Today is my day. How long can it possibly take to setup a lab of 13 computers, one printer and one projector? A couple of days I thought, 5 days at most. Here I am on day 11 of the 10 working days at Lifesong School, and I am finally done. It took 4 days just to download the various windows updates for just the first computer (I setup one computer then copy it to all the others. This is called imaging.) . Everyone here is very excited about how fast the Internet is, and I can't believe it is this slow!
The carpenter built fine counters for the desks. A little high off the ground, but nothing we can't live with. However he didn't think to drill any holes through the desk to allow the wires to connect to the electric and network outlets (this isn't a Zambian problem, most 'computer' desks don't have any spot for the wires). He was coming on Tuesday, then on Thursday, then he finally showed up on Friday. It was quite a moment for me to be able to plug in all the computers and be sure they worked. Still no network though...
The network guy showed up on Thursday, had a quick look around and said he would be back on Saturday, or if not then Tuesday. Saturday, and Tuesday came and went, and late on Thursday afternoon four guys showed up and dropped off some of the gear. They didn't have all the gear, and would be back Friday morning (that would be work day 10, the last one...). They actually showed up the next morning and got to work. They weren't fast, but didn't make any mistakes, and had it complete by about 5:00 p.m. They forgot some mounting brackets for some gear but said they would come back on Saturday, which they did and finished the job. They also helped out with an Internet connection problem we were having, for which we tipped them 50,000 kwacha, about $10.
The printer, which we ordered on the first Tuesday (work day 2), and was right there on the shelf, in stock, also showed up on the second Thursday (work day 9). The printer was paid for by a Rotary grant, and rather than pay cash or cheque, it was simpler to do a bank transfer from the Rotary account to the computer store's account. The transfer went through on the first Wednesday, but the store owner kept saying he didn't have the money in his account. Eventually he agreed that the money was there, and released the printer.
The projector, which I brought from Canada, was installed quickly and easily by the Nu Vision work team. Job well done, especially Daphne who tested the strength of the blocks we nailed to the ceiling so the projector would be lower than the overhead fan (they don't have ardox nails here, and a Robertson screw is even more foreign.). In a country where it is hot and rainy for half the year, overhead fans are MUCH more important than computer projectors.
The computers are good middle of the road (high end here) HP systems with Windows 7. They were ordered out of South Africa, and arrived with power cables with ends for that country. For 10,0o0 kwacha (about $2) each, the local computer company cuts off the ends and puts on the local, UK style ends. Adapters cost 30,000 kwacha, so it was a simple choice. That was all complete in 24 hours, on the first Wednesday (work day 3).
So here I am on day 11 of 10. The group went out to see some sights and visit a friend of Ray & Eleanor Dunn (they lived here at one time). I went back to the school to network the printer and to setup the classroom control software (it allows the teacher to blank the student screens to force them to pay attention!). I don't mind missing the day trip because I came here to setup computers and that job is now complete. I hope and pray that the staff and students benefit from the new technology they have available to them.
I'll post some photos next, if the power doesn't go out... ! :-) - Doug
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