(thanks for the information) I very much welcome the efforts by the organisers, although there are unanswered questions implied - I cannot really understand the apparent priority need for computers when the local communications (telephone, internet connection) are not in place yet. A similar thought occurs relating to power, where a priority would come to mind for a power generator first, maybe for facilities other than computers. The suggestion of various distros is also a little unrealistic - to my mind anyway - for a learning situation in a remote location - each distro will make very different demands on the users (in)experience.
I note this possibility but I will be continuing to look for other possibilities. alan cocks Alan Pope wrote: > With the discussion on this list about doing work for charity, and reusing > computers I thought this mail on the UK LUGMaster list > might be interesting to the group. > > Cheers, > Al. > > ----- Forwarded message from Mark Broadbent <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ----- > > Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2007 11:27:38 +0000 > From: Mark Broadbent <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [lugmaster] Fwd: Linux-refurbished Laptops for Nepal Appeal! > > Hi All, > > I've been asked by a member of my LUG (Herefordshire) if the following > notice could be circulated around as many LUGs as possible please. > > All follow-ups to this should be directed to Matt Rhys-Roberts at > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Thanks > Mark Broadbent > Herefordshire LUG > > --------------- > A small business in North Wales has hit upon the idea of supplying a > school in an impoverished area of Nepal, with refurbished laptop > computers running Linux. In their own words: > > "The Shree Garma Secondary School is in the Solukhumbu district of Nepal > and is only 40 miles from Everest. It is extremely isolated and there are > no roads. It can be reached by an internal flight from Kathmandu followed > by a three hour walk. It is obviously very poor and most people are > subsistence farmers. > > The school caters for around 150 children of all ages. They have only the > most basic facilities and no electricity. Their main priority is to have > computers. Initially we are going to try and supply them with six lap top > computers which can be charged in houses which do have electricity and > longer term our aim is to develop a hydro power station which could > potentially provide electricity to many houses as well as the school. > > Katlan Trading Company based at The Souk in Llangollen is committed to > helping this school through importing goods from Nepal. A percentage of > all sales will go direct to the school. We are not a registered charity > but instead are aiming to help through direct trade." > > > The company wishes to enlist the help of any UK LUG members who can a) > gather unused laptops, b) install Linux on them, and c) send them to a > central collection point to be announced. > > The ideal Linux distro remains to be decided, since equipment will vary > greatly. However it is hoped, hardware permitting, that each laptop will > have installed on it a minimum of: a working X server, OpenOffice (or > smaller office apps for lesser machines), a graphics package, printer > and network support, email, IRC, and of course the Nepali language as > far as possible. There appears to be a Nepali distro already underway at > http://www.nepalinux.org/ , which may be suitable for some hardware. For > lesser machines, perhaps Damn Small Linux, Vector Linux or Knoppix may > be more appropriate. > > The village has no phone network yet, but one is anticipated there > within the next 2 years! > > Please contact me if you can contribute in any way to this project. I > aim to help coordinate efforts to source donated laptops, test them, > install appropriate software, then perform a final quality check. We are > still at the planning stage, seeing who's really available to help. No > doubt this project could generate some very good publicity for Linux > abroad, waste prevention and fair trade. > > Regards, > Matt Rhys-Roberts, Wrexham > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > (Herefordshire LUG member) > > PS. Further reading for inspiration (it looks like there's already a > good & growing Nepalese Linux user base!): > > http://www.researchut.com/repository/linux-nepal.html > A non-profit organization dedicated to promoting GNU/Linux in the > kingdom of the Himalayas > http://www.nepalinux.org/ > The new release NepaLinux 1.1 is a relatively bug-free and revised > version of the previous beta release. > http://www.linuxnepal.com.np/aboutus/ > A Linux enthusiasts' site in Nepal > ------------------------- > ------------------------- > -- Kubuntu user#10391 -- [email protected] https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.kubuntu.org/UKTeam/
