Networking in Bingerville

We had visitors with us today! And we got our first taste of what the future holds.


For the networking phase of the project, Thierry of TPIOT Interactive Media brought in his team of interns, and a specialist -- Henri -- who volunteered a day to lead -- and teach -- the interns about the art of laying wires and setting up a network.




Our goal was to bring the room to readiness for internet installation and, at the very least, a small networked classroom environment.

With internet comes, among many other things, the ability to create an online library, specifically geared to young learners like the ones here at Bingerville.

Without internet, they still will have the opportunity to be introduced to the technology, a lot of standard software programs, and share a localized set of resources especially useful to young students.

Although we didn't have the funding to support our goals for the highest end quality (we're awaiting fulfillment of pledges made), in terms of the UPS stabillizers, routers, etc., our networking trainer took the interns from start to finish, got us to our goal, and a good starting point for things to come.



I learned quite a bit, too!



Although it is summer and school is closed, most students are back in their villages, or relocated to other orphanages across the country, there are still a few kids on grounds -- and several of them stopped by to see what was going on...


.....and to offer a helping hand...

And when all was said and done, young Jean Claude Kouaku got first dibs!

He had his first try ever at a computer with the assistance of Roger, one of our other volunteers.

Roger is a student from the nearby Lycee de Garcons de Bingerville.

When he learned of this project, he wanted to see what it was all about, and help out. He was really excited about it, and inspired to see if we can do the same thing at his school, and others in the area.

As a native to Bingerville, he is exactly what I hope for -- people from the community with an interest in the success of the project -- and in its best use for the sake of the community. He already called me this morning with a crew of interested young people, ready to help!


Although we're not done yet -- there's the installation of the internet, and then ultimately, an online library of resources suitable to the interests, abilities and needs of youngsters aged 6 to 15 -- it was extremely satisfying, watching young Kouaku try a mouse for the first time ever, and watch how quickly he began exploring with it, unafraid and curious, and just as quickly, picking up on how it works.

Sitting close behind was Yves, a few years younger.

Its always like that, isn't it -- the older ones always teach the younger ones...



It only differs in what they will pass on....

Inspiration, hope, skills for creation....


or cynicism, self-centeredness, and skills for destruction...

L'incroyable est croyable! The Impossible IS possible!

OK... a lot of people didn't believe...a lot thought it impossible.  A lot thought they will never make it there safely....but look what did happen...

This was the future computer room in October, when I first visited. 

It was but a dream.  

But inspired, we determined to make the dream a reality.

After many months of hopes raised and dashed, then raised and dashed again, lots of hard work, lots of "daimoku" (that's chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo -- a Buddhist practice ), and other kinds of prayer and meditation, and, of course, the ACTIVE contributions from, (to coin Obama's phrase,) lots of AUDACIOUSLY HOPE- FILLED people across the globe, the moment finally arrived...

In spite of delays, and discouragement, the room was cleared in preparation  for their arrival.....

It looked like this today, when I arrived there with a local networking technician to meet with administration of the school.

Sitting in one corner of the room, packaged just barely, in plastic wrap and tape, patched with signs that said...

 "Donation for the Bingerville Orphanage" they were finally home.

 

That's Closius! He couldn't believe it was all actually happening! Neither could I.

We unwrapped them unceremoniously, setting each piece aside, gently hoping it would still work!

And slowly, one by one, taking inventory 

and testing each piece with a special electrical currency...uhhh... thing -a-ma-bob, (edit - they are called "UPS currency stabilizers") we pieced  together each of ten complete Microsoft Authorized Refurbished Computers,  ready to go with Windows and Office 2003.

And surprisingly, they made it in good shape! Only a couple of minor bumps and bruises that can be fixed easily, and at no cost!

This is Closius Adjemiane, Education Director for the school, Josua, the intern technician at 

TP Enterprises, the Abidjan based company that is donating its services to the installation -- and yours truly!

And finally... here is the end result...

A new computer center for the students at Bingerville Orphanage for Boys. (Ignore our lunch there in the middle!) 

Thanks to everyone's efforts, the boys

will receive training on the use of internet, Microsoft Office, and even website design computer repair and the like, one day.

