Mission Mobile
Education Trustees’ Annual Report
Mission Mobile
Education, a charitable association, UK Registered Charity number 1059184, in accordance
with its constitution, is administered and managed by the members of the Executive
Committee: Ms Lisa Stern, Mr. Jitendra Gathani and Ms Lorna Khawaja, office address, 27
Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3XX.
The Charity's objects
are: "the advancement of public education in Uganda particular but not exclusively by
the provision of a mobile educational unit; and the relief of poverty, sickness and
distress by the provision of such funds and equipment as the Executive Committee in their
absolute discretion think fit."
As a means of
achieving these objects the Charity has adopted a policy of vigorous cost cutting,
streamlining every aspect of its operations, using donated equipment or services where
possible, seeking tax concessions by governments, and relying upon volunteer staff. The programme has thus been able to continue to
expand with only the minimum of inputs. Also
as a matter of policy it was decided that by using recycled older PCs for Internet
connectivity, and teaching marginalised Ugandan youth rather than local elites, for their
Train the Trainer workshops, the programme might better
serve as a model for other developing country projects.
The Executive
Committee appointed Programme Officers to
organize charitable activities, both in the UK and on the field. Programme Officers manage the volunteer staff,
collect and disburse the funds and donated equipment as they judge fit to further the
Charity’s objects. The volunteer staff,
each one according to his or her capabilities, carries out activities organized by the
Programme Officers.
Highlights of the
financial year ending January 1999 for Mission Mobile Education are listed as follows:
1. Reorganization
of Uganda Connect workshops, selection of new trainers.
2. Newbie
workshops for Uganda ISOC.
3. Wireless
schools network project proposal submitted to government.
4. Participation
at World Bank's World Links for Development workshop.
5. Sensitisation
and training of government officials in Internet technologies.
6. Participation
at UNESCO/IDRC/ITU conference for setting up Multipurpose Community Telecentre (MCT) in
Nakaseke.
7. Futher
demonstration of GSM data technology at the annual AITEC computer show leads to schools
being sponsored by CelTel for Internet connectivity by GSM.
8. Presentations
of HF radio data network at Telecom Africa 98 in Johannesburg. Project Director invited to as Honourary Forum
Committee Member for ITU's Telecom Africa 98.
9. Uganda
Connect team help in launch of Nakaseke MCT.
10. UNESCO
chooses Uganda Connect Train the Trainer programme for the training of its Nakaseke MCT
trainer trainees.
11. Project
Director and Project Manager co-ordinate the Network Training Workshops for ISOC's
INET'98.
12. Equipment
and funds gathered for installing wireless networks in Uganda.
13. Wireless
network tested and demonstrated prior to shipping to Uganda.
1. Reorganization of Uganda
Connect workshops, selection of new trainers.
Mission Mobile Education director,
Lisa Stern, worked with the Uganda Connect team at their Ministry of Education workshops
in Kampala, helping them to reorganise to improve productivity and also guiding them in
the selection of new trainers.
2. Newbie workshops for
Uganda ISOC.
Uganda Connect
offered their workshop facilities in Kampala to the Uganda Chapter of the Internet Society
for the introductory workshops, giving hands on experience in Internet technologies to the
uninitiated.
3. Wireless schools network
project proposal submitted to government.
A proposal for using high bandwidth
spread spectrum microwave radio network for linking schools was submitted to the
government, in which concessions for licensing were requested. The State Minister for Education accepted the
proposal.
4.
Participation at World Bank's World
Links for Development workshop.
Lisa Stern and
other Uganda Connect volunteer staff were active in making interventions during the World
Bank sponsored workshop for improving the World Links for Development schools programme. Lisa
proposed to facilitate the better integration of similar aid agency and NGO projects to
minimise the duplication of efforts and to enhance synergies.
5. Sensitisation and
training of government officials in Internet technologies.
Uganda Connect trainers continued to
provide training to government officials, including Members of Parliament and Ministers as
a means of sensitising them to the importance of Internet technologies in development.
6.
Participation at UNESCO/IDRC/ITU
conference for setting up Multipurpose Community Telecentre (MCT) in Nakaseke.
Together with
other partners and stakeholders, Uganda Connect volunteers joined in dialogue to prepare
for the opening of one of the five pilot telecentres in Africa.
7.
Futher demonstration of GSM data
technology at the annual AITEC computer show leads to schools being sponsored by CelTel
for Internet connectivity by GSM.
In collaboration with partners,
CelTel, the Uganda Connect communications truck was again at the main entrance to the
Sheraton Kampala for the annual computer show, demonstrating the use of GSM data for
connecting to the Internet, and coinciding with CelTel’s launch of their GSM data
service. After discussions with their
directors, it was agreed that CelTel would sponsor some of the World Links schools with so
many hours of donated call time each month so
that students could send and receive e-mail and also browse the web at 9.6 kbps.
8. Presentations of HF
radio data network at Telecom Africa 98 in Johannesburg.
Project Director invited to as Honourary Forum Committee Member for ITU's
Telecom Africa 98.
In collaboration
with ANCARA, the Uganda Connect team, including Caroline Wieland, Daniel Stern, Geoffrey
Okao and Jed Stern, demonstrated the HF radio data network which they had set up in Arua,
northwest Uganda. The World Food Programme
loaned their network administrator, Geoffrey Okao, who had helped to develop the
technology. Daniel spoke about the innovative
use of such technologies for connecting to the Internet at the Infrastructures Summit. Daniel’s interview with South Africa
Broadcasting was shown on television throughout Africa.
Our
Project Director, Daniel Stern was invited to join the team who would organise the Forum
at Telecom Africa 98, and so be able to influence the choice of issues spoken about during
the conference and exhibition.
9. Uganda Connect team help
in launch of Nakaseke MCT.
The Uganda Connect team came in their
communications truck, together with a World Food Programme team in their 4x4, joined in
the opening of the Nakaseke MCT, demonstrating Internet technologies to the local
community, and visiting dignitaries. Uganda
Connect trainers acted as interpretors for IDRC organizers.
Following visits
by UNESCO and IDRC staff to Uganda Connect workshops, the team was invited to train the
trainers at Nakaseke. Collaborating by
e-mail, a curriculum was developed which
could be used as a model by other MCTs.
11. Project Director and
Project Manager co-ordinate the Network Training Workshops for ISOC's INET'98.
Daniel and
Caroline were invited to help organize the Network Training Workshops for the Internet
Society’s annual INET’98 conference and exhibition. This enabled 162 trainees from developing
countries around the world to be sponsored to attend the week-long training course, as
well as the conference.
12. Equipment and funds
gathered for installing wireless networks in Uganda.
While in Europe for INET’98, the
team was able to recruit sponsorship for the
proposed wireless network in Uganda, including routers from Cisco, hubs from Newbridge and
the spread spectrum microwave radios needed to broadcast the Internet. The
Reuter Foundation (UK) approved a grant to fund the project, and also donated a good
number of recycled Pentiums for the expansion of the telecentres.
By December of 1998 the team, with
the help of Uganda Connect system administrator, Jed Stern, had put together a demonstration network in
Geneva, both to test the configuration of equipment and to show international aid agency
colleagues and sponsors how we would use the technology in Uganda.
Ms Lisa Stern,
Director
Ms Caroline Wieland, Project Manager
Mr. Daniel Stern,
Director and Secretary
Mochamps, Belgium 6970 12 November 1999
