Bridging the Digital Divide at Blair Serem School in Kenya
Tax deductible
Hi all!
I'm raising funds to help bridge the digital divide at Blair Serem School in Iten, Kenya. We are partnering with a non-profit called Bridge the Gap that specializes in building computer classrooms for rural education centers in Kenya. The funds will go towards establishing internet connectivity at the school, sourcing 20 high-quality, pre-owned computer kits, and sponsoring a deployment/training team to set up a the classroom for computer learning.
The name Blair Serem School comes from Kelvin Serem (or as he prefers, just "Serem"), my former Lafayette Cross Country teammate who attended Blair Academy. Unlike most other students, Serem made his way to Blair via extraordinary circumstances. He grew up in Kibargoiyet, Kenya and earned a prestigious spot at the country's St. Patrick school. From there, he distinguished himself as an excellent student and athlete, culminating in a 1-in-700 sponsorship opportunity to attend Blair Academy in Blairstown, NJ.
After leaving Kenya to attend high school and college in the US, Serem never lost the roots to his community in Kibargoiyet. He eventually raised money to open the Blair Serem School in January 2014 to serve the children in the village and improve their education. The school has steadily grown to over 650 students in grades one through eight.
One of the next steps to improve the school's offerings is to add a computer learning classroom for the students. The budget for this project is $10,000, which will cover the following expenses:
- $6,500 for the computer equipment (20 total desktops w/ acessories). The computers will be sourced through Close the Gap, which collects pre-owned computers from European and international companies to re-allocate to developing countries.
- $2,000 for the transport, installation, and training for the computer classroom. This will also be managed through Close the Gap, which has local teams within Kenya that specialize in setting up rural classrooms.
- $1,500 for the equipment and installation for internet backhaul at the school. This will be contracted through World Mobile, which has an experienced team in Kenya that sets up satellite internet and other wireless connectivity projects across the country.
Lastly, 100% of the funds from this campaign will go towards Blair in Kenya, which is the US 501(c)(3) non-profit that supports the Blair Serem School in Kenya. This makes any donations tax-deductible and guaranteed to go towards the project.
Thank you for the support with this amazing project! I am planning to personally be there to oversee the classroom installation at the end of July and will document the entire process to share with the Go Fund Me donors.
Links:
Blair Serem School: https://www.facebook.com/blairseremschool/
Blair in Kenya: http://www.blairinkenya.com/
Close the Gap: https://closethegap.co.ke/
Organizer
Andrew Warshauer
Organizer
Blairstown, NJ
Blair in Kenya Inc
Beneficiary