OLPC CEO in Rwanda

     OLPC CEO and Chairman Rodrigo Arboleda

 The CEO and Chairman of One Laptop per Child Association Rodrigo Arboleda is in the country. He jetted into the country to specifically thank President Paul Kagame for his efforts in promoting education base on technology.

On arrival, Arboleda visited the Groupe Scolaire Kicukiro found in Kicukiro district where he witnessed the level of the students in computer literacy in just a space of five months since they got the XO laptops.

He discussed with the students who demonstrated their computer skills to him and how they integrate those skills in their daily school subjects.

Students say that after getting the computers, their learning changed for the better and that they help them to know what is happening around the world.

In his words, Arboleda said: “The reason I am here, is to thank President Paul Kagame for his efforts in promoting ICT in education for all Rwandans, but I am also here to see how the OLPC programme is impacting the students and how teachers are being trained to get the best out of them.”

He was also impressed by the skills that the students have acquired over such a short period of time.

The OLPC programme was Rwanda in September 2008 with a target to have all students from P4 to P6 access laptops in public and subsidized schools.

Currently, statistics from the ministry show that 108, 500 laptops have been set out in the country while another 110, 000 are waiting in the stores.

The Ministry plans to have distributed laptops to over 400 schools across the country by the end of this year.