Actually I agree that the government of Ghana (and others) should spend some money imaginatively, I’m just not convinced that the OLPC will actually deliver the benefits it promises. Is there any sound academic research that backs up the educational value of such devices or is the developing world being yet again used as a laboratory for the developed?

p.s. I’ve posted a longer bit on OLPC on my personal blog.

Regarding your other points, I have a completely different perspective from yours. I don’t believe the issue with governments like Ghana is diverting sources of funding away from other priorities, such as financing OLPC with funding that would otherwise go to clean water or hospitals……the issue is prioritizing public policy that will yield both economic and social dividends and then financing it. Or put simply financing social investments that are self sustaining because there are economic incentives inherent in them beyond just a social good. In the case of the OLPC it obviously fits very well in to both a wider social and economic agenda and if executed well can achieve those objectives simultaneously, and so rightfully financing it should take greater precedence to other standalone social investments. I also like the fact that it is not a freebie like many other well meaning interventions, it motivates governments to make the important social investment trade offs that all governments must confront and it supports the local economy through assembly and manufacture of replacement/new hardware plus development of local software content in addition to support services such as internet connectivity etc.

Unfortunately too often governments in this part of the world lack the self confidence to define and execute that public policy on their own terms, and get distracted by external advice and prescriptions which coincidentally is also tied to resources that are counter-productive or outright stifle that domestic policy development.

I particulalry like OLPC for Third World countries like Ghana because at its core is social entrepreneurship that transfers not only a social good but also the means for innovation and economic creativity.

I’m afraid that I couldn’t get the link working, but Kufuor wouldn’t be the first politician to see the benefit of being associated with a high profile education project in election year. To my knowledge no actual government money has actually been pledged yet.

I’d like to be convinced by the OLPC project but I can’t help thinking it’s another gimmick that may well be diverting resources from more useful things. Governments in Africa have very limited budgets. Any money spent on a project like OLPC will be taken from someone else’s slice of the pie.

If you want to kick start IT look at India (who have rejected OLPC btw). They focused on higher education, concentrating on producing technology and engineering graduates. Alternatively use a charity like Computer Aid to ship refurbished computers at for a lot less $200. If it’s education you’re interested in then water aid is dealing with some of the basic issues and VSO sends experienced teachers to poor countries to supplement and train local teachers and I know from personal experience that they do excellent work. Charities like Action Aid and Oxfam work in communities to campaign and organise on education issues.

Overall if countries like Ghana can get these toys without diverting funds from other things then I’m all for it. If the only way you are going to contribute to the developing world is by buying an XO box then please do that. If I didn’t believe that IT has a role I wouldn’t have left a well paid job to work here in Ghana, I just want to work out what the most effective way is.

Hopefully I’ll write my thoughts up more fully on my own blog (I think you can click on the little picture by my name to get to it).

I wonder what this Om Malik’s (blog’s ownersO thought’s are. The original article wasn’t really about the implications of OLPC on the developing world.

I assume you are Ghanaian yourself. Do you live or come from any of the 3 northern regions?

Attached is the 2008 Ghana budget approved by Parliament, there is an illuminating section that focuses on OLPC and the role of that investment in the wider macro-economic scheme of things.

My point, the government is walking and chewing gum at the same time. Yes there are daunting challenges in terms of social and material well being but the country cannot be confined to linear thinking…solve A, then B then C…….they are maximizing all opportunities to tackle numerous challenges at the same time including accelerating the country in to a modern information society so that they can reinvent the wheel in tackling many problems. Giving $100 for a borehole has LIMITED multiplier effects in the wider society and I don’t say that to be dismissive. Giving a laptop to every Standard I pupil especially in Northern Ghana coupled with other social and infrastructure investments PLUS focused public policy will transform the lives of communities.

You may be right, and I may be a bit too close to things at the moment. Before I came out here I tended to agree with you, but now I’m here I’m a little nervous that all that will happen is that resources will be diverted away from the poorest parts of Africa and the laptops will end up in the wealthier areas. But from what I’ve seen so far (and I’ve only been here 3 months) it is extremely important that Ghana’s economy grow (and Africa’s in general). Perhaps these might help.

You ask what else $100 could do. I have a friend (another volunteer) who is trying to raise money to get bore holes (i.e. water supply) for schools in one of the poorest regions of Ghana. $100 would definitely go towards helping a whole school benefit:

(link)

p.s. I doubled the GDP of Ghana, it’s only $10bn. For interest the education budget is about $100Million, i.e. less than $15 per child per year.

Then you have the other problems you were mentioning. The kids can’t make it to school. They do not have pens or paper. Their parents have no knowledge of technology. If they do manage the 5 to 10 mile trek to get to a classroom there will often not be a teacher there, and there is an increased risk of endemic disease spreading between the children because there is no sanitation.

Children have an amazing ability to figure out computers on there own. They won’t have to go to a school to use them. They won’t need paper to use them. They won’t need pens to use them. They will be able to work 10 hours in the fields and still get in 15 minutes of hack time before sleep. There will be some problems with selling them off, of course, but I think that can be minimized somewhat. There are a lot of parents who would consider having educated children valuable ‘if’ they didn’t have to lose the day labor by sending them off to a school house every day.

Anyway, just my 2 cents, Chris.

I agree with comments above that the point is not to make a cheap knockoff laptop. The OLPC sounds like the first interesting personal computer since the 80s, and that’s why I ordered one.

About 40% of the population in Africa subsist on $1 per day and there is high level of malnourishment and medcines are far too expenive for the majority of the population. I predict that the poorest families will do the sensible thing of selling the laptops and using the money to meet some of their more pressing needs. It would be more efficent just to give the $100 directly.

There are about 9 million Ghanaians below the age of 14 acording to the CIA world fact book. To give each one a $100 lap top would cost $900 million. That would represent nearly 5% of Ghana’s GDP (approx $20Bn). Surely that much money can be spent more effectively?