In addition, training programs, like reading literacy, SAT and TOEFL prep, and technology literacy may one day be made available to the community, enabling this information center to become a community resource that can help lift the entire population's earning potential and life condition. 

What's next? 

 Lots of details!! Like books and video for the library, online research and webpage, connecting the computers in a network, providing electrical support to help prevent breakdowns, wireless cards, AZERTY keyboard covers, and installing internet access. 

(Which, by the way rumor has it that it is being provided courtesy of  Cote d'Ivoire Telecom Company for ONE FULL YEAR- FREE!! If it pans out, let's not forget to let them know we appreciate their commitment to community and children!!)

Now for the reality check...

Unfortunately, everything else will cost more money, so if you haven't already, now would be a good time to dump some spare change!  

You may donate via Paypal account, but better, (we had a recent problem with Paypal -though it was corrected without consequence) contact me directly at Children of the Diaspora, United! to find out how you can make a donation. I am at childrenofthediasporaunited@gmail.com, or k_piot@yahoo.com, or skype me at kimpiot!

Thanks in advance, tell all your friends, and keep checking in!

Meanwhile...

Now that the computers are safely on their way (see last post), I am about to get on board too. I finally leave for CI this weekend, and I am ready to go! I can't wait...hubby has been back and forth over the last couple of years, and I can't wait to see himm and try living in a new country - at least for this year... 

In addition, I had a great conversation with the newly appointed director of an American K-12 school in Abidjan, whom I will also be working with during my stay, and she is very excited about the idea of doing community service with Bingerville. That is great news, I think, and I can't wait to meet her. (By the way, she's still looking for some teachers - language arts and elementary ed....) 

I'm so fortunate to be able to do this...while w

e're waiting, I ought to give out a few props.

This is Al - the man really responsible for making it all happen - as Technology coordinator at our school, he worked with the John and the students iof AACT,  helping them to realize their dream by working the magic of tyng their community service idealism to the practical real world Microsoft Authorized  Refurbishing Certification. 

On my end, Al and I have worked together for years to create an electronic library for our students that is available to all the students of Hudson County Schools of Technology. Check it out . 

When I told him about my desire to do this project, he said "Ok, let's see what we can do." Somewhere in there, the MAR project and mine combined in his cog and wheel brain and voila! A dream became a possiblity! 

Here he is helping me with the last re-packaging effort before loading them into the truck to take them to cargo for shipping. I keep trying to thank him, but it's never enough. He's getting something really good from Cote d'Ivoire when I come back, that's for sure!

In other GREAT news, we received a very nice donation from an unexpected source -- a long time friend and high school classmate, Gary Tyler found me on Facebook, and dropped a donation for a few books in his mother's name! What a nice way to use a gift. 

His mom, Willy, was an educator for life, and a strong supporter of reaing books and libraries, so we know she will really appreciate it. On behalf of his mother, CD, United! will be purchasing some of its first order of books from Follett International Library Resources.  

(Check out the Donation link on the sideba. If you;d like to see a list of the book titles we have on reserve, please email me at childrenofthediasporaunited@gmail.com )

I also had the rare and special pleasure of at tending my frst French teacher's retirement dinner a few weeks ago. I had Madame O. in 7th and 8th grade. She was from Nigeria, and I remember thinking at that time,  "Neat - I didn't know people in Africa could speak French!" 

I think it was she who sparked an early interest in Africa -  that and a childhood playmate, Oketchiku, that I had a crush on -- and definately inspired in me the desire to learn the language. 

I am grateful to her too, for her donation of French texts and workbooks. It was really special to be able to see her at the end of her career and say "Merci!"

Thanks again, Al, Gary, Gary's mom, and Madame O.!

Back in Gear! And On Our Way!!

Whew! Communications breakdowns left me biting my nails, for a time, but finally, breakthrough! 

Turns out everything was ready and waiting, and after a few more phone calls, lots of negotiations, etc., we are finally on our way! 

Our shippment of 10 computers is now in the hands of our shipping agency! At long last! That's Vincent and Ifi, a sweet and funny team who put our order together, re-repackaging (notice outward facing monitors? Perhaps not a good idea...?),  and are safeguarding our precious cargo for the first part of its journey. I plan to call on them frequently and be an annoyance to them! 

