Students from ORT schools in six countries created products that allowed a paralysed man to eat independently and a teenage stroke victim to play the guitar again.
The teenagers, aged 14 to 16, from schools in Spain, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, and South Africa, attended the ORT-affiliated Colegio Hatikva in Barcelona to take part in the Tikkun Olam Makers (TOM) project, which is designed to help improve lives.
It was the first time the Barcelona school had collaborated with international students, thanks to connections made through the ORT network, and the first time the other schools had taken part in the TOM project.
Students show Bernat the tool they designed to enable him to play the guitar again
A total of 35 students from Colegio Hatikva – which organised the week – and another 25 students from ORT Colegio Estrella Toledano, Madrid, Spain; Colegio ORT Olamí, Mexico City, Mexico; Scuola Della Comunità Ebraica, Milan, Italy; Instituto Dr Jaim Weizman, San José, Costa Rica; King David Linksfield High School, Johannesburg, South Africa; and Escola ORT, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, took part.
TOM is a movement of around 70 communities around the world that try to provide affordable solutions for the challenges of people living with disabilities, the elderly, and the poor.
Roger Guerrero, Colegio Hatikva’s Co-ordinator of Innovative Technology and Education, has been working on the TOM project since its adoption by the school three years ago.
“It was amazing,” Mr. Guerrero said of this year’s participation. “It was the first international TOM project in Spain, and it went better than expected.
“We try to make the world a better place. It’s not only about teaching the students innovation and technology; it’s about teaching them the values that make us civilized.
“Through this project, our students realise how lucky they are, and they learn what it means to help others who are in need. We wanted to share these values and innovation with other schools.”
Colegio Hatikva student, Ariel, 15, said: “The Tom project Makeathon was fun. We learned a lot about leadership and design. I loved the fact that we worked with students from other countries. Helping people with needs was very emotional as some of them didn’t think they could do some activities again.”
Alan, from Colegio ORT Olamí, said: “I enjoyed working with people my age from other countries and finding out what their community is like as well as solving problems for people.”
Amber, Demi and Ruby, a trio of South African students who joined the initiative, said: “This was the most remarkable and unforgettable experience, and we are so grateful to have had this opportunity. We encourage everyone to get involved as the skills you learn are unbelievable, including design thinking, working in teams across cultures and presenting to a wide audience.”
The students took time out of their designing schedule to be tourists
The Makeathon normally only involves university students. Colegio Hatikva is believed to be one of the only participating schools. It was while attending the World ORT Hatter Technology Seminar in London last November that Mr. Guerrero discussed the project with peers from other ORT schools.
The overseas students were hosted by Colegio Hatikva families and the students did everything together. “They enjoyed it a lot, and they gained much more than pure knowledge – they learned how they can improve the world with technology. They are not just using technology, such as TikTok or Instagram, in an individual way; they are using it to improve the lives of others,” explained Mr. Guerrero.
As part of the Makeathon project, students meet people with disabilities to discuss their daily challenges, discover what solutions they have tried, and how they feel their situation could be improved.
The school has collaborated with the Institut Guttmann in Barcelona – which supports people affected by spinal cord injury, acquired brain injury, and other neurological disabilities – as well as hospitals to assess options available to patients. Colegio Hatikva’s students then work on a prototype, continually improving it following feedback from the end user until it becomes “a product they can use for the rest of their life”, says Mr. Guerrero.
This year, students heard from 19-year-old Bernat, who had suffered a stroke that left him with limited mobility on his right side. Among his greatest frustrations was that he could no longer play the guitar, so students used 3D online modelling program Tinkercad and 3D printing technology to create a support that allowed him to stabilise the instrument and play it with one hand. Bernat said that being able to play the guitar again felt like “recovering a part of myself”.
Students also created a tool, costing less than €1, for a patient who could not independently feed himself. The tool slotted into a spoon, allowing him to hold the implement. “Now he can eat alone,” explained Mr. Guerrero.
Joined by their parents, some students also created 12 children’s wheelchairs for a local hospital. Another item they designed was a micro:bit – a pocket-sized computer for software and hardware programming – for visually impaired people, making it 10 times bigger than usual so users are better able to connect the wires. “We are not reinventing the wheel – we are trying to make things easier for people,” explained Mr. Guerrero.
Bernat, for whom the guitar tool was created, said: “Doing these things helps a lot of people and, a year later, I can play the guitar again.”
Mr. Guerrero said the school’s implementation of the TOM Project had been so successful that many other institutions around Spain were keen to take part and he hoped to widen its reach even further next year.
Ari Messer, Principal of Colegio Hatikva, said: “Our school transforms into a pioneering and innovative one in terms of Jewish innovation, instilling Jewish values. It is helping society, tikkun olam, illuminating the world.”