In this phase, we: Officially opened the lab doors to students from Maynard, Shigharo, Chome, and Mlawa JSS for their inaugural hands-on sessions. The execution lead and teachers facilitated the first practical interactions between the learners and the hardware.
What we achieved: The pilot reached a major milestone: Launch Day. For approximately 60% of these students, this was their first time ever touching a computer. We moved them from theoretical “blackboard computing” to the reality of a functioning workstation.
The challenges we faced: Technical and logistical hurdles appeared immediately. One school was unable to attend its scheduled session. On another day, a 24-minute power outage interrupted practical lessons. We also contended with hardware damage caused by lightning strikes and faulty components.
The impact: Despite the outages, the excitement was undeniable. Students began mastering basic hardware navigation, such as using a mouse and trackpad. This week proved that providing access to a physical lab is the only way to bridge the digital literacy gap effectively.