Pass the Tech was born in a graduate Development Communications class at AUP. The students took on an assignment where they collected used laptops and sent them to Hatua Likoni, an NGO in Mombasa, Kenya, which follows and supports students from secondary school to university. Afterwards, they were challenged to create an organization that would ensure the sustainability of their efforts. In its current iteration, Pass the Tech aims to send 100 used and refurbished laptops to Mombasa each fall, so that the program’s students have laptops for their university studies.
Words from professor Tanya Elder. The Pass the Tech initiative sprung from one of her class assignments in partnership with AUP alumni.>
AUP alumnus Roger travels often to Kenya where he helps teach students at Hatua Likoni computer skills.>
Chelsea, one of the students who organized the event.>
Special guest G.Rongi is a rapper from Kenya who came out to show his support for our project. >
As global citizens, Pass the Tech students acknowledge the needs in Mombasa and strive to be part of the solution by mobilizing AUP’s diverse community of alumni, faculty, and students. In 2016, students hosted a laptop collection event and created a student club that would keep the project going into spring 2017. Pass the Tech now hosts monthly on-campus laptop drop-off sessions and the leadership team is drafting a proposal to travel to Kenya to assess the viability of the program and the ways in which it can be improved.
Yes, the classes are challenging and interesting, but when you head outside you also get the immersive experience of Parisian living
I can honestly say, if it were not for the connections I made at AUP, I would not be where I am today.
AUP made me believe in myself and understand that I could do things I had never dreamed of doing before.