This is a review of a project titled GameOn that focused on student-created games for populations at risk for malaria in Kenya.
In September 2012, Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen (the Netherlands) started a 20-week program titled GameOn. Nineteen students, from nine different countries, participated and three applied games were developed. The purpose of the program was to help Kenyan children (ages 10 – 15 years) learn about prevention and treatment of malaria. The client for the games is HelpHeal, a community-based organization from Kisumu (West Kenya). HelpHeal is working in this region that is severely hit by this disease.
Together with the client and universities in Auckland (New Zealand) and Woodbury (Los Angeles, USA), the students worked on the games. Specific knowledge about the region, malaria, medication, and the target group was brought in by specialists. In January 2013 the games were tested in Kenya by HelpHeal and team members from Hanze. At three different primary schools, 26 children played the games and gave feedback. With this feedback the games were finalized and then shipped to the client. The games will be played now at the schools; preliminary results are very promising.
During this talk we’ll review the program itself, and take a look at the three games developed and what we learned from this cross-cultural and cross-continent collaboration.