Honestly, they were very nice -- Vincent gave me a free French lesson ("all the words that end in -tion are the same! that's one third of the words!"), and they were very enthusiastic about the project, asked me lots of questions, and I showed them the pictures of Jonathon and the other kids at AACT who did the work of refurbishing the 10 computers. VIncent and Iffy want them to know that they will do their best to make sure our cargo gets there, intact and on time!

Vincent processed the job "at cost", and assured me not to worry, "everything would be alright." 

Let's all chant, pray, meditate, or whatever you do that they are right!  

 

I can't believe how far we've come...and how close we are to success! Still...Plenty more big obstacles are certain to arise..but I am confident in our victory. These kids will get their computers! Until that day, we'll keep pressing on.

Stalled!!

Regret to report that we are at a stand still. The systems are ready but they haven't yet been packaged. Graduation just happened, and so I fear they've fallen by the wayside - but I haven't been able to reach responsible parties so I am at a loss. 

Suddenly, they're have been lots of photo-ops in recent weeks, and talk of press releases and news stories, etc. - but to date  -- as far as I know -- nothing has come of any of it. 

I am feeling very frustrated.  

All I know is that the kids at the Bingerville school are really looking forward to these computers. The room is ready and waiting. The kids, staff, and the director are waiting. 

And I feel like I am at a stand still. 

Computers are Ready to Go!

I went over to meet the young men who worked on refurbishing the computers for the Bingerville school. I got a look at our computers had the chance to learn a little bit about them. 

They are all only about 16 or 17 years old!

They are students in one of our alternate education programs called AACT or Academy of Architectural and Contemporary Themes

The one in the blue, Jonathon, is the leader on the project. He worked with a team of about 5 other young men to do the work of refurbishing old computers and bring them back to life. 

The project not only helps people in the community and around the world, but also contributes to the ecology of the planet, by potentially lessening the amount of computers to be added to the dump. 

Here, they are  setting it for French language and adding a new card...

It's so exciting! I can't believe its happening!

Library Resource Services Can Offer a Helping Hand

Every librarian knows this company. Follett Library Resources. It's one of the services we use to order our books, videos, electronic resources, etc.

We use them because they offer good discounts, and because its one stop shopping - everything you need, search-able by all kinds of things, including how many reviews an item has had, and the reading level. Plus they will do the cataloging for you. Thank the Universe! That's something you have to be born to do.

So, the administrators at Bingerville and I have been sorting through the French language children's books and we're still pulling together a list of African Authored books. If anyone has a suggestion or a French language children's book to donate, PLEASE let me know!!

Follett is one such service, and they have said they could make an account for Bingerville.
Them, when and if people choose to select a title and order it, or better - 20 bucks to put down towards buying some books for the kids - they will be able to make the order directly with Follett, or through CD United!

Cool, huh.

Check them out at Follet International and Follet Library Resources.
I'll get back to you on that.

Ivorians Reaching Back Across the Waters...

Over the past few months, there have been many conversations and meetings and long telephone calls, talking about the needs of these children in Bingerville, and elsewhere in the country.

One thing that everyone agreed on, though, was that these children come from every one's home town. The entire nation is represented in these small faces.

With this in mind, several of the local Ivorian associations have been moved by this project and are seeking to contribute to its success.

The Ivorian Association of Delaware had made an outright promise to seek out its share in the transportation costs, and I feel very confident that they will achieve their goal!

We recently approached the Ivorian Embassy as well, and they were very supportive too, though one can't know about these things...

In addition, a federal organization, Federal Association de Wê d'Amerique du Nord and its local affiliate in NJ are checking there pockets, too.

Several more organizations and individuals are currently on the fence, but everyday they tell me "Don't worry! Its going to come!"

Progress! Bingerville to Receive 10 Computers!

Finally, it's official! The Bingerville Library and Computer Information Center is on its way!

While the blog spot has been as quiet as our before picture at the Bingerville Library, there's been lots of activity behind the scenes.

