DUBAI // Bouncing over rugged terrain in a four-wheel-drive vehicle equipped with solar panels, a tent and a fridge, Tamin-Lee Connolly has begun her mission to deliver solar-powered laptops to children in rural Africa.
The punishing landscape is just one of the challenges for the Dubai-based geography teacher. Ms Connolly, 31, is also visiting schools to identify potential problems before the 5,000 laptops are delivered.
Her journey has taken her to Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania over the past month, which has helped her gain a broader understanding of the requirements on the ground.
"It is important to see first-hand what works and what doesn't," said Ms Connolly, who since the end of July has logged more than 8,000 kilometres in a Toyota Land Cruiser nicknamed Maggie, short for the Swahili word Magurudumu, or wheels.
It is part of her 60,000km, year-long African tour to help deliver laptops to schoolchildren in Burundi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Namibia, Ethiopia, Ghana and Morocco.
"I have noticed that a major asset that these villages need are inverters for the solar panels," she said. "There is enough energy coming through the solar panels, but they don't have enough inverters with enough plugs to charge up the laptops."
The punishing landscape is just one of the challenges for the Dubai-based geography teacher. Ms Connolly, 31, is also visiting schools to identify potential problems before the 5,000 laptops are delivered.
Her journey has taken her to Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania over the past month, which has helped her gain a broader understanding of the requirements on the ground.
"It is important to see first-hand what works and what doesn't," said Ms Connolly, who since the end of July has logged more than 8,000 kilometres in a Toyota Land Cruiser nicknamed Maggie, short for the Swahili word Magurudumu, or wheels.
It is part of her 60,000km, year-long African tour to help deliver laptops to schoolchildren in Burundi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Namibia, Ethiopia, Ghana and Morocco.
"I have noticed that a major asset that these villages need are inverters for the solar panels," she said. "There is enough energy coming through the solar panels, but they don't have enough inverters with enough plugs to charge up the laptops."
To read more please follow this link: http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/education/teachers-60-000km-hard-drive-to-bring-laptops-to-rural-africa
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