IHS

Offensive Security does it again!

The folks at Offensive Security (you know, Backtrack?!?) have been HUGE supporters of us in the past, and they’ve done it again. Their “How Strong is Your Fu” charity event netted over $2500 for us! This is a lot of money for an organization as small as ours, and I’m thrilled at the creativity that was poured into such an event. Thanks to the whole offsec crew and all the participants that took part in the event! We’re so very grateful!

http://www.offensive-security.com/backtrack/how-to-hack-your-way-to-blackhat-vegas/

OLPC Training

I love the concept of the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child). However, the implementation really falls short. Case in point: Rehaboth Integrated School in Bugembe near Jinja, Uganda. A generous donor gave 100 OLPC’s to the school, and they’ve sat in a closet for almost two years. The primary reason is that the staff had no real idea what to do with them. They needed training. (They were also waiting on the donor to release them to the school. They wanted the laptops to go home with the students… a HORRIBLE idea in a developing country.)

That’s where we were happy to step in. Together with Monte Hoover, a recent graduate of West Point and the faculty and staff of West Point, we broke those machines out of the closet and began putting them to use.

Monte wrote an amazing game of Tetris Math and together we installed it and began training the staff and students of Rehaboth.

This was an amazing partnership, and I’m proud of the work we did there. Enjoy the photos!

Monte, Henry and Fred installing Monte’s "Tetris Math" app on the OLPC’s at Rehaboth Integrated.

Henry and Monte showing off the OLPC.

The crowd grows…

…and grows until eventually Monte is swallowed up by a crowd of enthusiastic students!

These things are magnets for kids!

They just can’t wait to try them out!

We did some teacher training as well, again at Rehaboth Primary.

Monte teaching a group of P7 students.

More teacher training. The teachers really had fun!

Fred and Henry translating and teaching with Monte.

More P7 students.

The students loved Monte’s program! It was a real winner.

Gerod helping out with the student training.

Monte sitting with a student that’s playing his game. The students really loved this thing!

Thankfully, we had a little time to see the sights. Here’s Monte at the Source of the River Nile. Thank you Monte for your excellent work for HFC and the teachers and students of Uganda. We will never forget you! We hope you come back soon!

My First Uganda Experience

I’ve only been in Uganda for about a week but I already feel a strong attachment to the place.  I’ve been talking to Johnny and Tim Rosenberg for almost a year and now I’ve finally been able to come over here and put my hands to work in country.  I just wanted to do a little post to share the experience and show some pictures.

Wanyama Road on the way to Rehaboth Integrated School

HFC staffers Fred and Henry loading software on the laptops

Fred and I teaching a class on how to use the XO

Students at Rehaboth owning TetrisMath

I just graduated from West Point this spring, and my senior year there I worked on a project developing software for the One Laptop Per Child program.  Tim Rosenberg put me in contact with Johnny and HFC so that we could get an understanding of the real needs of the students where the laptops are used.  In the end we made a game called TetrisMath that primary school students can use to practice and improve basic arithmetic skills.  The game has math problems drop from the top of that must be solved before they reach the bottom and stack up like in Tetris; the teacher can adjust the settings to change the type and difficulty of the problems.  West Point paid for me to come to Uganda to deploy the program and do a report on how West Point can best support the computer work here in Uganda.

HFC connected me with the Rehaboth Integrated School in Bugembe, Uganda, who had 100 of the XO laptops from OLPC but hadn’t used them yet.  Together with the Ugandan HFC staff we installed TetrisMath on all the computers and did training sessions for the teachers and students at Rehaboth.

The teachers and students were very excited about the laptops and TetrisMath, but the most basic computing skills like keyboard input and use of a touchpad were completely foreign to them.  It was really gratifying to see the kids excited about practicing math, and the teachers were glad that their students would be able to learn some basic computing skills.  HFC is also supporting Rehaboth with a full computer lab, which will make the school eligible for additional financial grants.  When I get back to the U.S. later this week I’d like to write more thoughts on the trip, but it has been a pleasure getting to know the Longs and to be able to help out in a small way with the work that HFC is doing.

