'Ntate Matlabe is Online!

I received my very first email today from 'Ntate Matlabe Teba, our Project Treasurer and Community Organizer in Ketane. He is the principal at Nohana Primary School and also teaches classes there.

Matlabe had learned basic computer skills from Andrew last year, but he hadn't yet learned how to use email or the internet when Andrew left. He promised, though, that he would learn it, and today I got the evidence that he has indeed fulfilled that promise.

Congratulations, Matlabe. I look forward to many more email exchanges.

- Janissa

Letter of Inquiry Submitted to The Global Fund for Children

I just submitted a Letter of Inquiry to The Global Fund for Children. They look like a good prospect as a funding source as their priorities and criteria match our project very, very closely.

They award grants of $5,000-$20,000 in June and December every year. I probably didn't get our Letter of Inquiry submitted far enough in advance for the June awards, so it may be some months before we hear anything.

As always, keep your fingers crossed.

-Janissa

Help Us Grow >>> Post a Review of Our Organization

Will you help us out by writing a public review of Laptops to Lesotho? Without your input, we're just a faceless group of people and an untested start-up organization.

Because we're new and still in the early stages of our program, now is exactly when we need your help to tell potential donors who we are, how we're doing so far, and what we're capable of. Donors need information from people who know us or have followed our progress, so they can decide whether or not to trust us.

In writing a review, you can talk about how you came to know us,who we are as individuals, about our passion, our work ethic, whether we're honest and trustworthy, whether we're well organized or not, how our team works together, whether we have the skills, knowledge, and perseverance to accomplish our goals, what we've accomplished so far, what we're currently working on, mistakes we've made, our "transparency" or willingness to share information about our organization, why our cause is worth supporting, ... essentially anything and everything related to us and our work.

Even if you only know a little bit about our organization or one person on our team, you can still provide information useful to potential donors.

Please go to Review Laptops to Lesotho and write a review today.

And remember, your comments both good and bad will help us build a better, more effective organization.

Thanks!

- Janissa

Friends of Lesotho Funding Update

Friends of Lesotho (FOL) has agreed to give us $1436 for network and internet hardware, one year of internet service for the school, and miscellaneous construction and office supplies. We're still waiting for their official Letter of Agreement, but their promise to provide funding, especially for network and internet service, brings us another step closer to our goal.

Please let Friends of Lesotho know you appreciate their support of our project.
Click here to Thank FOL.

Thank You FOL!

- Janissa

Andrew Headed to Uganda

Andrew is leaving for Uganda tomorrow, for his work as Executive Director of the NGO UCE. He'll be back in the U.S. on July 2. Unfortunately, because we didn't get funding lined up in time, we weren't able to combine his Uganda travel with a work visit to Lesotho and Ketane.

- Janissa

Would You Like to Volunteer?

We have a lot of work that needs to be done and too few hands to do it. Would you be interested in donating a few hours of your time to help out?

Right now, we need help with:

• fundraising research, things like tracking down leads and getting grant application information
• monitoring plane ticket prices and keeping an eye out for drops in price or special deals
• drawing up "contracts" or "letters of agreement" between the students and the school, their parents, and us; between the school and us; and between the community council, the school, and us.

If you're interested in these, or other tasks, email me at janissa@silverstar.com.

Thanks!
- Janissa

Craig Balcomb offers to help with fundraising research

My brother, Craig, has offered to help with the research to find possible funding sources for the solar power infrastructure we need to run and charge the laptops. This work is extremely time-consuming, tedious, and boring, so his help is GREATLY appreciated!!! Thanks, Craig!

- Janissa