University of Wisconsin-River Falls
IN-26: Innovation C

UWRF donated surplus technology items to CAHCC Happyland which is a facility supporting children in Cambodia. The technology items donated enable the volunteers at Happyland to teach Cambodian children computer skills while also teaching them English. Happyland does not receive any support from the Cambodian government so all activities and efforts are funded through donations. Furthermore, most children in this area of Cambodia are not able to go to school so Happyland is the only opportunity children have for education. UWRF donated 5 Dell laptops and 3 Thinkpad tablets along with charging cords. More was offered, but the staff at Happyland took the smaller amount to get started. They report that the technology donation has enabled them to go from teaching 25 children per day to over 70 children. Additionally, the children at Happyland were able to practice their computer and English skills by typing letters to thank UWRF for their support. This benefited UWRF because all technology items had met their life on campus. The items were then sent to surplus for sale, but were not selling due to their age. While this type of technology items may not be too appealing for most, it has significantly enabled Happyland to improve the educational opportunities available to the children of Cambodia. While this started as a one time donation, staff at Happyland and at UWRF are remaining in touch and further needs will be discussed if UWRF has the capacity to further support Happyland.