Who cares

It doesn’t look like much, but this is really a heartbreaking picture sequence. The fist picture shows the lab at St. John’s Wakitaka in all it’s glory. The second shows the lab after we ripped out all the nComputing desktops.

Seven months ago, I created a contract for St. John’s. The contract stated that the school would care for the equipment. We assigned financial penalties with infractions. If we found fingerprints on a monitor it wold cost then 10,000/= (about $5US). But each penalty was created to teach them something about how to care for the equipment. At the end of a successful six month training period, we would turn the classroom over to the school, confident that they could care for the machines. If they followed the rules, there would be no penalties, and the classroom would be theirs, free of charge. They would have a free lab, and we would have confidence that the significant investment in them would not be wasted.

Six months passed, and the school hadn’t signed the contract. However, the school was using (and abusing) our equipment. We were stuck with repair and maintenance bills and the staff and students could operate with complete impunity since they hadn’t signed the contract. We pressed for the signing of the contract and were met with more excuses.

At this point, we locked the classroom, hoping to force a decision on the issue.

Two months later, the contract was still not signed. The headmistress offered lame excuses, like “I forgot to bring the contract to the board meeting,” and other such things. I called the chairman of the board, Firipo and asked for a meeting.

He graciously accepted me into his home and explained that the contract couldn’t be signed because the penalties seemed too steep. We explained our position. We couldn’t give them a free classroom. It wouldn’t teach them anything, and in months the classroom would be ruined. In the end, I reluctantly agreed to redraft the contract. I removed the financial penalties, but reiterated that after a certain number of penalties in a month the classroom would be removed permanently. Deep down I knew this was a mistake, but I agreed to do it none the less. This meeting occurred on April 23. I produced the limited contract on April 26th, against my better judgement.  On May 31, I emailed Firipo again seeking a status and he informed me that, “The Headmistress had not yet made contanct (sic) with other stakeholders in the school to get thier consentor (sic) views.”

I replied to him on June 1 saying that:

“The headmistress has really not taken this issue seriously enough. I
understand there are holidays, but the new contract has been in play
for an entire month. She has wasted every opportunity to address this
issue, and has failed with every extension, including this latest one
that put our equipment at risk.

I have done everything I can to work with St. John’s in this matter,
but the staff has left me no choice. Our equipment is sitting unused
and is is uncared for and is spoiling. We will remove the equipment
this week.”

His response came on June 3:

“Iam humbly requesting you to hold on with your action for another week.
When  I am back in Jinja I will go and talk to her.”

I did not want to wait another week. I KNEW it wouldn’t make a difference. I didn’t reply to his email, but I waited for a week.

There was, of course no movement on the (now FREE) contract, and no more emails from Firipo. The rumor was that the board would meet on Friday June 18th to discuss the contract.

So after much deliberation, Fred and I came to St. John’s yesterday (June 17, two full weeks after the requested extension) and removed the nComputing systems. This was the “new” part of the classroom. I decided to leave the used laptops for them, but even this was against my better judgement. However, I agreed to help St. John’s years ago, and I felt bad leaving them empty-handed. Further, the Hon Migereko, who is a great man, asked us to do this project and I didn’t want to disappoint him. However, the school administration has failed him, actively refusing a $30,000 investment, squabbling over quarters.

I printed up this notice and posted it on the locked lab door:

“To the staff of St. John’s Wakitaka-

We regret to inform you that the 12 new desktop stations have been permanently removed from this computer lab, leaving only the laptops. The reason for this is that the administration of this school has refused to sign a contract stating that they will properly care for this equipment. We have waited for seven months for the school administration to sign this contract, and this shows that the school is prepared for the substantial investment of new equipment. Had they acted in a more timely manner, the equipment would remain, but their lack of attention to this matter can no longer be ignored.

