In a small village in rural Kenya, elementary school students shuffle into a state-of-the-art computer lab. For most of these third-graders, it is their first time seeing a computer in person. Soon, they will be using the computers to supplement their education.  For now, they just stare wide-eyed at the machines before them.

“This is our computer lab,” announces their teacher as she paces the rows between them. “As you can see, we have about seven computers which are working right now.” The 25 students, grouped three or four to a workstation, listen intently. “Are you ready to learn?” asks the teacher? “Yes!” the students respond in unison. “Are you sure?” she asks. They respond louder: “YES!”

This was the scene I witnessed at Noel Academy, a private Christian elementary school in Choimim, Kenya. Noel was founded in 2007 as part of the Build The Village project, a ministry supported by Colonial Baptist Church and founded by Colonial member Damon Davenport. Combining solid biblical training with rigorous academics, Noel Academy was recently rated the #2 school in the region where it’s located. A church and an orphanage are located on the same campus with the school as part of the Build The Village ministry.

In February, I joined a small team of Colonial volunteers to travel to Choimim. With monitors, keyboards and CPUs stuffed into our carry-on luggage, our goal was to set up a computer lab for Noel Academy. We also wanted to give the teachers enough instruction so that they could teach their students to use the computers.

After about two days, our team was able to set up the computer and printer hardware, establish a wireless network, and make some final software configurations on the workstations. Unlike here in the States, you can’t drive to the local Best Buy when you need to replace something; replacements mean a 150-mile trip to the electronics store in Nairobi. Mercifully, we experienced only a few minor technical challenges before getting the lab up and running.

Our next focus was training the teachers. Only one had significant computer experience. For the rest, our team had devised comprehensive training that started with the basics—how to turn on the computer, manipulate a mouse, and ultimately the steps required to create a word processing document.

During my visit, I had the opportunity to speak with Mrs. Julia Chirchir, Noel Academy’s computer instructor. She holds a degree in Information Technology and has been teaching at Noel since May 2008. Before we installed the computer lab, she taught her computer class with no computers. I asked her: “How did that work?”

She explained that much of her instruction had focused on introducing computing concepts to her students. She motioned to a poster hanging on the wall of her classroom. It featured a drawing of a computer with the individual components labeled by hand—monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc. “Because we didn’t have computers, I introduced them to the computer parts,” she said. “They have to understand what a computer is first, and they have to understand the definition of a computer. How does it work? How does it process information?”

Without being able to give the students hands-on experience, learning this information was a challenge. “To introduce something that the students are not familiar with, it’s a bit hard,” she said. “But when they see it practically, they tend to understand more. They are hearing you say mouse, and they can see and touch the mouse. And when you say left click, they can see, ‘oh, there’s the left button.’ Now they don’t have to use their imagination!”

In a rural population where most households don’t have electricity or running water, Julia sees computer training as a way to give her students an academic edge and prepare them for jobs outside of Choimim. “When they learn this technology, they will be able to compete with the world,” she said. “In most parts of the world, they are already using computers. So when [the students] move out there, they will not have problems, and they can develop more ideas. Technology will help them develop other things than what they’ve been taught—they have broadened their minds.”

As the Lord provides financial support, they hope to have a total of 30 workstations for students and teachers to use. They also hope to use the computer lab as an outreach in the Choimim community by holding basic computer literacy classes for adults in the village. Julia said, “They will have a better chance of finding jobs than someone who doesn’t know how to use a computer.”

Julia closed our conversation with a message for Colonial: “We pray that God will assist you to continue with the same spirit, because without love for the people, you cannot do it. You sacrifice yourself, you commit yourself for other people, and that is good. We thank God for that.”