| ONLINE GLOBAL COMMUNITY PROGRAM
AFGHAN INTERNET LEARNING CENTERS
 Khadija summary
During the summer of 2005 Solace International sent Joseph Davis to Sheberghan to join with then Solace Administrative Director, Stanfill Stanfill. Their goal was to manage the installation and networking of computers, and train students and educators in their use. The lab would be installed at Kadija Jawzjani, a school of 4,000 young women in Northern Afghanistan, and located in a newly built wing of eight classrooms. The new building was funded by Overstock.com and included a budget for a satellite dish, internet account, technical assistance, computers, and desks.
During the final stages of construction on the new wing, Khadija teachers and students set up a temporary lab in the main building. Under the supervision of Joseph, and assistance from Stanfill, group assembled computer desks and networked the computers. Joseph then provided two weeks of direct training, with classes 7:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., 6 days a week.
 On August 1st of 2005, Solace hosted a live Internet student-to-student chat at the University of Alaska Anchorage Campus. This real-time event had a variety of students from an Anchorage school district communicating with girls half way around the world in Sheberghan Afghanistan.
It is of note that the period when this program was launched, most schools were closed due to the heat. Temperatures often exceeding 120º F in the rooms, yet there were hundreds seeking admittance to the classes. Joseph’s attempt at a turban was not a nod to local culture, but a way to keep sweat from dripping on the keyboard. His makeshift headgear became a fond joke among the staff and at the opening ceremony, he was shown how to properly tie a turban. |
 Ibn e Yasin school summary
Location: City of Sheberghan
Student: 4500
Teachers: 130
Student enrollment in computer curriculum per month: 100
Start of Project: June 2006
Completed: July 20
In June of 2006, Joseph Davis returned to Sheberghan to oversee installation of computer equipment and train teacher for a second Internet Learning lab. The Ib e Yasin boy’s school is the largest school in the city and has the full approval of the local Minister of Education for Jawzjan Province. In support of the regional economy, an Internet provider was contracted from Mazzar-i-Sharif, a city east of Sheberghan. At the completion of training passed out certificates to the students that qualified as e-Student and the teachers that qualified as e-Teacher, under the Solace education program.
 
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