This computer lab marks an enormous investment in St. Johns, and we are unwilling to leave new equipment in the hands of an administration that is unable to commit to the maintenance and protection of that equipment.

A meeting of the school board has been scheduled for Friday, and the contract is again under review. If, at that point, the contract is signed, the remaining laptops will stay in the lab. Otherwise, the laptops will also be removed.

We are saddened by this turn of events. At Hackers For Charity, we prioritize ICT education, and understand the disappointment this will cause the student body. However, we can not stand alongside a school administration that does not share this priority.

Hackers For Charity.org”

Within moments, the school deputy took down the sign and requested a meeting with me. I didn’t return his call.

I felt heartbroken over the situation, but I knew that our investment in St John’s was wasted. This was not a school that cared about ICT training. They wanted a free gift, and wanted us to just go away. I’ve seen the result of that kind of arrangement. I see it reflected in the smeared visage of ancient, dusty CRT monitors. I’ve seen it in the mountains of spoiled unused techno garbage that litter countless thousands of computer classrooms all over the country. I’ll be damned if I’ll contribute to the ICT dung heap of this country.

That day, I visited two more schools in Bugembe: St Florence and Wanyange Girl’s school. Wanyange Girls’ School boasted over 70 computer workstations, most of them nComputing terminals. They were well maintained and running very smoothly. The lab at St Florence was tiny, but spotless. I could have eaten off the floor. The place was amazing. Wanyange in particular sparked my interest, as they wanted to open their lab to the community. More on that later.

But the point of this post is that I’ve moved on from St. John’s. At this point, I’ve learned a valuable lesson about computer classrooms in Uganda. I’ve seen the difference between schools that care about computer education and ones that don’t.

And I’ll never again work with a school that doesn’t care.

Hack For Charity!

The Offensive Security Group just plain rocks. They’re one of our biggest supporters, and they’re at it again. The first “How Strong Is Your Fu” (HSIYF) hacking challenge was a HUGE success. The sequel looks just stunning, and the OffSec crew is sending us all of the proceeds! Check out their page here, or read the blurb below for more info:

Our second cyber hacking challenge from Offensive Security is on it’s way. Registration to “How Strong is your Fu – For Charity” has begun! Offsec has teamed up with the crew at Hackers For Charity and the world’s premier Hacker Con – BlackHat, to provide another amazing Cyber Hacking Challenge with a whole new level of pain.  Our goal is to raise $5000 for HFC as well as provide a world class cyber hacking event. The prizes? 1st place gets a BlackHat Vegas Conference Ticket (no travel included) , 2nd place gets a CTP Online Course from Offensive Security. Wowz!

Unlike our previous challenge, seats to this tournament will be limited, and require a registration fee of 49.00 $US. All proceeds from this event go to the HFC, and their efforts in East Africa.

Click here to find out more info and to register!

Thanks for “hacking for charity” with us and the OffSec crew!

T-Shirt Fail

Seems I’ve ticked off some very nice people.

Our T-Shirts are conversation pieces. They generate a lot of questions about what we do, and they have become a steady stream of income for us. But lately, people have been ordering T-Shirts and they haven’t received them.

We lost our T-Shirt volunteer a while back (she did a great job, but with a toddler around, the work became overwhelming) and it’s been over a year since I had to process T-Shirts. I honestly didn’t know what I was doing since our volunteer handled all of this.

So I went in search of another volunteer, and several people offered to help. I chose Ralph, who not only had a home office but had a wife and daughter who were willing to help balance the workload.

Right at the time I was transferring the responsibility to Ralph, I started traveling pretty extensively (visited home for a while, bounced to Jordan for a bit of work, etc) and the transfer wasn’t as clean as it could have been. I didn’t send him the shirts very quickly, and the orders kept coming in (and backing up).

