Bringing the Mobile Lab to Gulu: A Northern Expedition

Samuel K. May 14, 2026 • 5 min read

When we first conceived the idea of a Mobile Literacy Lab, Gulu was always circled on our map. Despite its rapid post-recovery growth, rural schools surrounding the city still face an acute shortage of computing resources.

Last Tuesday, we packed our modified transit van—equipped with solar panels, Starlink satellite internet, and a fleet of 25 freshly refurbished Lenovo ThinkPads—and made the 300+ kilometer journey north.

The 48-Hour Bootcamp

Over the course of two days, we worked with 300 students from three different primary schools. For over 80% of these students, it was their first time touching a physical keyboard. We focused our curriculum on three core pillars:

• Typing and OS Navigation: Breaking down the fear of "breaking the machine."
• Research via the Web: Using offline encyclopedias and the live internet to research agricultural and scientific topics.
• Introduction to Generative AI: We gave teachers and older students a crash course in using AI to generate study guides and lesson plans using our custom offline LLM deployment.

"Seeing a student type their name and press 'Enter' for the first time is a small action, but it opens a door to the global community that can never be shut again."

What's Next?

This trip was a massive success, but it highlighted the immense scale of the work left to be done. Our goal is to establish a permanent mini-lab in Gulu by Q4 2026. Every purchase from our hardware store directly funds these expeditions.