This is question about procedure more than the hardware itself, although suggestions on the hardware are welcome. I will be the only tech person from W.A. supporting a "train the trainer" event in Kenya in two weeks. (daunting for me) They need a 3G/4G wifi router and probably a few power strips. I am expecting 26 trainees, using tS on tablets. What is the best way to procure the hardware?
Hi Larry,
You can probably only carry in 3 or 4 devices, so having enough hardware for 26 people is a bit much! Unless you are teaching them on cell phones.
I would concentrate on the router and buy the sim card on the ground. So, option C.
Also, ask Joseph is a good option. Can he come up with 26 tablets that can run tS in that short of period of time?
~Chuck
Larry, I would contact Cloud Roman. He is the Assistant Africa Regional Director (Horn of Africa). His email is [email protected]. While he is based in Tanzania, I would think he would be able to help you with contacts and likely logistics of doing this in Kenya. It might be worth arriving two or three business days before the event if you're going to be purchasing equipment or configuring equipment that was purchased locally. This could also be a great training opportunity if Joseph hasn't previously configured equipment for an event. It's also more effective to configure Syncthing before an event, so if you plan to use that for translation harvesting, it would be good to have Joseph be part of that, and set up the harvesting computer with the tablets before-hand.
I would check on mobile router options in Kenya before purchasing one here: it is possible that it will be cheaper there. Certainly, as Chuck said, data for a hotspot tends to be cheaper than for a phone.
If you're going to be carrying in that many devices, find out from Joseph or Cloud what is involved in passing large gifts through customs. I was able to import sonogram parts in Tanzania because I had a donation letter to go with it. I haven't done the same in Kenya, so no personal experience there.
Thanks for both replies. I couldn't wait any longer, so I purchased two mobile hotspots here, to cover the three known 3G/4G bands I could encounter there. I used https://www.gsmarena.com/network-bands.php3?sCountry=KENYA as a reference.
This is a "train the trainer" event rather than a translation workshop, so we won't have much data to harvest, if any. The tablets are coming in with a group of women who are traveling to Kenya at the same time as me. So no issues there, but thank you for the contact info, and advice for future reference!
