The World@Home

Have you heard of the $100 Laptop?

The $100 laptop is a project by the non-profit organization One Laptop Per Child in cooperation with MIT Labs to enable every child to carry a laptop. The laptop will not be sold in the market but will be distributed directly to schools with the help of the government. This will be of great benefit to children in poor countries.

The 'One Laptop Per Child' also has the capability to help another segment of society which has a greater difficulty in participating in this world and providing for their families. Disabled people who are poor at a greater disadvantage. If they do not have the proper education, the disabled handicap cannot rely on their strength to earn a living. Disabled people cannot participate on hard manual labor work which is sadly, most of the time, the only opportunity available to poor people in underdeveloped countries. Education and the power of information is the answer to this predicament of poor handicap people.

I am really glad for organizations like 'One Laptop Per Child' because they not only help the poor and bring possibilities to the handicap but they have the vision that will uplift their lives in generations to come. The Bible talks about helping the marginalized in society and this organization has indeed heeded this message.

"There are always going to be poor and needy people among you. So I command you: Always be generous, open purse and hands, give to your neighbors in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbors." (Deuteronomy 15:11 -–The Message Bible)


Technorati tags: One Laptop Per Child / Bible / Poor / Handicap / Disabled

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Posted by Henry Marcos at 12:51 AM | Permalink | Comments

Filipinos and people from India and China are not strangers to the phenomenon of the call centre industry. This industry has been a source of income for people in these countries. Sacrifices must be done as well since people have to endure changes in body clock, wake up in the very early mornings, travel in streets that become dangerous in that time of the night. This is because the office hours in the western countries are at that time in Asian nations.

Now call centers are moving somewhere closer to our home. Yes you read it right, it can now be done in your specific homes! Now disabled people can participate in the call center market as well. I think that some companies are already doing this in the Philippines. In fact they are already calling this as homeshoring instead of offshoring. An example on how this is being done can be seen in this article from Canada.

"When you're 50 and handicapped (Poulin lost his right leg to the so-called flesh-eating disease in 1989), it's tough to find work," he said yesterday between morning and afternoon split shifts handling food orders, complaints and providing information via phone and Internet. "It's ideal, guaranteed work for me."

There are some advantages too since there is limited down time when people work from home.

"It's practical for us," St-Hubert official Gerald Desmarais said of virtual call-centre agents like Poulin. "Even if there is a winter storm, it allows us to have rapid response to our customers because there's no need for the home agents to displace themselves."

If you are a handicap and can speak well plus if you love people, this is a great opportunity for you.

Technorati tags: Handicap / Disabled / Call Center / Call Centre / Homes / Philippines / India / China / Canada

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Posted by Henry Marcos at 1:16 AM | Permalink | Comments

When I was able to find a decent living through the Internet, I said to myself that I would like to make a foundation someday that will help handicap people like me become more computer and Internet literate so that they can do what I do or possibly even more. However, I also sensed that due to lack of resources I may not be able to fulfill this dream.

Since this foundation isn't about me, I thought I might as well put up a website about so that somebody who has the resources or knows someone who does can pick this thing up and make it a REALITY!

Here is how this foundation will go:

1. A person or an organization will set-up an organization that has a mission of providing Internet access to the homes of physically challenged individuals around the world. Along with this net access, the organization will also supply other equipment like PCs, printers and computer books.

2. Teachers or trained instructors will be supplied by the organization as well. They will go to the homes of the handicap person and teach him or her various skills that can help her earn income through the use of the computer and the web. Of course basic computer skills will be first on the teaching agenda.

3. The organization must study the individual talents of the student and should hone her skills in things that will help her do their work on the Internet. Skills like the following:

a. Research
b. Customer Service Skills
c. Software Programming
d. Medical Transcription
e. Creative Writing
f. Graphic Design

4. If the student isn't particularly good in English, a language tutor must be the first thing provided to the student since this is the most prevalent language on the Internet among major websites.

5. All should have access to the organization's services whether rich or poor. In some countries, even if the handicap is rich, they will still have a hard time going to school everyday. The physical hardships of moving from on e place to another presents such a challenge whatever social class you belong to.

Those who can afford to pay must be charged for the organization's services so that they will have funds to help those who can't afford such services. The organization should give out all services and equipment for free to those who don't have the financial capability.

By doing this organizations can save on facilities cost in putting up a school. Just a simple additional room on the company's offices will be enough to stock computers. The computers itself doesn't have to be new or the latest one if it will only be used for simple web surfing or word processing. So organizations can also ask for donations on old computers.

Furthermore; teachers will engage students in their homes. A place where the handicap is most comfortable with since the amenities are made for him and he has the support of the family whenever he needs one. Handicap people like myself have physical needs that come up in the most unexpected time like going to the comfort room. A simple task for others but a daunting and adventurous one for the handicap since he or she doesn't know if their wheelchair will fit the bathroom door.

The organization then can choose to hire the handicap people to for their profit companies. They can do this through telecommuting. Or they can partner with other organizations and help them find jobs or train them further to go into a business of their own.

If you happen to read this, please share this to others. If you have the resources maybe you can come up with something along these lines and most probably have a better mechanism. If you know of someone who has a foundation or has a heart for the handicap please share this to them and I hope they will mobilized to do this. Make this available to everyone, every race, religion and every nation especially to those wherein the physically challenged have very limited opportunities for income and participation in society.

God Bless Everyone!

