Topic: Bitcoin Omega Scholarship (Read 3445 times)

very interesting ,it is an good idea that there scholarship programme with bitcoin also , such projects should come more and more , it is really helping the poor people and the improvement in education. If it is available in other countries then it will be very helpful.

The idea is fantastic sad that it had to end.  I just readf this thread just now, I really like this project to relive.  Anyone have idea on how  this stuff can continue? If not in Ghana maybe in other country.  I hope someone will implement this kind of idea again. 

i have never heard about this. i think i am hearing about this for the first time. but if it is real i think that is such a good step. but who is supporting this scholarship. i mean that who will finance the project. 

Unfortunately the Omega school Founder and CEO stopped liking the idea... probably concerned about Bitcoin price volatility.

Who knows... maybe we can pick this up again in the future.

Sorry for the grave dig, but does anyone know what the results of this were?

I wish my country had pay-as-you go private schools aimed at low income kids as this one

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

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

Added.

I will contribute with 1 bitcoin

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/

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://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/bitcoinafrica-your-help-required-307653) 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...

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

A message from the co-founder of Omega Schools

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

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.

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?

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

 ... good initiative.