Today , I can finally state with certainty that our school will be providing computers to Bingerville. In a recently announced school news posting they explain how:



"High Tech High School Becomes a Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher® Thanks to Entrepreneurial Students."

The MAR program requires that a portion of refurbished computers be donated to community and international locations -- and I learned recently that yes, Bingerville will be one of the lucky recipients!

This morning I spoke with one of the students responsible for refurbishing the computers, and he said that he's very excited to be taking part in this effort. All I could say to him was "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" and remind him of the story the Social Worker and Directress at the school told me - that for these boys, Bingerville is a chance - perhaps an only chance. When they graduate at the tender age of 16, they are on their own. With computer skills, they odds may be tipped a little more in their favor. So this is a big thing. A really life changing big thing.
I'll come back to this as it continues, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, check this out, from: Microsoft Unlimited Potential in Africa Website
"Learn about Microsoft's ongoing efforts to increase information and communications technology (ICT) access in Africa through programs and partnerships that strive to create educational opportunities and encourage local economic growth. Watch the video. "

Trumpet's Women's Day Success!

Celebrating What One Woman Can Do!, one woman at a time, at Trumpet's!

Photos Absolutely by COURTESY of John Meixner. Thanks ,John!

What a fab event! So much fun! Such interesting people! Learned tons...AND presented the PPT about our cause! Congratulations, to Trumpet's owner, Kristine Massari, and to Caryl Lucas , as well, who both presented, AND was Master of Ceremonies -- and brought it all together in her usual good embrace, of warmth and positivitiy.

After a brief intro to the org and the cause, I played a slide show, and it accompanied by a musical performance by incredible artists (I STILL can't believe the support and love they showed! WHAT a donation to the cause! Thank you all again, from the heart...) from the left in the red jacket, the amazing Akua Dixon, the fabulous Saundra Silliman and the man with the beat ("give the drumma some!") was David Silliman. (Oh yeah, and that's me in zoot suit!)

They played a rendition that mixed African drum beats with a jazzy bluesy Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World (you know, "I See Skys of Blue... ") and it was so beautifully done, it literally brought tears to my eyes....And they absolutely blew the audience as well...Music is an amazing thing...

(PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! Go SEE AND HEAR these folks! Not only will you enjoy the show, but really, they donated their skills for the evening, and that needs to be supported, too. And when you go, please tell 'em I say "Hey!" and that I sent cha!)

ADDITIONAL KUDOS to these friends and supporters: Audie Odum-Stellato who taught us about women's power through Middle Eastern Bellydance. She's a great instructor and has really neat retreats up near Woodstock every summer...check it out!) And also to - Barbara Michaels. and friend Randy, of the New York Comedy Club's Grown Ups Playground, who helped us to remember that laughter is great medicine, with her and Randy's raucaus and...uh...really memorable, and highly emotional "bus ride to the Obama rally! Funny, girls! So please support them, and ALL of the presenters! (see last post)

Below, another one of the participants joined me to share stories about her work with a ministry to provide books to a village in Nigeria, and we were making the point of how much good $5.00 can do there...In most parts of Africa, you can buy SO much for $5 - like $20.00, maybe $30.00 worth of stuff here... and how frequently and easily we just toss away $5 bucks, without hardly thinking about it...For the price of a McD's meal you could buy a few books for a library, feed a family three meals for a couple of days or more!! I mean, seriously... Thanks SO much to those who chose to help these kids out. And we're counting down, now, too, to our JUNETEENTH (6/19) DEADLINE! $10,000!!!...

Oh, and BTW, the important news:

Donations totaled about $300.00! Thanks to everyone! Details to follow.

But, obviously, that is still a looooonnggg way to go before our Juneteenth goal of $10,000 for costs of shipping computers (expected to be donated by a local high school) and costs of purchasing books, videos, etc. But, I just feel that we will make it. Anyway, we'll do our best.

A BIG even is in the makings for MAY, so keep checking in...!

Peace

Kim

Trumpet's Presents "What One Woman Can Do!" Sunday March 2nd

Women's History Month begins soon and to get it started off right, Kristine at Trumpet's is hosting her second annual Women's Luncheon, entitled What One Woman Can Do!, a fitting title in these times.

