[Bendug] Linux Intern Wanted in Nicaragua

[Tim Howe]

This seems like a great program to help support...  Do they take hardware donations?

It seems that working machine, spare parts, small networking equipment etc... would benefit these folks.  If none of us can go, perhaps we can thing of other ways to help.

As an asside, I thik it's time to schedule a meeting, and since you will need to come the farthest (maybe?) I think we should start by hearing what are the best days and times for you.  It's starting to look like we'll start small, but that's OK.

--TimH

On Wed, 28 Apr 2004 12:17:16 -0700 (PDT)
jp mcwoody <signalfire_ceo at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hi everyone, habla espanol?
> 
> JP
> 
> --- Michael Howell <Mhowell777 at Earthlink.net> wrote:
> > This could be a great summer learning opportunity
> > for somebody.  Address to apply at bottom.
> > 
> > I've been in contact with Phil Hughes, founder of
> > Linuxjournal.com, who recently moved to Esteli',
> > Nicaragua, and he wants to talk with interested
> > people or network to find somebody for this
> > position, which will probably begin during the
> > summer to accomodate college students.
> > 
> > Please send me your feedback on this.
> > 
> > Mike Howell mhowell777 at earthlink.net
> > ===================================================
> > 
> > Title: Spanish Linux Intern
> >  
> > Company: Cooperative Christine King
> > 
> > Location: Esteli, Nicaragua 
> > Estel_ (that's an accented trailing i for the
> > accent-handicapped)
> > is in a mountain valley in northern Nicaragua at
> > about 850 meters of
> > altitude. Far from being cold, it does enjoy a
> > moderate climate.
> > In the winter (May-November) rains turn the whole
> > area into a green
> > place. The town has a population of 100,000. Besides
> > being the main
> > business center for the agricultural regions of the
> > area it was the
> > home of many organizations helping to reconstruct
> > Nicaragua after
> > Ronald Reagan stopped killing people down here. 
> > 
> > Being the "big town" and being on the Pan American
> > highway (a 2-land
> > road populated mostly by old bluebird school busses
> > taking people to
> > and from local communities) you will find such
> > exotic things as 
> > two nightclubs. As is typical, women get in free
> > some nights whereas
> > men have to a a whopping 20 Cordoba cover. (That's
> > about $1.20 and it
> > includes a beer.)
> > 
> > The cooperative has been here for six years helping
> > locals. Their
> > services include running a pre-school, adult
> > education classes,
> > health clinic and legal aid office--all on less than
> > $100,000 a
> > year. (You can find out more about the coop and
> > Superemos, the
> > foundation that supports it at
> > http://www.ibw.com.ni/~superemo.)
> > 
> > In March the coop started teaching computer classes
> > to locals many
> > of whom had never used a computer. There are
> > currently 40 students
> > enrolled learning Linux, KDE, OpenOffice.org and
> > other applications.
> > 
> > We are now starting a new initiative to develop a
> > small staff that
> > can help schools, businesses, organizations and
> > agencies convert their
> > offices over to Linux. This staff consists of a few
> > young people,
> > all very new to Linux.
> > 
> > Job Requirements: Two or more years of high school
> > Spanish, experience
> > installing and configuring Linux--both as
> > stand-alone systems and in a
> > networked environment. With the assortment of old
> > hardware, being able
> > to set up thin clients with a server is also
> > important. This isn't
> > theory--it is the very practical process of solving
> > people's problems
> > using Linux.  Preference given to people
> > knowledgeable in SuSE.
> > 
> > Duties and Projects include:  Teach informal Linux
> > courses, networking
> > in Spanish and help generally offer practical
> > knowledge to this young
> > team.
> > 
> > The basic goal would be to help these people become
> > a team that could
> > evaluate customer needs and offer Linux solutions.
> > This means they
> > need to better understand what Linux offers, how to
> > network systems,
> > configure things, possibly interoperate with that
> > other OS, ... If it
> > matters, everything we have been doing here is with
> > SuSE Linux.
> > 
> > Beyond this, we have projects for Linux-based LPFM
> > broadcast stations
> > for home education, wireless networking, a
> > Linux-based Internet Cafe
> > and lots more. The potential here is limited by the
> > time and energy of
> > the people involved.
> > 
> > While our goal is for the team to be as autonomous
> > as possible and for
> > you to be the primary technical resource for that
> > team, you will have
> > guidance avaliable from Stephen Sefton who is a
> > major participant in
> > the cooperative and currently is teaching Linux
> > classes and Phil
> > Hughes, Publisher of Linux Journal.
> > 
> > Minimum Committment Time: 2 months, extensions
> > possible.
> > 
> > Salary: Next to nothing. Just for reference, a
> > full-time maid with
> > experience earns about $50/mo. Thus, don't expect to
> > end up with money
> > in your pocket after being here but do expect to
> > find out how people
> > can live on $50/mo.
> > 
> > Benefits: Room and board, possibly help with
> > transportation costs.
> > But, the huge benefit will be your sense of
> > accomplishment. This is
> > opportunity to make a difference in the lives of
> > thousands of people
> > who have never worked with a computer and the first
> > time they do it
> > will be one that is running Linux. I have always
> > belived what you can
> > do is more important than how many degrees you have.
> > Here, more than
> > anywhere else, this theory holds true.
> > 
> > While many people see converting Windoze users over
> > to Linux as being
> > very important, most of the people in the world
> > don't use computers
> > today. Your work here can help build a new
> > generation of computer
> > users who have only used Linux and will continue to
> > pass that
> > knowledge along.
> > 
> > And, of course, you will be helping with Linux World
> > Domination.
> > 
> > For more inforation or to apply, contact: Phil
> > Hughes, fyl at a42.com
> > 
> > Interview dates: You will be notified by email of a
> > schedule for a phone 
> > interview. We plan to conduct the interviews in
> > late-May.
> > 
> > Start Date: Yesterday.
> > 
> > 
> > _______________________________________________
> > RPLUG mailing list
> > RPLUG at truffula.net
> > http://truffula.net/mailman/listinfo/rplug
> 
> 
> 
> 	
> 		
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Win a $20,000 Career Makeover at Yahoo! HotJobs  
> http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/careermakeover 
> _______________________________________________
> Bendug mailing list
> Bendug at lists.my180.net
> http://lists.my180.net/mailman/listinfo/bendug