Our International Work

In January, 2004, we began a new component of Community Connections. Thanks to the generous support and guidance of USF alumni Teresa Win and Alberto Yepez, we were able to take 8 students and two faculty to Tacna, Peru, where we installed approximately 100 computers in two local K-12 schools, Cristo Rey and Miguel Pro, and also networked the buildings at each school to provide a local area network. Much more information about our trip, including photos, can be found here.

Future Plans

We have a number of future international projects in the works. Currently, we are are planning to have two students return to Tacna in July, 2004 to work with the teachers and students there, training them to incorporate technology into their classes and lives.

We are also planning to return to Tacna over Spring Break 2005. Our primary goal for the Spring 2005 trip will be to provide both Cristo Rey school and Miguel Pro school with Internet connectivity, including wireless access within each school. We are currently experimenting with affordable, high-reliability nodes that could be used to provide connectivity both to the outside world and to outlying buildings on each campus. These boxes are based on the nodes developed by SFLan.

We have also begun considering other areas in South America for assistance. Currently, we are beginning the planning for a trip to Cuenca, Ecuador, in January 2005 to provide computers for local elementary schools. This project will be conducted with the assistance of Proyecto Fondo Educativo , a San Francisco non-profit that does grass-roots work in Ecuador.

We are always interested in help or donations to facilitate these projects. For more information on donating or getting involved, please contact Chris Brooks or Dave Wolber

For a more detailed description of our future plans, you can see this document (PDF).