Minutes of Laptops to Lesotho Annual Meeting of the Board, March 2011

LAPTOPS TO LESOTHO

MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

March 19, 2011

A meeting of the Board of Directors of Laptops to Lesotho was held on March 19, 2011 at 10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time via conference call.

Board Members Present:
Janissa Balcomb, President
Andrew Dernovsek, Treasurer
Sarah Gardner, Secretary

Call to Order
Janissa Balcomb called the meeting to order at 10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time and Sarah Gardner recorded the minutes. All board members were present.

CEO Report
Janissa Balcomb welcomed everyone to the meeting and shared her vision of the ideal situation at Nohana Primary School. Laptops to Lesotho would like to provide both basic learning skills (critical thinking, problem solving, etc) and marketable job skills (computer skills, basic accounting, etc) to the students at Nohana Primary School by incorporating laptops into curriculum. Younger students (grades 1-3) can learn on XO laptops with a ratio of 3 students to 1 computer while intermediate students (grades 4 -5) can learn on XO laptops with a ratio of 2 students to 1 computer. 6th grade students will transition to XO laptops with an operating system that mimics Windows. 7th grade students will work at a school computer lab of PC/Mac laptops, both with a ratio of 1 student to 1 computer. The estimated cost of this vision is $45,000 to pay for necessary computers, shipping, and power. Janissa also discussed the possibility of partnering with SchoolNet-Camara, Lesotho for teacher training and lesson development, expansion possibilities, the use of cell phone technology, and partnering with a university to study the measurable effects of our program. A report from the principal at Nohana Primary School shows enrollment has gone from 314 students to 370 students, attendance has improved, student behavior has improved, and English and Math skills of students have improved.

Treasurer Report
Andrew Dernovsek will be submitting a 990-N form for this fiscal year and coming out with a report of our budget and expenses. He and Janissa also reviewed the funds we have received and what we have left to spend. We have $800 from Friends of Lesotho grant earmarked for internet (not nearly enough to cover internet expenses), $100 from FIPE grant earmarked for printer (repairs were made for less), $100 from FIPE leftover from Matlabe’s professional exchange, $7500 from an anonymous foundation earmarked for computers and solar power, $1500 from Maseru Rotary Club earmarked for training or expansion, $2700 pledged from Bloom Africa (not yet received, earmarked for laptops, shipping, and power), $1500 in public donations from December (unallocated), and $1500-2000 expected from a church in New York (unallocated). We have enough funds to build a solar power system for 100 XO laptops, 25 more XO laptops, and cover half the cost of sending two volunteers to deploy additional laptops.

Financial Planning
Board members discussed whether our focus for fundraising should be on teacher training and curriculum development, more XO laptops, or setting up internet access.

Approval of Use of Maseru Grant Funds
Board members unanimously agreed Maseru Rotary Club grant funds will be used to send two teachers from Nohana Primary School to a grant writing workshop. The teachers of Nohana Primary School voted on this as their top need. If there is extra money or if the grant writing workshop is not possible, it will be used for lesson plan training.

Approval of Pueblo West Partnership
Board members unanimously agreed to pursue a partnership with Pueblo West High School. We will not be able to accept the 50 desktops they have offered because shipping costs would be exorbitant. At present Laptops to Lesotho can only take 45 of the thousands of laptops they may donate. A student group at Pueblo West High School expressed their desire to donate funds they will generate from a “Fun Walk” on April 23rd to the computer project at Nohana Primary School. Other additional partnerships and information exchanges will be explored.

Approval of Funding Priorities
Board members unanimously agreed that a portion of undesignated donations should be set aside for transportation and power costs and we should focus grant writing efforts on teacher training and curriculum development. Board members also unanimously agreed that internet is a low priority at this time because the costs outweigh the benefits, but we will continue investigating alternative ways to provide internet access.

Adjournment
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 11:02 AM Eastern Standard Time.

Respectfully submitted,

Sarah Gardner, Recording Secretary

Matlabe's trip to the US - Part 1

Matlabe Teba, principal of Nohana Primary School in Lesotho, has been in the U.S. for about a week now.  After a brief stay in Denver with Andrew Dernovsek, who gave him a tour of Denver University, he stayed with Andrew and Andrew's parents, Drs. Kim and Ken Dernovsek, in Pueblo West, Colorado.  He had a fantastic day touring the Pueblo West High School and meeting with educational professionals and staff there.  He was very impressed by the school, and has some good ideas he plans to take back with him and implement in Lesotho. 

The school has offered to donate to Laptops to Lesotho 50 desktop computers that will be replaced this year and possibly several thousand laptops that are due to be replaced next year.  There are a lot of details to work out on this very generous offer, and we hope to establish a partnership with the school.  Some of the students are also going to do a fun run to raise money for our project.

At the school, Matlabe, in full Basotho regalia - Basotho blanket and hat, was interviewed by the Pueblo Chieftain newspaper.  You can see the wonderful photo and article that appeared on the front page of the Metro section on March 19th at http://www.chieftain.com/news/local/learning-the-american-way/article_7221cc1e-51da-11e0-bed8-001cc4c002e0.html.  Janissa joined them that evening.

Dr. Kim Dernovsek spent the better part of the next day teaching Matlabe and Janissa about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.  Using the dramatic reduction of HIV in Uganda as an example, she explained why abstinence and being faithful to one spouse is the only real option for reducing the epidemic rate in Lesotho.  That was a real eye opener, and she converted Janissa from being a believer in "safe sex" with condoms to an abstinence and be faithful advocate.

Following that, Matlabe had a chance to meet and talk with Jack Wilson and Sherrie Howey of the Foundation for International Professional Exchange (FIPE), the people who paid for his trip.  They all shared a wonderful dinner at the Dernovsek's home. 

The next day, Matlabe, Andrew, and Janissa spent going over Laptops to Lesotho business and making plans for 2011 and beyond.  They had lunch at a wonderful Mexican restaurant.  In the afternoon, they toured the Dernovsek's doctors' office and downtown Pueblo, including a memorial to Congressional Medal of Honor Winners, the River Walk and all it's beautiful statues, and the national headquarters of Professional Bull Riders with its bronze statue of a bull rider out front.  The highlight of the afternoon, however, was taking Matlabe through an automatic car wash.

Saturday morning, they held the annual meeting for Laptops to Lesotho, with Sarah Gardner participating by phone.  (More on this in a coming blog post.)  Following the meeting, Janissa flew back to Idaho and Matlabe spent a leisurely day with the Dernovseks. 

On Sunday, he attended a Catholic service with the Dernovseks, then was transferred into Sherrie Howey's capable care, starting with coffee and lunch at the Accension Episcopalian Church.  News from Sherrie is that she took him to the Dollar Store, which is now his favorite place.  She also introduced him to dying Easter Eggs and blowing bubbles. 

Sherrie's daughter, Jennifer, a teacher in North Carolina, is working with Matlabe by phone to set up pen pals between her students and the students at Nohana Primary.  Until we get internet established at Nohana Primary School, it will be by snail mail, but what a wonderful experience for both classes!

Matlabe has two more jam-packed weeks in Pueblo, including among other things, a tour of a goat-milking operation, a flight over the countryside in a small private plane, and more school visits.

We would like to thank FIPE, Jack Wilson, and Sherrie Howey for all their hard work to make this wonderful experience possible.