Bitcoin Omega Scholarship

[flix]

Bitcoin Omega Scholarship
 
Hey guys,
 
You might have heard of the Omega Schools in Ghana:
 
http://www.omega-schools.com/
 
…they are a for-profit, pay-as-you go, private schools aimed at low income kids.
 
Their business model is admirable and they are enjoying great success with kids and parents.
 
I believe that one of the most liberating things about Bitcoin is that it will allow people with an internet connection to work from anywhere in the world. I also think that it will help many people in Africa overcome the political, geographic and monetary barriers that they currently suffer under.
 
So I want to fund a Bitcoin Scholarship in partnership with Omega Schools.
 
Bear in mind that tuition at an omega School averages 130$ a year, so with very little we can help a lot of kids, at the same time as helping inspire the future programmers of the Bitcoin network…
 
However, and keeping with the spirit of decentralisation and capitalism that inspires Bitcoin, there will be several conditions that I think we should make part of this scholarship:
 
1. P2P: The scholarship must reach the kids directly. From donor’s Bitcoin wallet to the kid’s Bitcoin wallet.  (Obviously there will be adult supervision involved, but the wallet must belong to the kid and each donor will know who exactly is receiving the money). No intermediaries.
 
2. Reward hard work and talent: The scholarship will be awarded to kids that have shown academic excellence, especially in the fields of computer science, math or economics.
 
3. Public, open, transparent: Each of the scholarship recipients would keep a blog. Both to thank (and promote) their sponsor (if it is a company) and to show transparency (so that donors can know what is going on there). It would also ensure that our scholars get an early online presence and also help publicise the scholarship program to bring more donors in the future. It will also help write the history of the scholarship program.
 
4. TANSTAAFL: The beneficiaries of the scholarship must do something to help the Bitcoin network and earn their bitcoins. Programming, translating, writing, creating a Bitcoin business, creating art, helping local businesses accept bitcoin… whatever their teachers think is compatible with their age and a good learning experience for them.
 
We are open to suggestions and looking forward to your feedback.
 

[flix]

We already have 2  3   4  5 sponsors lined up. So this is happening for sure. Anybody who can contribute in ideas or BTC is welcome to help. Although we would like to start small and then grow the project as we see some results.

Sponsors                      BTC
  
1. BlockChain.info            2.00
2. LocalBitcoins.com        1.00
3. flix                            1.00
4. evoorhees                  1.00
5. marcus_of_augustus    1.00
6. Bitinstant                   1.00
7. Coinabul                     1.00
8. bitdragon                   1.00
9. halfcab123                 1.00
10.


I am going to limit the first round to 10 sponsors. We want to make sure that we do this right and that we get the most bang for our buck in terms of changing the world. When we start seeing results, we'll grow the program as much as possible.

[kangasbros]

Hi, LocalBitcoins.com is on board on this project. We will pledge 1 BTC to start, and more when the project proceeds and we see some results.

[rarkenin]

I think there should be one or a small set of trusted intermediaries if someone seeks to donate only a small amount. Or would that still go through to a student in need?

[flix]

I think there should be one or a small set of trusted intermediaries if someone seeks to donate only a small amount. Or would that still go through to a student in need?

The idea is to make everything extremely transparent. So student Bitcoin addresses would be public and visible on their blogs. As would the school's.

That way small donors can help directly, again with no intermediaries. (Although obviously teachers and parents would be supervising everything)

My experience with NGOs in Africa in the past is that more than half of what you donate is lost in the way, be it because of "structural" costs or other issues. We want to make sure that 100% of our donated money reaches its intended recipient. We also want to have as much transparency as possible on how the recipient spends it.

If as a positive side effect we also create a Bitcoin-savvy generation in Ghana... it will be a win-win-win all around.

[MemoryDealers]

On behalf of the official wallet sponsor www.blockchain.info/wallet, I pledge 2 bicoins.

Blockchain is happy to provide free technical support setting up their wallet to anyone who needs it as well.

[marcus_of_augustus]

 ... good initiative.

[Gabi]

Throw some more money in that black hole? After 50 years and trillions, even more money?

[Rassah]

I am wondering if it would be more productive to spend the money on a tablet that has access to the internet, Wikipedia, and KhanAcademy, as well as a Bitcoin wallet, instead of on tuition?

