Drupal key to our non-profit progress

Hi Everyone

Keeping this short is tough (and off to a bad start ;) - at home (South Africa) there is huge social disparity which is perpetuated by only the well-off having access to resources that could potentially break the cycle. We are focused on education. Many students in poorer schools (>50%) do not even have sufficient textbooks. Enter our project - a note: without publishers', editors' and authors' royalties a hard cover 250 page books costs less than ZAR20 (<$2.5) to print:

FHSST (Free High School Science Texts) is a project that aims to provide free science and mathematics textbooks for Grades 10 to 12 science learners in South Africa.

Science education is about more than learning subjects like Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics... It is about learning to think and to solve problems. These are valuable skills that can be applied through all spheres of life. Teaching these skills to young people will equip them to make a positive contribution to the future of South Africa.

The project was initiated by young South African scientists, and now brings together scientists from around the world who are willing to contribute to the writing of the books.

Objectives

• To provide a complete high school science text that can be used for free anywhere else in the world as needed
• To provide a free resource, that can be used alone or in conjunction with other education initiatives in South Africa, to any/all learners and teachers
• To provide a detailed, accurate and interesting text that adheres to the South African school curriculum and the outcomes-based education system
• To provide a text that is easy to read and understand even for second-language English speakers
• Make a difference in South Africa through helping to educate our next generation

Using many contributed and some of our own modules we have tried to build a community site with proper workflow, LaTeX integration and easy assignment selection to make it easy for a community to write a book. Co-ordinators are always ready to give feedback on assignments to keep things heading towards a united goal.

When we are done we'll be able to provide every grade 10-12 in the whole coutnry who takes science with their Maths, Chemistry and Physics textbooks for less than ZAR10M (~$1.3M) - thats a whole country slightly bigger than California!

Anyway, it wouldn't work without Drupal ....

Mark