How it Started
The Peru project originated from a program known as Community Connections within the Computer Science department at USF. We began Community Connections in 2003 with a focus on working with Bay Area nonprofits, providing technical support and system administration.
Tacna, Peru
In late 2003, we began thinking about how to expand the scope of the project beyond San Francisco to include an international component.
We wanted to address the "digital divide" between first and third-world countries, or in other words the gap between the quality of information technology available
University of San Francisco
in developed countries and developing countries. One example of the digital divide is the fact that 4% of the world's population are in South America, while 41% are in the U.S. Peru is an example of a rapidly modernizing South American country that has overcome economic and political instability, but generally lacks access to up-to-date computing technology. USF is located right next to Silicon Valley, one of the most technologically advanced (and richest) places anywhere. We wanted to use these resources to help bridge the digital divide.
Kludick Classroom at University of San Francisco
What We've Done
Tacna is located in arid southern Peru In Spring 2004, we worked with USF alumni Teresa Win and Alberto Yepez to take eight students and two faculty to Tacna, Peru, to install computers and networking equipment. This proved to be an excellent combination; Teresa and Alberto had been doing philanthropic work in Tacna previously and were interested in expanding the scope of their work, and we were interested in conducting an international mission.
Over spring break 2004, this group successfully transported and set up over 100 new computers at two K-11 schools in Tacna, Peru. (See the March 2004 section for details about this trip).
One week was enough time to deliver the computers and set up a basic network, it wasn't enough time to provide the in-depth setup and training that was necessary. In June/July 2004, two USF students returned to Tacna for three weeks to provide more technical support, training, and to help the teachers become more comfortable with using technology and integrating it into their classes. (See the June / July 2004 section for details about this trip).
In March 2005, we returned to Tacna with 10 students. For this trip, we wanted to begin to make a transition from simply providing hardware to also providing education. One lesson that we've learned through our work both in Peru and in San Francisco is that technology is great, but knowledge about how to use it effectively is crucial if we want to really serve communities in need effectively. Please see the March 2005 section for more details on this trip.
March 2006 marked our fourth trip to Tacna, and our third Spring Break trip. As in 2005, we knew that education, or knowledge transfer, would be a critical component of our trip. While we delivered 23 donated computers, which allowed us to upgrade the kindergartens at both schools, the primary focus of our trip was on providing the teachers with exposure to educational software and tools. Please see the March 2006 section for more details on this trip. Future Plans
Currently, we are in the very early stages of planning for a 2007 trip. We're very interested in expanding participation beyond Computer Science students and faculty to include other majors, such as Nursing, Business, Environmental Science. or Education. If you fit this description and would be interested in participating, please contact Chris Brooks.