Sponsors, Partners, and Volunteers who Made TechKobwa 15 Possible

Putting on TechKobwa takes funding.  But more than funding, it takes an army of dedicated volunteers to both organize and run the camp.  Our three major sponsors from last summer are again provided funding and volunteers: US Peace Corps (PC), Michigan State University (MSU), and IBM.  Additionally, the Ministry of Youth and ICT (MYICT) contributed again this summer towards transportation for 10 teachers and 60 campers who came from remote regions of Rwanda.

But the shoestring budget from 2014 was not going to cut it for 2015.  We learned a big lesson in 2014: We needed to add an external evaluator to our team, and that was going to almost double our budget. 

We thank three new sponsors who stepped up to the plate: ACM-W and IEEE Computer Society contributed funding, which is paying for the evaluation; and Creation Hill paid translators and five mentors to help at the camp. 

Sponsor logos were posted on the TechKobwa website and printed on all course materials, certificates of completion, and on the backs of the TechKobwa t-shirts.  Students and teachers wear these t-shirts all over Rwanda.

Students posing with their certificates of completion

Student proudly sporting a TechKobwa T-shirt

Additionally, KOICA provided another five mentors and Kepler Rwanda provided a sixth.  ELE Rwanda and Girls in ICT helped arrange logistics and provided advice.  Finally, Elenco provided kits for our electronics module at a highly discounted price.

We thank all of our sponsors and partners for their generous donation of funding and time.  Without it, TechKobwa 15 would not have been possible.

Students, teachers, organizers and visitors all want to say a big "Murakoze cyane!"