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African schools. Since its inception in 2005 Camara has delivered 12,342 computers to
schools across seven countries. Current research and our own experience suggest that
merely sending computers achieves no educational benefits without additional support. As
a result Camara provides comprehensive teacher training, maintenance, and recycling.
Our local Digital Hubs ensure that all recipient schools have a wellventilated and secure
computer lab with appropriate surge protection. To date we have established computer
labs in nearly 500 schools, which represents quality ICT education delivered to some
400,000 African school children.
The logic behind the Camara model is to address the dearth of ICT hardware and
expertise in subSaharan Africa by adding only the inputs that schools cannot bring
themselves. The provision and furnishing of a suitable room, and the sourcing of a teacher
are both well within the abilities of school principals and boards. While many schools do
not have electricity, many are willing and able to get it as a prerequisite to receiving
Camara computers. The impassable obstacles that many schools face are the high cost of
ICT equipment, the poor quality of refurbished computers on the African market,
inexperience in terms of equipping a computer laboratory, the shortage of qualified ICT
teachers, and a shortage of quality maintenance providers at an affordable cost. The
Camara model aims:
1. To encourage schools to provide the inputs they can bring themselves, such as a
furnished classroom and aid teacher;
2. To support schools in preparing computer labs with technical expertise, in terms of
protecting the computers against dust, power surges and theft;
3. To provide schools with the inputs that are most difficult for them to obtain at an
affordable cost and to a quality standard.
The rationale behind charging a nominal rate for the computers (approximately 5000 –
7000 KES), is that it ensures that schools attach a significant value to the computers they
receive. Our experience is that without a charge computers are often illtreated or unused,
and teachers are poorly motivated to attend training. The cost of a new computer in Africa
is over €500, and thus schools find Camara machines far more affordable. As such,
demand for our equipment and training far exceeds supply in every country in which we
operate.
We are currently visiting all of our beneficiary schools and reporting on each in terms of
gender, disability, PLWAs (people living with HIV/AIDS), poverty, and accessibility. As
such, we have developed strong relationships with schools for vulnerable children, and
have documented the needs and requests voiced by students and teachers. Camara’s
M&E (monitoring and evaluation) function provides vast amounts of direct feedback from
schools, and allows us to adapt fluidly and best suit beneficiary needs on a continual
basis. We have already established labs for AIDS orphans in Uganda, and people living
with disabilities in Kenya.
The elearning component of Camara’s work is inarguably the most vital. We believe that
the most important thing about what we do is the educational material that goes on the
computers, and who is trained to use it. Every relevant educational software programme in
which teachers are properly trained represents major added value to our work. We expect
Camara’s HIV/AIDS Respect Programme®, a software package on HIV/AIDS to be rolled
out in Lesotho later this year. We intend to follow it with additional curricular, gender
equality, prodisability and civic engagement material and teachertraining. Naturally
developing these programmes is a major priority.