The ANT team started acting right after the REBAP-AECES summer school of 2007. Talks inside the team started. Since most of the members needed an OJT at the time. We decided to request ANT efforts to be counted as OJT efforts. Dr. Libatique (Ateneo ECCE Department Chair) and Miss Obien (OJT Supervisor for Summer 2007) gladly credited our request. They even gave us a workstation within ECCE Department grounds. Fresh from Sir Ice de Ocampo's Netwoking Classes where we learned PC Hardware, LAN Networking, and Linux OS's, the team made the effort. Come the end of April 2007, a lot of marketing concerns and a lot of refurbishment concerns, the team was able to deploy its first wave of units consisting of 8 units. Coming in with the 8 units was a 200 page curriculum for grade 5 and grade 6 computer literacy. Coming in with the 8 units also was a set of faculty training.

However, 8 units was short for 200 kids to use (the school currently has a population of 2000). Faculty was short on computer literate teachers as well. After the first wave of deployment to ERSES, Mrs. Blanco and Miss Villanueva started to hold casual computer literacy classes.

Fast forward to May of 2008. With a ton of help (check out our Sponsors Page to see the ton of help we received!), the First Generation ANT has now deployed a total of 22 units. We have just closed the year by holding an in depth faculty training for ERSES. We have just configured the server and the client side of all 22 Linux machines. And we are currently attaching a new circuit panel to power all 22 units.

Bottom line: Because of ANT efforts, ERSES (under Principal Rivera, Mrs. Blanco, and Miss Villanueva) starting this school year, will be able to develop 200 computer literate kids a year! Furthermore, the Second Generation ANT Team under John Isiderio will aim to continue maintaining and expanding the laboratory, and further develop the ANT Linux Based curriculum.

In the school year 2007-2008, the Council of Organizations in the Ateneo talked all the 42 student organizations to actively participate in nation building. At first, people were idle as the talks of such a big project have been going on for years. But soon, the project took a big step forward as the Council closed deliberations on the Super Project area. By mid of 2007 and after much deliberation, the Council pin pointed Ermin Garcia, Cubao as the project area.

What was the long term goal? The long term goal was to alleviate the area of poverty. Ambitious, I know. But, simply put, the plan was possible (assuming everyone works together and inject a lot of effort in). Here's the Council's plan. It aimed to alleviate poverty by gradually improving three aspects of the community: livelihood, education, health and environment.

In comes AECES, one of the said 42 organizations at the time. After much deliberation, the Executive Board under President Onglao, at the time, decided to zero in on the education aspect. Hence the REBAP-AECES Summer School was born. We took in 30 kids from Eulogio Rodriguez Sr. Elementary School (who, by the way, were brilliant kids) to the Ateneo for a three day workshop on basic computer literacy and electronics. This project was the first ever AECES community building project. The three days ended, and the project ended with flying colors. Talks started, and President Onglao wanted the project labeled as the flagship project of AECES.

But as the days ended the pioneers of the REBAP-AECES Summer School realized that the summer school effort was not enough to make the children of Ermin Garcia computer literate; which in turn will give a boost to the educational aspect of the area; which in turn would fight against poverty. To make the long story short, the pioneers of the REBAP-AECES Summer School decided to build a computer laboratory for ERSES. Zent, Chris, Jan-Mike, Karl, Mike, Dave, Biboy, and Mara founded the AECES Network Team. And so, the AECES Network Team (ANT) Story begins here. . .