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TEAA Finances and Some New Projects
Henry Hamburger, TEAA Treasurer
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Eighty-five of you have contributed to TEAA in the last 16 months and a few have spent heavily on substantial projects on their own. Last year's fund raising campaign alone added $14,000 for TEAA projects. One of you recommended a suitable foundation and we are now 1 out of 1 on success in applying for grants. In all, several tens of thousands of dollars have passed through and alongside TEAA to carefully selected, well-run schools in the countries where we all served so many years ago. We still have a healthy bank account and the Grants Committee welcomes project ideas. The most dramatic project currently underway is the placement of 120 computers. They are used but fairly recent and - at $70 to $97 delivered to African ports - eminently reasonable. Acquisition, preparation and shipment are handled by the World Computer Exchange. As I write, 20 have arrived at one of our schools, 40 are en route and 60 are waiting for other donor organizations to come through with their payments for a share in the next container. Making this project a success does not end with the writing of checks. The first container was held up two months by cautious implementation of national policies to avoid computer graveyards, and smaller glitches have been numerous. Bigger challenges await as the computers reach the schools. We draw some optimism from the fact that most of the schools are not utter novices at this and that we have collaborating experts in East Africa. In addition, WCE has been helpful. We will soon get a better idea of how things are going, since two of us are due to visit all the recipient schools in February. Also coming soon to several TEAA schools is a library you can hold in your hand, the eGranary digital library, from a project at the University of Iowa. Measuring just 8x5x2 inches, it's actually an external hard drive that stores five million documents, including some of the most frequently used items on the Worldwide Web. True, it's missing the ads, the porn and the viruses, but it's loaded with educational and academic content. It's faster and cheaper than actually being on line yet provides the same look and feel. The new edition we are getting can be locally networked. TEAA will continue to provide books, lab equipment, scholarships and other items, in all cases specifically agreed upon with the individual school. If you have suggestions or want to help, write or call any of the many of us who have been involved. And/or come to Seattle-07 and let's talk about it. |