The Zephaniah Owidi Odongo (ZOO) Memorial Foundation inspired by the life of Zephaniah Odongo Owidi has partnered with the Ouko Community Initiatives (www.ocikenya.com) and donated 10 computers to be used by pupils and teachers of Dr. Robert Ouko Primary School – Koru (DROPS). The Zephaniah Owidi Odongo (ZOO) Memorial Foundation www.zoomemorialfoundation.org is a nonprofit organization established in 2008 to increase access of populations in rural and under-served areas in Kenya to information communication technology. This new partnership is aimed at increased use of ICT for educational, academic, economic and social development within the community. Nelly Odongo, the Managing Trustee of The ZOO Memorial Foundation, responsible for planning and monitoring the Foundation’s projects made this generous donation to the school on 31st May 2016. The occasion was graced by the OCI Patron, Mama Christabel and the DROPS Board of Management and school community.

Technology can revolutionize the way of thinking, working and playing and at DROPS this will become evident as computer use is fully and systematically integrated into the curriculum. We anticipate that these computers will improve pupils’ learning processes and outcomes in the following ways

by teaching them to type and navigate software such as Microsoft Word and Excel which is a useful education and job skill,
by fostering collaboration between  pupils and teachers as they work together on projects,
by increasing the sense of responsibility, independence and accomplishment for the learners
by promoting higher order thinking and integrative problem solving skills and
reinforcing instruction through introduction of multisensory instruction tools such as podcasts, videos and interactive games. We anticipate that through this process computer whizz kids will  emerge who enjoy and have a natural knack for computers and can assist other students and teachers.

DROPS hopes to empower the teachers as well as they adopt computer technology as part of their teaching, lesson planning, communication and record keeping. The educational tools available through the internet and computer software will enable the teachers to do more with fewer resources. Teachers will be able to incorporate lessons from other institutions such as Khan Academy directly into their lessons and use online resources to improve remediation and enhance learning.  Communication platforms like Twitter, Facebook, or Whatsup will enable dynamic communication with students, colleagues and parents.

DROPS thanks the ZOO partnership for their significant and generous contribution to the work of OCI in the Muhoroni community.