Make a donation to help me on my way.

Total so far: £615.00

All donations will go toward the cost of excess baggage, teaching materials for the kids at Himanchal school and IT equipment for the village network. Even a few quid will go a long way. And I'll make sure your name is up in lights on my page!

How your donations are spent will be publicly available on this website.

Saturday 28 March 2009

HeNN eLibrary

Google group joined: HeNN eLibrary
Group to discuss on the eLibrary that Help Nepal Network (HeNN) is settting up at Lalmatiya, Dang and Bhaktapur, Kathmandu.

Mailto: ubuntu-np Local community

Namaste,
In July I'm off to Nepal to help the village of Nangi expand their rural wi-fi network. I'm taking some laptops with me to donate to the local school and am going to install Ubuntu, it's free and Edubunu is perfect for the kids in at the Himanchal School.

I would be great if the Ubuntu Nepal Community would take interest in my project and be there if I need support. I'd also love to come along to any meets you might have while I'm in Nepal.

I'm my opinion, Ubuntu is going to provide a great opportunity to reduce the digital divide. To find out more please visit
http://www.himanchal.org/, http://www.wirelessnepal.org/ and my blog at http://charlieinnangi.blogspot.com/.

Thanks guys,
Charlie

Do it with Ubuntu

Thanks guys for everything donated! Keep it coming!

My appeal for IT equipment has yielded a mixed bag of stuff. From a 6kg laptop from the 80's to a spanking new Dell D630, wi-fi routers and a switch, a selection of RAM and some wi-fi cards. I intend to make an inventory of everything - any stuff that's too old or just not appropriate will go on eBay. The proceeds will be ploughed back into the project and details will be posted on this blog.

I currently have three usable laptops of varying specs and am testing Edubuntu, a education distro of Ubuntu on them. This OS was chosen because it's free, comes with a suit of education software suited to a range of ages and many of the applications are appropriate for children with little or no knowledge of the English language. There's also a lot of sincere, and very much appreciated support out there. I am also hopeful that the
Ubuntu Nepal user group will help me out, I'll be contacting them soon!

Charlie

FedEx, DHL, UPS, TNT and Trans World contacted

Dear Sir,
In July I am travelling to Nepal to do voluntary work with the Himanchal charity in the village ofNangi for 5 months. Nangi is a remote mountain village situated in west Nepal, it's a 10 hourwalk from the nearest road! Amazingly the village has a basic computer network with a shared Internet connection - this helps farmers trade livestock, families keep in touch with relativesand provides invaluable teaching resources for the local school. My time in Nangi will be spentexpanding the network and teaching the villagers how to get the most out of their IT resources. As the village has limited resources I intend to bring donated computer equipment with me.

Is there any way that FedEx/DHL/UPS/TNT/Trans World would be able to help ship IT equipment to Kathmandu free of charge? Even a few kilograms of equipment would help immensely. I will of course mention FedEx/DHL/UPS/TNT/Trans World if any media interest arises and will happily keep you updated on my progress while out in Nepal. For more information please visit my blog at
http://charlieinnangi.blogspot.com/ and the charity's website at http://www.himanchal.org/.
Many thanks,
Charlie

Friday 27 March 2009

Clifford Chance's Lenovo supplier approached

Hi Rachel,
In July I am travelling to Nepal to do voluntary work in the village of Nangi for 5 months. Nangi is a remote mountain village situated in west Nepal, it's a 10 hour walk from the nearest road! Amazingly the village has a basic computer network with a shared Internet connection - this helps farmers trade livestock, families keep in touch with relatives and provides invaluable teaching resources for the local school. My time in Nangi will be spent expanding the network and teaching the villagers how to get the most out of their IT resources. As the village has limited resources I intend to bring donated computer equipment with me, is there any way Lenovo would like to get involved with this project?

It would be fantastic if Lenovo could donate some laptops, even older, end of line machines would be a great help. I will of course mention Lenovo if any media interest arises and will happily keep you updated on my progress while out in Nepal. For more information please vist my blog at http://charlieinnangi.blogspot.com/ and the charity's website at http://www.himanchal.org/.

Many thanks

Charlie

Saturday 7 March 2009

Equipment Appeal


I am currently collecting secondhand and broken laptops to take with me to Nangi. Nepal is experiencing severe power shortages which leave large areas without electricity for long periods. Batteries are often the only source of power, so laptops, due to their portable nature are the best choice.

Please get in contact if you have a laptop you no long use or if you have any other IT or networking equipment you think might be helpful. The following items would be gratefully received.


  • Laptops
  • Wi-fi adaptors
  • Network cards
  • Hubs, routers and switches
  • Wireless access points
  • Directional and omnidirectional antenna
  • Lightening arrestors and protector units
  • Deep cycle batteries and UPS
  • DC to AC inverters
  • Digital Cameras
  • Power tools

  • PC spares and anything else!


  • Friday 6 March 2009

    Air India - Increase baggage allowance?

    Hi,
    I have booked an economy seat on AI112 on 13th July. I am travelling to Kathmandu to do voluntary work in the village of Nangi for 5 months. Nangi is a remote mountain village situated in west Nepal. Amazingly the village has a basic computer network that helps farmers trade livestock, families keep in touch with relatives and provides invaluable teaching resources for the local school. My time in Nangi will be spent expanding the network and teaching the villagers how to get the most out of their IT resources.

    As the village has limited resources I intend to bring donated computer equipment with me. Is there any way Air India could increase my baggage allowance? It would be amazing if Air India could help me out with the cost of excess baggage. Could you let me know your thoughts on this - if there is someone specific I need to write to please could you pass on their contact details?

    Regards,
    Charlotte Gonella