Project Start: Linux4Afrika Received by Tanzanian Government

Although he has only been prime minister of Tanzania since February 8, some of the first visitors Hon. Mizengo Pinda welcomed were the members of the Linux4afrika project, represented by Hans-Peter Merkel, Franz Epple and Paul and Baraka Koyi into his office. The project supplies used Linux machines to African schools.

Linux visits the Tanzanian premier: Hans-Peter Merkel and Franz Epple from Linux4afrika visit Hon. Mizengo Pinda.

The project's initiators talked about the ideas behind the project and the progress it had made. The prime minister was so impressed that he sent a member of Freioss.net to Sumbawanga, some 1500 km from the capital city in the interior of the country, where Linux4afrika is now proud to demonstrate its prowess.

Just one day before, the project had officially been given the go ahead for the role out at the Dr. Didas Secondary School in Chanika near Dar-Es-Salaam.

To commemorate the start of the project, the Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Food, Security and Cooperatives, Hon. Dr. David Mathayo, hands a donated laptop to Dr. Didas Secondary School. From left to rights: Paul Koyi, CEO of Agumba Computers Dar-Es-Salaam and coordinator of Linux4afrika in Tanzania, member of parliament Hon. Janeth Maurice Massaburi, Hon. Dr. David Mathayo and Hans-Peter Merkel, the chair of the NGO, Freioss.net e.V.

The guests of honor were Hon. Dr David Mathayo David, the Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Food, Security and Cooperatives and member of parliament Hon. Janeth Maurice Massaburi. The minister handed a sponsored notebook and carrying case to the principal of the school, Mr. Hengu, along with a number of issues of Linux Magazine. The notebook will be given pride of place in the school library, where teachers and schoolchildren can borrow it.

Linux4afrika is a development aid project by Open Source Networks, Freioss.net, from Freiburg Germany. The members collect, check and repair used computers and use the best parts to configure an Edubuntu-based terminal server solution for deployment in African schools. Just shortly, the project was commended by the United Nations. The initiative earned the title of "UNESCO Decade Project" in mid-Februar. Linux4afrika was commended as an "outstanding project in the UN decade for sustainable development".

The project's warehouses are full of configured computers and other hardware, however, the project is short of funding to organize transportation of a second container to Africa. Agumba Computers sponsored the transportation of the first container to Dar-Es-Salaam, and now the project is looking for new sponsors.

Linux4afrika is represented at LinuxPark at this year's CeBIT. The online diary written by the project in Tanzania gives visitors an idea of a development helper's situation in Africa. Such as this entry ("Reinforcements from Germany and a Crisis Meeting") and the Linux Magazine article "Gnu Country".