Then, we ran into our most recent problem with PayPal. I wanted to create a new account so the volunteer could have their own account for T-Shirt income, shipping, etc as opposed to the old method whereby the volunteer had access to the entire HFC account. The problem is that the PayPal account must be verified.

This happens one of two ways. We can either link it to a bank account or we can set up a PayPal Credit card. I don’t want a credit card because it would have to be in my name, and I’m unemployed and don’t need any more credit hassles. That leaves us with the bank account option. The problem is that the HFC bank account is already linked to the HFC PayPal account. So I’m out of bank accounts.

We can’t “accept” money in PayPal until we verify the account.

So anyhow, I’m sorry for the delays and the mixup. It looks absolutely awful when someone pays money to a .org run by hackers and then the goods don’t arrive. But please know that despite the problems, we are now shipping shirts, and working on getting the PayPal thing straightened out. From a higher perspective, I’m sorry for how this must have looked. Customers were getting zero response (thanks to my perpetual mountain of email, and my inability to keep up with it all) and that made things worse. Personally, I pride myself in stretching every single donated dollar to the max. We have almost ZERO overhead, meaning that nearly all of the donated money goes right into our programs.

Know that I appreciate your continued support and understanding. I, for one, have a LOT to learn about running a program this big. HFC is certainly bigger than I can handle, and thankfully that’s more often a blessing than a curse.

Johnny

Launch of www.hfc-uganda.org!

My website has seen a lot of evolutions. For many years, http://johnny.ihackstuff.com was all about me. The GHDB took the center stage for a lot of years (I’d like to see it updated but I haven’t had any serious offers to help upgrade it), and finally we saw the merge between Hackers For Charity and “Ihackstuff.com”. This mirrors my own journey. But HFC’s beginning to outgrow me. We have hundreds of volunteers all over the world that we’re constantly trying to plug in (we need ideas there), we have 10+ employees and volunteers on the ground in Uganda, and we’re starting to create international HFC branches all over the world (we’re talking with Brazil and Colombia right now for starters).

I’ve tried to cram as much as possible into the current web site, but the result is a bit disjointed. To figure out what we’re about, a visitor need only read the front page blurbs. But once they decide to dig in, there’s only a tangle of disjointed WordPress Pages and Posts to navigate. The result is distinctly blog-ish, and it doesn’t really showcase the work we’re doing.

It had been suggested by members of our board (thanks, Rob!) that we consider country-based web presences. With all we’re doing in Africa, HFC-Uganda was a natural first choice.

Why HFC-Uganda.org?

I wanted to create a presence that would showcase the work to potential investors outside our community, some of whom may be put off by the word “hacker” in our name. I’m not about to sell us out or change who we are but the simple fact is that it’s better for an investor to see our name AFTER seeing our work.

What’s next?

I don’t know exactly. Hackersforcharity.org will remain our main presence as it has the page rank. It will continue to host my blog. But eventually, our projects will have their own presences. The US presence is next on the list once we get our brain wrapped around what exactly we’re doing in the US and who will run it. (Use the Contact form if you have suggestions). Until then, take a look at http://www.hfc-uganda.org. I’d love to know what you think. And if you want to make fun of it’s flashiness, go ahead. I’ve never been accused of being a good web designer. =)

Thank you Louisville Metasploit Class!

Thanks to everyone who attended #sploit502, especially all the HFC supporters! Adrian (irongeek) was kind enough to raise quite a bit of money for us through class registration, and he blew up our Donor Cloud! Thank you everyone!

Cafe Photoshop

I spent some time today working with Jen on colors for the cafe. Here’s what we came up with. The cafe is moving so slowly. We’re short of money. That makes things move slow. Time to be just a bit nervous. But…Oh, hai… Photoshop is one of my favorite distractions. But this cafe thing will work. I just know it.

Meet the HFC CTC team!

Meet the staff of the Hackers For Charity Community Training Center!