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Harry K. Tetteh knows that computers are the key to information, communication, and innovation. But growing up in Ghana, where it was a challenge for Harry just to attend school, getting computer access was a full-on battle.
His secondary school had 10 computers, but teachers lacked the training to help students get online. Harry’s principal, worried that students would harm the school's computers, limited student access. Harry had to organize his fellow prefects to demand use. To use the internet at night, when connections were better and rates were cheaper, Harry had to beg for rides to an Internet café 12 miles away. One night, returning from the café by foot, he had to flee from an agitated cobra.
Despite these obstacles, Harry became the first student from Ghana to participate in ThinkQuest, an international competition sponsored by the Oracle Education Foundation (OEF) that challenges teams of students to create innovative and educational websites to share with the world. Ultimately, Harry and his team won the platinum medal in ThinkQuest Africa's science and math category in 2002 for their Web site about whales, dolphins and sea cows.
The OEF was founded to support technology education that fosters students' love of learning, their sense of citizenship in a global community, and to build relationships with the future leaders of the world. Dr. David Richards, Global Director of Partner Engagement for OEF saw something special in Harry's story. He says Harry's strong leadership skills and his determination to improve computer access for other students in Ghana made him a perfect fit for ThinkQuest.
“Harry’s desire to help others through personal philanthropy makes him exactly the kind of future leader we want to engage in ThinkQuest,” Richards says.
Indeed Harry has worked hard, traveling to villages to teach computer skills to farmer's children, using school breaks to talk to school kids about how to get involved in ThinkQuest, and even helping judge the international competition in 2005.
His students have gone on to great achievement: one pupil became a major winner in a ThinkQuest Africa competition, working on a website about the impact of war and peace; students at the Mfantsipim School, who had no Internet at school, won a special prize for overcoming obstacles to enter the 2006 Doors to Diplomacy contest, sponsored by the US State Department and Global SchoolNet. The teammates—and their coach Harry—earned cash prizes and a trip to Washington D.C.
Richards says he initially invited Harry to be part of an online discussion group, working with other ThinkQuest students to improve the program. Later he asked him to come to San Diego to be the voice of youth at OEF’s International Partners Conference. It was there that OEF—in conjunction with Global SchoolNet and Circuit City—presented Harry with his own laptop and other accessories, including a camera, software and games.
"Having my own computer is like having the world in my hands," says Harry. Now 24, Harry is living in Scotland, working as a project administrator for Learning and Teaching Scotland Organization, an OEF partner that develops curriculum and supports teachers.
Even though he is not living in Ghana, he continues to mentor ThinkQuest participants and other students. He says, "It is my hope that every single student gets access to computer and Internet, both in their schools and at home, and possibly at various libraries in Ghana." |
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