Lucky for me, she's including Children of the Diaspora, United! in her program. I'll share a little bit about the organization and our plans to help update the library with books, videos and computers, and the Secret Santa project.

There will be lots of great talent, and wonderful women doing cool things for themselves, the community and the world. They include:

• Re-framing Thoughts and Consciousness - Caryl Lucas
• Explore the Roots of Women's Power: Belly Dance! - Audie Odum-Stellato
• Nutrition for Strong CAN DO Life with Hypnotherapy - Tracy Resnick-Hart
• Change of Life? Change Your Life! :Mid-Life Crisis Management - Jeree Wade
• Laughter is the Best Medicine: NY Comedy Club Improv - Barbara Michaels &co.

And rumor has it, great artists like the unique and very cool jazz cellist Akua Dixon and the smooth and sultry versatile sounds of jazz vocalist Saundra Silliman may be providing surprise performances, too!

Its going to be great, so, put it on your calendar and tell your friends! Trumpets, Sunday March 2 from 1 to 4PM. If interested, call (973) 744-2600 or email Trumpets@Verizon.net or me at kpiot@hotmail.com > Hope to see you there!

Merci Beaucoup!

Black History Month started out great for the kids at my school! On February 7th, we received our first batch of "Thank You!" letters from the students at the Bingerville School for Boys!

Each of the students wrote a brief letter addressed to the student or teacher who sent them their gift. I posted some of them on my office door so that students could see them.

My friend and colleague Karen, the French teacher, and I had a blast handing them out to the students.





It was such a rush and I had so much gratitude for Karen at that moment. It was her encouragement and her marshalling of her French club and class students into action, that really made it possible to match each of the Bingerville boys with a Secret Santa -- it was all part of a class project to learn about Francophone Africa.

Almost every student received a

hand written note of thanks, as did the many friends and family who participated.

Many of the letters were covered in decorative drawings that the boys had made. Karen's students are now busy translating each of the letters, as part of their classwork, and when they are completed they will be delivered to their owners along with an English translation.

The kids said it was "cool!" and that it made them "feel smart" that they were able to figure out what the letters said. Needless to say, Karen and I are already thinking about next year!

Santa Arrives in Bingerville!!

You can see the excitement on their faces! And on those of our Cote d'Ivoire contacts, the Director of the school, Madam Philomene Kone-Houenou, School Social Worker Max David Koni and Yves Piot, President of F.A.W.A.N..

It all started when students and other young philanthropists from the Hudson and Essex County areas chose names from a bag, so that each Bingerville student had a personal Secret Santa. Our students donated new and used gifts to the students in Cote d'Ivoire, in hopes of giving them a special holiday. From the looks of it, the accomplished the goal.




According to all reports, the students were very happy, and the administration emailed a statement of gratitude, epecially to the students "who took the time to think of our student's happiness!" The students are writing their "Thank You!" letters as we speak, which should arrive here in the weeks to come.

The students at Bingerville are busy writing thank you notes that will be delievered to the students at my school who orchestrated the Secret Santa project as part of a French language class assignment.

Special thanks go to the friendly helpers of FedEx employees at the Newark Airport office. Like Santa's Elves themselves, they completely repackaged our bulging suitcases full of toys. Thanks to their diligent efforts, and the International departments' continuous efforts to appraise me of the progress of our packages, the Bingerville School received their gifts during a holiday festival on Thursday, December 20th.

One Laptop Per (Really Big) Child

I ordered my XO laptop from One Laptop Per Child program in November 26th during their Give One Get One program that we talked about last month, and received it on December 26th. Not bad! So far, so good! I am able to edit my blog over a cup of coffee already! It takes a little getting used to the Linux based interface and such, but the easy internet access and the cool interconnectivity and communications tools that make it easy for kids to interact electronically make it a really ingenious little tool.

Gotta admit, though, the best thing is knowing that somewhere out there, some little kid is getting as much of a kick as I am everytime I figure something out!

The G1G1 offer ended on December 31st. Check it all out at www.laptop.org.

