"Hey, I hear you fix computers here..."

My students and I have been swamped with the amount of computer work that has "shown up".  It seems that when missionaries get problems on their computers they find a way around the problems so that they can continue working.  But when they hear that computer people from the states are here to help, they come out of the wood work.  Here's a list of the things that we were able to do over the last week and a half:

For  Institut Missiologique du Sahel (IMS)

• Configured 6 Netbooks, setting up user accounts, installing Microsoft Office, and wireless.
• Configured a wireless router with external Network Storage for those Netbooks to connect to.
• Set up security for the Netbooks
• Purchased French keyboards and mice in downtown Ouagadougou

For Centre Evangélique de Formation en Informatique et Anglais (CEFIA)

Teaching at CEFIA

• Surveyed, Analyzed and "Resurrected" roughly 7 desktop computers for a ministry to Burkinabé that teaches computing and English
• Reconfigured a network that had 2 routers conflicting and not allowing them on the Internet when both routers are turned on.
• Brought a donated switch and installed it with their network, validating all network cables, fixing 4 that were not working, and connecting all the lab computers to the network.
• Taught a class with 7 students whose abilities range not quite understanding how to click something to being on Facebook.  We taught six 1-hour sessions over three days teaching Word, Excel, Email, Basics of the Internet and Files and File Organization.

For Collège de Jeunes Filles de Loumbila (CJFL) 

• Surveyed, Analyzed and "resurrected" 4 computers out of 15 machines that don't seem to work.  Tomorrow we will bring some of the parts we brought from the States to help fix more.
• Cleaned and restarted a network switch that they had.
• Cleaned and tested network cables and set up the network for the class room.

We are not finished at CJFL.  We have a couple more days to try to get more of the machines working.  Then on Thursday we will be working with Christian and Missionary Alliance missionaries that have a ministry in the south of Ouaga.  They have a computer lab but wanted to move it to another building.  They decided not to because they didn't have what they needed.  When I looked at their setup, I realized that I have the necessary equipment to move the computer lab to the other building.  It will take some of the network cable we brought as well as another of the switches we brought.

The student have been enjoying being able to help using the skills they have.  In fact, I am now toying with the idea of setting up a Non-Profit Organization that takes Messiah Computer Science alumni overseas to help missionaries and other non-profit agencies with their computer and technology problems.  This is the first this idea has popped into my head, so I'll spend time looking into it and praying about it.