{UAH} YouBridge Lets You Give a Laptop, Become a Mentor

YouBridge Lets You Give a Laptop, Become a Mentor

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By Jenny Inglee

Jenny Inglee is a Los Angeles-based journalist and the Education Editor at TakePart.

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The YouBridge team is bridging the gap between the developed and developing world. (Photo: YouBridge)

"Relationships are what keep people moving and what touch people's hearts," YouBridge co-founder Jonas De Cooman tells TakePart.

The young entrepreneur from Belgium and his co-founder Pieter Dewinter had an idea to build relationships and bridge the digital divide with the developing world. They wanted to connect people, and also help underserved students and entrepreneurs achieve their dreams.

De Cooman and Dewinter created YouBridge to do just that.

How it works: Donors purchase a €190 laptop (about $260) and pick a recipient from countries such as Bangladesh and Uganda on YouBridge's website. The donated laptop is sent, and the donor and the recipient student or entrepreneur have an opportunity to connect online and build a relationship.

Sunday Labeja and Lillian Birungi of Uganda are among the men and women in need.

Sunday is studying medicine. His dream is to see a world free of children infected with HIV. Lillian is studying public health and hopes to help disadvantaged children, especially orphans.

Founded in 2008, YouBridge is still in its pilot stage. So far, 78 laptops have been sent to Bangladesh and Uganda. On a recent trip to Uganda, Jonas connected with some of the Ugandans who've received the computers.

A young woman told Jonas how thankful she was to have a laptop to further her education. Inspired by the giving, she wanted to give back to her country. Today she is working toward starting the first orphanage in Kampala.

Rachael, another woman in Uganda, dreams of becoming a cardiologist. Thanks to the laptop, she "can access scientific articles that are not a part of the library in Kampala and take the next step to become one of the best cardiologists in the country."

A student in Uganda enjoys her new laptop. (Photo: YouBridge)

The feedback from donors is also positive. One donor talks to his recipient every few days. Recently, Jonas said, "They had a political discussion about what the influence of Rwanda is on Uganda."

The donor is studying to be an architect, and the person he is supporting is studying medicine, with a high appreciation for art. Each week they talk about a broad range of topics.

As the organization grows, the hope is to add content and further connect YouBridge members.

"If there is a teacher that is a member of the YouBridge community," says Jonas, "we want tooffer them tools to teach people languages on the other side of the world."

The YouBridge team of eight is also planning to expand to other countries. Next is Guatemala, Tanzania and Nepal.

Jonas compares YouBridge to giving people a fishing rod.

"It's not going to teach success, of course. Some will become very good fishers, because they are really skilled and they are able to develop themselves thanks to the fishing rod." He adds, "The beautiful thing about YouBridge is every person gets an opportunity."

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Gwokto La'Kitgum

"Even a small dog can piss on a tall Building", Jim Hightower

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