What about the Girls? The UN Delivers Holiday Cheer to Girls of Grand Bassam

Thankfully, the sister school of our Boys School of Bingerville, the Orphelinat des Filles de Grand-Bassam, also received holiday gifts this year, courtesy of the United Nations in Cote d'Ivoire. It was reported on Abidjan.net and ReliefWeb.org that the UNOCI, in partnership with the local organizations, the Rotaract Atlantis and the Scouts, provided a Christmas tree and peace education in a holiday program at the school on Dec. 12. There were several workshops, and the girls "learned the concepts of peace, forgiveness and tolerance." Nice to know we and the UN are on the same wavelength!

I was able to meet and visit the girls school, too, but only once - here are a few of the girls on a day off from classes. I'm planning to continue working with and for them, as well, once I get back to CI. In the meantime, we've already collected some toys and gifts for them, and hope to collect even more, for a shipment sometime in May or June.

As for our boys in Bingerville, their day is coming. The gifts are safely in Abidjan, and due to be delivered to the school on Thursday. Mission (almost) accomplished...! Keep an eye out for the updates!

Secret Santa is Getting Ready to Fly

Yesterday was the deadline for students and young philanthropists throughout the area to submit their gifts for the "Secret Santa International" exchange with the students at the Bingerville Boys School.

We matched about 220 of the 233 students with kids from our area. It's been amazing -- kids who had no idea where Cote d'Ivoire was, are now linked to the name of a little boy in that country -- and they have come to care about them.

Now is the hard part. Transporting the gifts. We haven't acheived our $2,000.00 goal yet, but with about $700 in the bank and another $300.00 promised, we're making a dent. We'd like to send them by Friday, so they arrive before school closes (some kids do have a family or guardian to visit with) but it looks like we may have to wait.

If you have been thinking about contributing, now is the time...

Jazzman Bob Baldwin and Trumpets Add Their 2¢ to the Cause

What a night! Apparently, Secret Santa's Elves now include jazz man Bob Baldwin and the Trumpets Jazz Club and Restaurant of Montclair! Last Saturday at Trumpets, during Bob's Saturday evening performance of his latest work, he announced that a portion of his proceeds for the evening would go to support the Bingerville Boys School project! So not only did the audience get a real cool jazz evening, they also helped out the cause.

The event was HOT! and included other smoking performances from Buddy Williams on the drums and Ragan Whiteside on the flute. Thank you all!!!

I even had a chance to say a few words about the project. Frankly, speaking in front of crowds is really just NOT my thing, but with the encouraging kick to the rear from dear friend (obviously an excellent motivational speaker!) Caryl, and Kristine Massari (owner of Trumpets) pulling from the front, I managed! Turns out, shine a light in my face, and my "few" words quickly became more like "several," none of which I can clearly remember....Oh well!

Thanks to all who attended, for their words of encouragement, warm applause, and generous contributions! Check out the Countdown below for an update on our progress.

Secret Santa's Sleigh

As you know, I'm currently posessed with the idea of helping the Boys School of Bingerville acheive their goal of updating their library, and creating a computer lab. So far, I am getting support, and have a (nearly) definate source for some refurbished computers. (BTW The OLPC project we were promoting in an earlier post isn't getting the kind of support I hoped for, so we're going to try to do it on our own later on. Still, the OLPC is the kind of project that Children of the Diaspora United really thinks is cool, so we say RIGHT ON and encourage everyone to check it out for themselves!)

So anyway, as I was thinking about this project and the boys in Bingerville, and talking with my colleagues at work, we thought it would be a really great idea to try to connect the kids at my school with the kids at Bingerville -- to create some human connection, some interest in the kids in these kids all the way on the other side of the ocean, and hey, it will be fun!

The French teacher got into the idea, too, because her students are doing projects on Francophone Africa. We thought it would help make the language "real" to them. So we have embarked on an interim project -- the "Secret Santa International Big Brother Big Sister Initiative," we call it -- or Secret Santa's Sleigh, for short.

The idea is simple: students in the French class, and other students anr children of friends etc, can pick the name of one of the boys and be his Secret Santa! As it turned out, the kids are psyched, and we've got about 150 of the 253 students matched up. Each Secret Santa will get a gift (new or used) valued at around $5.00. They can write a brief message, which the French students will translate into French for the boys at the school. In turn, the Bingerville boys will write thank you notes and the Santa's will translate them when they receive them. Simple, right?

