[TriLUG] One Laptop Per Child

[Jeremy Portzer]

Shawn Hood wrote:

> -Teaching people how to create vaccines instead of providing them at great
> expense.
> -The spread of information about government, including democracy.
> -Effective dialog concering birth control among people of all faiths
> 

What exactly do you mean by "Teaching people how to create vaccines 
instead of providing them at great expense."  That seems pretty scary. 
At least a recipient of an OLPC might be able to get sensible healthcare 
information and realize that unproven home remedies are NOT as effective 
as those produced by quality pharmaceutical companies (which expend 
billions every year providing drugs at lower-than-cost prices to 
developing nations).  But never mind.

I think the OLPC project is pretty neat, but I have failed to understand 
how this is a good use of money compared to charities providing more 
basic needs for children, such as UNICEF.  You can't have an information 
economy - what the OLPC is purporting to be a catalyst for - without 
having basic infrastructure first, such as clean water, safe sewers, 
electricity (how else to run your laptop), equitable land policy, and 
most importantly, safe, affordable housing.    For example, what good 
does information on sustainable farming do for you if you're a squatter 
without land in El Salvador, where historically 12 families held 95% of 
the country's land?   Or if you've got no electricity, phones, or other 
practical way to receive this "information" that the OLPC purports to 
provide?

I also feel the OLPC project needs to smart smaller, with a pilot 
project in a few areas - perhaps those that AREN'T the poorest of them 
all, and thus would be more likely to succeed.  (Heck, you could 
probably use a project like this in some places in the USA such as 
Appalachia, inner city neighborhoods, etc. - at least they have 
electricity and reasonable chance of Internet access.)

The OLPC costs $200.  Here are a few other things that $200 could buy 
you, according to UNICEF:

* 26 mosquito nets, which would actually help PREVENT malaria instead of 
just learning about it
* 434 doses of a measles vaccine (is that really THAT expensive, Shawn?)
* Five bicycles to allow health-care workers to reach remote villages
* Over 500 liters of therapeutic milk for severely malnourished children

Or there's organizations like Habitat for Humanity, which can build 
homes (for families of 4-6 people) for under $1000 in certain areas.

--Jeremy, thinking maybe this discussion belongs in another group.  What 
ever happened to the trilug-ot or trilug-chat mailing list proposals?

sources for costs above:
http://inspiredgifts.unicefusa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ig_cat_immunization
http://inspiredgifts.unicefusa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ig_cat_nutrition

P.S.  On the other hand, if this is bringing some people into awareness 
of global poverty who otherwise wouldn't be interested in helping, I 
guess I could grudgingly see some usefulness.  But I still think the 
project has too many fundamental flaws.  -J.P.