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Expanding Access to Digital Education in Haiti — One Classroom at a Time

What We Do

ZanmiLwen's mission is to make digital literacy in Haiti a part of every child's education. We recondition donated computer equipment, pre-load them with appropriate content and place them in classrooms in Haiti such that they are immediately adoptable, technically maintanable, financially viable, academically advantageous and fully responsive to the needs of Haitian schools. In a nutshell, we turn donated computer equipment into educational tools of empowerment.

"We turn donated computers into educational tools of empowerment."

How We Do It

Collectively, the ZanmiLwen (ZL) team has

● 5+ years of experience working on the grounds in Haiti

● 10+ years engineering experience with Linux systems

● 10+ years technology education experience at the university level

● 10+ years working with OERs (Open Educational Resources)

● Fluency in Haitian Kreyol and Haitian culture

These experiences position us to envision, implement and deliver a correct solution to the challenges of creating easily adoptable, affordable, effective and sustainable technology education solutions for schools in Haiti. ZanmiLwen delivers Linux-based computing solutions that include

● a complete, pre-configured, plug and play network (server, workstations, printers, routers, etc.).

● a trivial, system restoration procedure to restore workstations to their delivery state in under 10 minutes.

● 500+ pre-loaded French and Kreyol open-source books.

● dozens of pre-installed educational software packages (PHeT, Scratch, Tux, Anki, etc.)

●off-line access to network resources like Wikipedia, Khan Academy, the Gutenberg Libary, etc.

● custom Linux tools for maintaining and quickly re-imaging the computers.

● French/Kreyol "how-to" videos for teachers and system administrators.

We aim to provide systems that are immediately usable and that can be easily maintained by the receiving institution. The ability to quickly restore the workstations encourages experimentation by students, faculty and staff.

"We deliver computer systems that are immediately usable and maintable by the receiving school."

Why We Do It

We believe that digital literacy will continue to be a requirement of a competitive future workforce and that the digital economy will continue to be an important value-generating instrument in the decades to come. Participating in that econmy requires digital literacy which requires regular access to computers. For many in Haiti, the barriers to that access are many and include: lack of access to computer hardware, inadequate or no access to the internet, high technology costs, limited digital educational resources and often the unavailability of digitally fluent instructors and IT services. At ZanmiLwen, we overcome every one of these challenges to develop digital literacy solutions that work and are sustainable in Haiti.

"Access to Knowledge Should Not Depend on Internet Connectivity."

Get Involved

There are multiple avenues for individuals, corporations and other non-profits to collaborate with ZL.

Individuals can help connect ZL with organizations who regularly upgrade computer systems. Colleges and universities, in particular, regularly upgrade equipment in their computer labs. Identifying these opportunities and connecting them with ZL helps us procure the best available equipment for field placement.
Volunteers can assist in the reconditioning and packaging of the equipment.
Corporations can donate equipment directly to ZL. You can find a list of the equipment we need here.
Corporate partners in the transportation and/or shipment industry can help greatly reduce shipment costs with in-kind services.
Other non-profits working in Haiti and outside of Haiti can help identify and vet target recipients for computer equipment. The criteria is briefly outlined here.
Finally, individuals, foundations and corporations can support ZL with a financial gift in any amount to help defray operating costs. ZanmiLwen is a 501(c)(3) corporation. All contributions are tax deductible.

"Donate equipment, donate your time or donate your support!"

Technical Stuff

Below are a few links to additional information and resources for current and future grantees.

Resources and Guides - this is a collection of resources and technical guides for equipment grantees.
Requesting equipment from ZanmiLwen - this is the portal for requesting equipment from ZanmiLwen.
Donating equipment to ZanmiLwen - summary of the equipment donation process.
Equipment Routing - this is a visual breakdown of the logistics of transferring a computer to Haiti.
ZanmiLwen is a 501(c)(3) non-profit incorporated in the state of Georgia.

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