Well, yeah. It is. Except...for shipping costs!!

It costs about as much to travel to Cote d'Ivoire as it will to send the gifts by overnight guaranteed delivery service!! But do we see impossiblity? Of course not! It's an opportunity for others to help out too.

Secret Santa's Sleigh is an initiative to collect donations - just from friends and family, really, since we're not yet a full fledged organization -- to get the funds for shipping. It's going slowly, but we're confident we'll meet the goal. We need about $2,000 to be completely clear of any potential problems -- customs or other taxes, towards gifts if we don't get enough donations, etc.
Countdown:
So far we've raised:

• CK Brooklyn NY $10.00
• NS Plainfield $ 5.00
• DM Somerset $ 100.00 and 5 friends
• DL Bloomfield $25.00
• RW Jersey City $70.00
• KP Montclair $100.00
• HB South Orange $300.00
• MH Passaic $50.00
• MA Jersey City $20.00
• DJ Montclair $20.00
• JH Newark $50.00
• AL Bloomfield $20.00
• D&B M (Trumpets) Montclair $20.00
• CP (Trumpets) Montclair $10.00
• Anonymous Donors (Trumpets) Montclair - $75.00
• RE Passaic Park $50.00
• JL Montclair $75.00
• J & B Montclair $20.00
• CP friends jersey city $50.00
• KR jersey city $100.00
• KP jersey city $500.00
• TC New York $25.00

We've still got a long way to go (no, not as far as in the pix -that's just a cool image!), and we don't have much time...! But....I figure most of us spend $5, $10, $20 dollars on stuff we don't need, that's bad for us, and that has no meaning or lasting value what-so-ever, regularly, and without much thought. Why not spend the same on something that will light up a childs face, and give them hope and a memory that will surely fuel them for years to come?

I am certain we'll find plenty of friends who feel the same way.

Thanks to those who've already shown that they do.

The Boys School of Bingerville Project

I recently had the chance to visit a boys’ school in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa, called the Orphelinat de Garçons de Bingerville or Bingerville Orphanage for Boys and instead of finding the one special child meant just for us, I fell for the entire school!

We spent a couple of hours our first visit, just looking around, and learning about the school and the boys they serve. I discovered that :

• The school boards 253 boys, ages 5 to 15
• 233 are in primary school and 20 are in secondary school.
• Approximately 25% are complete orphans,
• Including 10% who are orphans of war.
• Many more just can't afford $40.00 for regular public education.

The school is housed in an old colonial palace, a beautiful but decaying structure where the Governor lived during the period of French colonialism. It took many years to transform from a home for unwanted metis ( half-caste) children to one that serves all Ivoiriens in need. Today, it is under the authority of the Ministry of Family, Woman and Social Services of Côte d’Ivoire.

I asked Max David KONI (the social worker who was taking us around) what his dream would be. He said he'd like an updated library and some computers for the boys. Well, if you know me, that is right up my ally! Before I knew it, I had decided to help them build that library! (Gasp!)

For those who don't know me, I am a librarian -- but not just your regular Marion the Librarian, noooo. I am an Electronic Media Specialist. Which means I am into computers and the internet, and how we use them for research and information gathering. I provide an orientation course to freshman in my school that covers research skills and media literacy.

I When I returned home, I spoke with the Technology Coordinator at my school about the possibility of donating some computers, and believe it or not, he agreed, and was excited abut the prospect! He said I needed a letter from the school to get the ball rolling.

On my second visit to Cote d'Ivoire and Bingerville, a few weeks later, I picked up their letter. A few weeks later, I submitted it to our board for approval. I should know in a few weeks whether or not it will be approved. Word has it, though, that it "looks doable."!

The plan is to get the donated computers and ship them in February as an African / African American History Month project. In the summer, I hope to return there, perhaps with a few- young people to help work on the library itself.

At least that's the plan.

What I am realizing now is that the generosity of people is not the problem -- its the expense of shipping. People are ready and willing to donate all kinds of goods -- but the more that is donated the more expensive is the shipment! So that is where my focus will have to be -- fundraising for shipping expenses!!