Sounds great; this is in line with what Asaf had earlier suggested ie wmke and the Foundation in general taking care of improving Wikipedia for Schools (ie making sure it works, fixing bugs and improving the content) and leaving the distribution to institutions such as ZAWA.
However I think this false squarely on wmke's and Kiwix's interest and feedback from challenges and successes of the distribution should be of help.
Alex
On Sat Oct 1st, 2011 8:28 AM PDT Abbas Mahmood wrote:
Hi all, [posting an FYI] Over the past couple of months, Steve and I have been in discussion with ZAWA (an NGO that carries out development projects in Zanzibar) in carrying out an offline Wikipedia project in Zanzibar, possibly in mid-October. They were really excited about the project and wanted to carry the project out in Zanzibar. So, the project to be carried out will be similar to what we did here in Kenya: a pre-visit will be done by a ZAWA official, and Steve and I shall mentor and show the local volunteer team (that was recruited by ZAWA) on how to undertake the project. All expenses, planning, logistical support will be the sole responsibility of ZAWA. That being said, this project is not a Wikimedia Foundation or Wikimedia Kenya initiative. We had initially inquired whether there'd be room for more volunteers from Kenya who might be willing to join us but ZAWA declined due to:1. Limited resources; and2. We are not going there as the primary carriers of the project but as mentors. Therefore, we are playing a secondary role whose increment does not warrant an additional expense. Sincerely, Abbas Mahmood, Learners' Voice 2011 Member: World Innovation Summit for Education http://www.wise-qatar.org