About Us: FAQ
h2. Why is your name eKindling?
In the words of the Greek Philosopher, Plutarch, a mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled. We strongly believe this and as such, we wanted our name “eKindling” (or Education Kindling) to reflect this.
Although there are branding benefits to naming ourselves “OLPC Philippines,” we believe that it would limit our growth. In a rapidly innovating technological terrain, we want to be able to adopt better technologies that may help us achieve our mission more efficiently and effectively.
Ultimately, our vision transcends the notion of simply giving each child in the Philippines a laptop. We are primarily an educational initiative and we recognize that the XO laptop is simply a vehicle that delivers quality education that each child deserves. We focus on the mission, not the vehicle.
h2. Does this mean you are not using XO laptops?
No, XO laptops are still our primary choice of hardware. In the foreseeable future, we believe that its design and price still holds a competitive advantage over all other competing technologies. Thus, XOs will be the main tool in our pilot deployments
With that said, we suspect that Sugar on a Stick will play an increasing role in our future operations.
As an organization, we recognize that hardware is simply the beginning. We put equal emphasis on the software and educational content. OLPC is simply 1/3 of the equation. Sugar Operating System (Sugarlabs) and Educational Content (Squeakland) are equally as important. Understanding this from the onset will increase our chances of success.
h2. Who owns this project?
We firmly believe that no one person owns the OLPC project. The community, which includes all stakeholders (educators, parents, entrepreneurs, students, donors, engineers, etc) owns the project. Collectively, community members are the experts and we look towards them for guidance and support. The value provided by the community is central to our strategic plan. Thus, to maintain a sense of ownership and trust, our organization strives to be transparent.
Learning from the experience of OLE Nepal, we maintain that this is community driven.
h2. Are you looking for partners?
Yes, we are looking for partners! We are looking for partners that know how to get things done. They will guide our approach, especially as we move forward with our small-medium deployments. You know your communities the most and we look forward to serving them with you.
If you are an academic institution, private corporation, non-profit organization, corporate social responsibility program, or government department, please feel free to contact us!
h2. How can I help?
There are many ways you can help!
Right now, we need money. Every dollar you donate will help us help more children. If you are also a grant writer, please help write applications for seed funding and deployment programs. Increasing our funds will increase our capacity to deploy pilots!