[kangasbros]

Throw some more money in that black hole? After 50 years and trillions, even more money?

Well, more than a pure donation, I see this project as a more like BTC promotion, and Africa is interesting market for BTC. I don't know what your data or perspective is, but Africa isn't just a black hole which takes all the money, but a participant in the global trade as well.

[flix]

I am wondering if it would be more productive to spend the money on a tablet that has access to the internet, Wikipedia, and KhanAcademy, as well as a Bitcoin wallet, instead of on tuition?

We'll make sure that the schools all have wi-fi. Maybe we will fund some devices as well. I guess that you are thinking about this:
http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_build_a_school_in_the_cloud.html

[flix]

A message from the co-founder of Omega Schools

Many thanks for initiating this scholarship scheme. I can assure you there are a number of talented/exceptional kids among our 20,000 plus student population, determined to escape poverty for good. Your support should go a long way to empower their aspirations to participate in the global economy.
 
I am all for the principles on which you want the scholarship to be based. P2P: Yes, children will hold their wallet into which scholarships are transferred directly. Omega Schools will have a wallet too and periodically, the kids will transfer virtual cash into the Omega wallet as a payment for their fees. We do have a talented in-house programmer to make sure it’s integrated in our school billing and payment system.
 
All our schools have computer labs, a few have Wi-Fi. We will assist the kids to do weekly blogging and to do projects that should advance and promote the bitcoin network. We’ve also introduced programming to our kids and we want to support the fast learners to dive deep into it.
 
Thanks Charlie for signing on and to you all for considering this.
 
Warmest regards,
 
Ken
 
Ken Donkoh
Co-Founder and CEO,
Omega Schools

[evoorhees]

I'd like to contribute. Please mark me down for 1 BTC for now.

[glub0x]

Is it just an idea and you are pledging fund, if so how much fund do you aim to get?
you claim to start small wich is something i like but what do you mean by small ?
a few student? a class? a school ? a group of school?
who are you?
do you have any timeline?

i like the overall idea btw just want to understand your motivation better

[flix]

Is it just an idea and you are pledging fund, if so how much fund do you aim to get?
you claim to start small wich is something i like but what do you mean by small ?
a few student? a class? a school ? a group of school?
who are you?
do you have any timeline?

i like the overall idea btw just want to understand your motivation better

I thought that the details were self-evident.. but I'll try to answer your questions.

-I would be quite satisfied with 10 donors and 10 BTC in pledges for now. If results are good we will grow next year.
-I am asking for pledges. Nothing more at this stage. I trust people to keep their word.
-Small is 10 BTC, which can probably pay full scholarships to 80 kids or partial scholarships to 200 for a full year.
-My timeline is to start very soon. I would like have the program working by January 2014.


As for me.. many people here know me. For those that don't, I just want to make clear that I am in no way connected to Omega Schools. I am a fan of their educational model thanks to reading James Tooley's book "The Beautiful Tree"..



..and I came in contact with them when my friend @borjaserra of #BitcoinAfrica (sponsored by Localbitcoins, see thread here https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=307653.0) passed through Ghana.

I wanted to do something to help them and was going to do it on my own, but then I thought that I could do a lot more if I got the Bitcoin community involved. Plus I wanted to try an experiment in a new type of aid program that could be better (more transparent, efficient, sustainable, direct) than how things are done now.... if the experiment works, it can be copied elsewhere as all good open source projects can...

[flix]

Just in case you were wondering what students (or the school) are going to do with bitcoins in Ghana... it seems that Accra is one of the most active African countries in the Bitcoin sphere, as you can see here:

https://localbitcoins.com/buy-bitcoins-with-cash/859645098/accra-ghana/

..so they should have little trouble in exchanging for local currency. Although they could of course just spend them!

Hopefully we will see this map becoming a bit more populated around Ghana:
http://coinmap.org/

[bitdragon]

I will contribute with 1 bitcoin

[flix]

I will contribute with 1 bitcoin

Added.

[flix]

These guys in Ghana are also interesting:
http://www.goodworldghana.org/

[halfcab123]

Mark me down for 1 Bitcoin, if this is still operational.