Technorati tags: Internet / Home / Training / Handicap / Disabled / People / Students / Teachers / Foundation / Charity

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Posted by Henry Marcos at 12:32 AM | Permalink | Comments

I know that the Internet can be a great blessing to the handicap since for years now I have participated in it not only for work but also to communicate with people.

My primary work involves being a researcher for Google Answers. My earnings there aren't much by American standards but for us in the Philippines its good enough to send the child to school, have a few for groceries and pay for the bills.



Another project I started is creating blogs like this one. I also have another new blog called Flash Driven, a blog about flash memory technology. One way to earn through blogs is by providing Adsense ads on your site. I suggest that you read the blogging tips at Problogger.net. Before I started blogging, I tried to learn as much as I can through the tips in that website. It is an amazing resource to know how you can use a blog to communicate and also a business. Haven't earn much yet but maybe because I haven't been blogging that long.

Aside from all that work, I also join communities. With online communities, I can find new friends and continue relationships with old ones. I even find cheap things to buy by having personal transactions through the net. But most of all, I can also share my faith to others.

Internet telephony and instant messaging is another wonderful tool while online. My parents and my brother, who are in the United States, communicate with me through Skype or Yahoo Messenger. Skype is great and in fact at times sounds better than landline telephones. In fact since Skype is free and because of this we were able to include my mom and dad in our weekly Bible Studies. An activity that can be very expensive indeed if done on an ordinary phone lineor through cellular phones.

I really hope that every handicap can use the web since it really expands someone's world especially if you are confined to the few meters of your room.

Technorati tags: Google Answers / Handicap / Internet / Web

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Posted by Henry Marcos at 12:08 AM | Permalink | Comments

This site will primarily talk about the amazing opportunities presented to physically challenged people through the internet. Amidst all the technological talk abounding on the net, it is primarily a tool and it is one that ironically is a place where the handicap and physically abled people are on equal footing. No stairs to climb on, no sidewalk bump to maneuver with to get to the other side, and no cookie jar on the cupboard placed to high to be reached.

Just like ordinary people, handicap participants can do their jobs online, shop, meet people, communicate with loved ones far away from home. Just a little over ten years ago, all of the above mentioned activities will require travel or would mean that you have sizeable income to afford all those skyrocket phone bills.

It's really like the world has been brought into your home as our blog title suggests!

Along with the opportunities mentioned above, there are challenges presented to the handicap as well. People must now have a basic grasp of technology to maneuver the web and be alert with online dangers like viruses, spam and new forms of scams. Plus a person must be able to read and write in English since most of the web pages out there are available in this language.

Education both in language and technology must be foremost to a handicap in order for him or her to truly leverage the power of the Internet. One of the reasons this blog was made is to actually make a campaign for this very need and to mobilize certain sectors of society to achieve that goal. We will get to this as we go along.

I believe that the internet is being used by God as a powerful tool to reach out to people in whatever state they are in by making the online world a great equalizer in opportunities.

Technorati tags: Blog / Handicap / Internet / Web

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Posted by Henry Marcos at 12:46 AM | Permalink | Comments

First of all I am a web researcher who works for Google Answers as an independent contractor. I discovered Google Answers when I was looking for information to help a friend in starting up a business. I was actually hoping to land a job in that venture since times were tough for me and being a handicap, opportunities were very minimal. But then Google Answers came into the picture and for the first time I was able to pay my debts, get my daughter to school and was now also supporting myself financially.

I was happy and relieved for a while but real joy eluded me. In no time I was back to my self-pitying and loneliness came over me once again. I was able to go to the US that time and when I came back something funny happened in the house. My relatives and my eldest brother were doing weekly Bible Studies! “What are these guys up to?” I said to myself.

As you can see I wasn't at all thrilled since I felt I've known just about anything there is to know about God because of my education and I happen to be a Google Answer Researcher. Information was at my fingertips!

After attending for about a month without any intention of changing anything about my life, I headed for one of my loneliest Christmas. My parents were not with me and my daughter took a vacation with her mom. I was alone and felt depressed.

It was then that I realized and something snapped within me! It seems that the past few weeks God was trying to show me something. I realized how blessed I am with my new work and still being able to have my daughter in a few days time! I also began to think that I started my adult life with mistake after mistake in different levels of my life both financially, personally and most of all spiritually.

I was mistaken in that I thought I knew God just like web pages. That every wish I had should be granted to me when I click the "Submit" button. If it doesn't its either God was offline or just wanted to disappoint me. If you saw the Jim Carrey movie, there were times that I was like that! It was actually at that time I was the one messing up my life and He was doing the cleaning and polishing. Things I went through that I felt was a total waste of time actually had a greater part in the grander scheme of things.

The biggest thing I realized though that afternoon was that all these things were nothing compared to what He did for me before that. In fact if these were the only things, even my mom and dad can do that right? It was then that I came to my senses and understood what Jesus' nailing on the cross really meant. That it was because He loved me! It wasn't the job, nor the knowledge or being with my daughter that was the ultimate evidence ,although these things really showed His affection. It was what He gone through 2,000 years ago. He did that to make me clean again, too right all the wrongs I did and was doing and will do with my life. That they may totally be erased, make me whiter than snow and be right with His' Father again.

Jesus clicked the "Submit" button of all time through the cross and it cleaned the interface of my soul.

Technorati tags: Google Answers / Handicap / Internet / Web

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Posted by Henry Marcos at 6:19 PM | Permalink | Comments