Educate Children in Mexico through Technology

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Chloe Gray and Aleph Molinari for taking time out of their busy schedules to show me the fully functioning RIA centers that have been established by Fundacion Proacesso. 

Aleph, a native of Mexico City, saw an enormous gap of inadequate levels of computer literacy amongst his fellow country men and women, and therefore took it upon himself, with the assistance of his colleagues, to establish some of the most successful computer literacy centers in the country.  AND ITS ONLY THE BEGINNING!!!!

But if Fundacion Proecesso builds it will the people come?  Was it a leap of faith?  This was obviously a question that the Fundacion Proacesso team faced when designing these robust centers.  After spending just a few hours with the team at Fundacion Proacesso it became quite clear that it was anything but a leap of faith.  Rather it was a calculated analysis stemming from pragmatic and unwavering execution—encapsulated by extreme care, holistic trainers and training, proper equipment, due-diligence, community ownership, and cross sector teamwork.

Ok, ok, ok.  So they are doing a great job.  So what does it all mean?  It means that in just a few years of being in operation this organization has graduated around 18,000 people from their courses and they are scaling up by building more and more centers at an exponential rate.  All one has to do is look at the course calendar for the next month and see that each center is booked solid.  It’s because people WANT to learn.

 Access to information and the internet were termed by the BBC as being a fundamental human right.  Whether you believe that or not it is important to recognize that the services being offered at the RIA centers are paramount.  If you have the ability to read this post it’s because you have had some capacity in computer training.  By supporting this organization you are choosing to not only support an AMAZING team but you are also choosing to create a more prosperous future for the Mexican citizenry with capabilities of multiplying seeing as knowledge leaks to others.  Information and knowledge is not a commodity to be used by only one person.   

I recently heard a quote that stated, “talent is universal, opportunity is not.”  By supporting Fundacion Proacesso you ensure that your dollar is being put to best use to ensure that talent is supported universally. 

We have just finished distributing the first batch of scholarships sponsored by your donations through our project page on GlobalGiving. Above we’ve shared some pictures of children receiving their scholarships to take three basic digital literacy courses at the RIA so that you can see how happy they were! 

Over 480 children signed up for scholarships, but unfortunately the money we’ve raised so far for this project only allowed us to give out 213. So please continue to spread the word about the RIA and our project page on GlobalGiving – share the link on your blogs or social networks, use the tell-a-friend feature on the project page to email your network or just bring us up in conversation.

We will distribute the next batch of scholarships in April and will post an update with pictures shortly thereafter. Thank you so much for supporting our project and for giving children the opportunity to learn vital computer skills at the RIA.

Links:

• Visit our webpage

The first batch of scholarships supported by your donations will be given out by January 28th! We promoted the scholarships as gifts in celebration of the Tres Reyes Magos holiday in early January, which is one of the biggest holidays here in Mexico. 215 students have already signed up, which is an amazing start! We currently have 213 scholarships to give out, but those who don't receive scholarships this time around will be first in line for scholarships as we receive future donations through GlobalGiving. So please continue to spread the word to friends and family.

Included in this post is the poster used to announce the scholarships. In February we will publish pictures of the students who receive the scholarships.

Thanks again for all you've done to support our project and help children attend courses at the RIA.

Links:

• Follow RIA on Facebook
• RIA's Webpage
• Follow Proacceso on Facebook

Thank you to all of our supporters for helping us raise nearly $7,000 to fund scholarships for children at the RIA! We hope that you will continue to check this site for updates on how your donations are helping children take our courses. We are currently planning the distribution of the scholarship funds from the Open Challenge, and we’ll post another update soon with details on the recipients.

This has been a tremendous year for the RIA. From the GlobalGiving challenge to the opening of 32 new RIA centers, the project has made incredible strides. We’ve reached over 62,000 users to date, and over 13,000 people have graduated from our courses. Our new learning route for children, which includes courses on computer literacy, math, reading comprehension, English and photography, is nearly complete and will be launched in January. Finally, we secured funds to build over 30 new RIA centers next year.

We are so grateful for your support, and we can’t wait to share with you more information on the scholarship recipients.