In June 2017, Harpal Punia, TTAT’s Project Manager, went to Kenya to complete the promised installation of power points, computers and the RACHEL server. In a few days’ time, he had the e-Learning centre fully functional for student use.

TTAT devised and sponsored a system consisting of 30 Clients (interactive stations) based on Raspberry Pi hardware and the innovative RACHEL (Remote Areas Community Hotspots for Education and Learning) server as the source for the educational material (software that includes an encyclopaedia (Wikipedia), video lectures (Khan Academy), textbooks (CK-12), agricultural information, educational games, coding programs, medical resources, Swahili Wikipedia and much more. Harpal also took with him other teaching and learning aides – projectors, speakers, science equipment, whiteboards, Raspberry Pi books, Learn to Code books and numerous other items.

Using a local contractor, power points were fitted to the desks followed by the installation of  computer  monitors, keyboards and mice and the required Ethernet cabling and routers. And ‘hey presto’ it was all up and running by the 29 June for the grand opening in the afternoon.

In his speech to the big gathering of local dignitaries and the press, Mr Peter Kariuki, Principal of Chania High for Boys, thanked TTAT for their support to the school over the past years. ‘We are so grateful to this group of alumni who have been assisting us through various programmes. They started by donating KES 100,000 (c £750) worth of books for our library and then supplied furniture worth KES 64,000 for our Dining Hall. They have today supplied 30 computers and e-learning material worth KES 1.5 million,’ said Mr Kariuki. He explained that this latest project would assist in motivating the students and incorporating them into the global village. He acknowledged that the school was now on par with other world top-rate schools in terms of accessibility of learning content, a factor that will go a long way in improving the students’ achievements and their adaptability to the global environment.

Well done, Harpal, Shanti Bhardwa (TTAT’s Technical Consultant) and Elizabeth Punia!

The story was almost immediately published on the Thika Town Today’s website. Access it at the the link below:

http://www.thikatowntoday.co.ke/2017/06/chania-high-school-alumni-donate-kes-15.html