It isn't often that you hear of a teenager that goes to such lengths to launch a project combining her two passions (football and technology). Reboot2Kids collects used information and communications technology devices (ICT) and gently-used football boots to ‘reboot’ them for the benefit of school children in developing countries.
Eden Chung, who is currently a student at the International School of Geneva, has chosen two recipient schools who will receive their first computer labs: one in Sierre Leone (built from scratch by her primary school Ecolint French teacher in 2006) and the other in Papua New Guinea (where Eden's father lived and worked). In parallel, monetary donations are being sought to help with the costs of hiring an IT teacher, internet fees, etc. In both of these schools, the children love football but have to make do largely barefooted, so the shoes will be very welcome for all the children there.
When we heard about Eden Chung, we immediately wrote to her, "Bravo on your initiative!" and asked her to answer some questions.
Tell our readers who you are and your background.
I am in year 12 at the International School of Geneva. Although I was born in Hong Kong, I have lived in Geneva for 13 years, so almost my whole life.
What has been the inspiration behind doing this project?
I have always loved football, both playing it and watching, starting from the age of 3. Now, I play for my school team and also my local club, FC Champel. In addition, I have always had a passion for technology and computers.
In 2018, for my school Passion Project, I created a website with notes and resources aimed to help students that were struggling in the sciences. I also helped tutor younger students in the Middle School. Last year in 2019, I completed a research project on global digital literacy, and I learnt how important digital literacy is for students in the 21st century. From these projects, I knew I wanted to expand on what I have already done and to create a longer-lasting project combining my interests.
So I combined my two passions and created Reboot2Kids as an organization that benefits children in developing countries by providing them with football shoes and ICT devices to start to teach them the basic skills of being digital literate.
Have you been working on this idea forever, or was it something that came to you recently?
I have always loved football and technology, but I never really thought of combining the two until recently. I started thinking about possible projects combining my two passions at the beginning of this year, and I eventually came up with the idea for Reboot2Kids.
What is the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome?
At the moment, it has been hard to collect many old ICT devices. We have set up collection boxes in several schools around Geneva, but we still have not been able to collect enough devices. We will start thinking about contacting companies hoping that they have many old devices that they could donate. I’m hoping that some Know-It-All readers will have devices to share, or be able to make some donations to the project.
What are your plans for the future?
Once we collect all the devices and shoes, we will ship them to our two recipient schools: Global Outreach Primary School in Sierra Leone and Gretutu Seventh Day Adventist Primary School in Papua New Guinea. The project will continue afterwards, as we have many schools identified who have no technology yet in their classrooms!
Has there been a super moment during this process that you will share with us?
During the collection of football shoes in August, which was our first major collection, I was surprised by the amount of shoes we collected! I was expecting a few pairs, but we got over 30 pairs of shoes, which was a wonderful start to the project.
What others are saying about Reboot2Kids
I am looking forward to work together with Eden, who founded “Reboot2kids “ and her team. I am thrilled that we will be able to give access to technology to the children of this remote area. It is absolutely essential that in 2020, these children can connect and benefit from digital literacy and ICT programs. We need to give them this opportunity to face the future.
Martine Coppens, Founder of Global Outreach Primary School in Sierra Leone
Your donations of the refurnished ICT devices will go a long way to enhance learning because they need extra computers, tablets and smart phones. The boots will also assist students to wear and participate in the local competition.
Eric Kuman, Ok Tedi Development Foundation, Western Province, Papua New Guinea
Explain how people can help or contribute
The organization relies on donations, both monetary and old shoes and devices, to be able to help the children in Sierra Leone and Papua New Guinea. We will welcome any donations of old football shoes or old (but working) ICT devices, whether it be tablets, smartphones, or computers.
At the same time, we are raising money to pay for a digital eLibrary server, which which provides off-line access to over 35 million digital resources, emulating the internet experience without needing any internet service. Each computer lab will be delivered to the schools as a stand alone package that can be self-sustained by the schools going forward. Many similar projects have failed as the schools in developing countries could not afford high internet costs. We will also send a kid-friendly manual we have developed for getting started learning ICT.
There are collection boxes in two Ecolint schools: Nations and LGB for the moment. Eden will be happy to pick up shoes or computers from donors upon request.
The organization is a legal Swiss non-profit entity and has tax exempt status so it can issue tax receipts for monetary donations.
Here are direct links to donate:
http://gofund.me/7e8f6d02
https://www.paypal.com/donate?token=UhoxdwNCw1t1F2EmhpXMxnwD4XjIUB-NdUI_xv5PWO8FBrzSBZt6Lqn10tNKQpNIy8EP6-EZvoTXTlu1
Reboot2Kids
www.reboot2kids.org
info@reboot2kids.org
instagram @reboot2kids
