense, and clean drinking water is really critical to life in the villages. Too many die from water-borne illnesses.

This open source solution will be made available to partners who hold the best interest of those that need it most. We will offer to loan, help build, maintain and run these cameras as needed.

Unfortunately, the camera didn’t go deep enough for this well. I’m working on a 200′ solution that we will donate to kibo. I’ll pick up the gear next weekwhule I’m in the States.

Stay tuned.

KiBO Kam Prototype and Testing from Kibo Group on Vimeo.

KiBO Kam 7000 from Kibo Group on Vimeo.

Worked on various things this week. I added a table to the Internet cafe at the keep and setup a workshop for our hardware repairs. We’re getting in so many repairs now that we need a space to work. Since most machines get turned in at the Keep, we do the repairs from there.

We also got in a lot of Apple repairs this week. I worked on four Mac laptops (problem with 10.6.7 rejecting 3G modems, a corrupt hard drive, an Adobe CS5 reload and a zapped Airport), two iPhones (a straight reload and uhm.. a more flexible reload.. ;) and our first iPad repair.

The iPhones are old hat for me, but because all the phones show up jailbroken and unlocked, it’s never a simple job because if I bump their basebands too high, their phone turns into an iPod because no one wants to pay the outrageous prices the legit carriers demand here. iPad work is exactly like working on iPhones, which makes it pretty easy, but now I’m dealing with lots of ipsw firmware revisions, and at 400+MB a pop and our rather pathetic speeds, it makes life .. interesting. Oh, and lets not forget that Apple’s EMEA servers are HORRIBLE, so I have to pump everything through a server in California.

But at least I like working on Macs.. it’s fun and something different, and it’s a real need here. So many orgs are sending Macs over with their staff, and it seems EVERY tourist has some Apple product that loses it’s mind while bumping around Uganda..

The Internet cafe terminals

Internet Cafe Work area

Need more hands for more Macs

I’m going to be in the US for a few days from May 15-May 17th. I’m looking for some gear to take back to Uganda. This will save us a ton of cash if we can get donations. Note that these are in no particular order, and some are wants and not needs, but it’s all stuff we’ll use.

Contact me at johnny (at) (Read More…)

It started with this and ended up looking like this. We’re OK.