Over the past years we have had to rent computer labs each time that we offered training.  The equipment available in the rental facilities has been inconsistent and imperfect relative to our purposes.  Also the room layouts have not been ideal.  With this in mind, we determined that the best solution would be to house our own facilities.  This offers several advantages including the ability to have more frequent sessions and also to have the equipment – both hardware and software that better suited our purposes.
 

  
We are delighted to report that we have made significant progress towards this.  The computer lab will be housed in the almost-completed Develop Africa Empowerment and Training Institute.  The structure of the room that will be housing the computer lab is ready.  We have also been able to purchase the first computer and the photos included in this report show Dolly, one of the youths using the computer – provided through the GlobalGiving / Give for Youth Partnership.
 
Dolly was delighted to use the first computer you helped to provide.  She sends her thanks and appreciation for giving her the opportunity to use a computer in her neighborhood.  She has been waiting for this opportunity to help her fulfill her dream in life. 
 
Dolly sends this message to you - the donors who have helped make this possible: “I want to thank the donors of this computer for considering kids in the Wellington community to have knowledge in computer and make us relevant to our present world”.   Thank you so very much for helping to make this dream come true. 
 
This computer will be used by Dolly to improve her computer skills and prepare her for success in the future.  The computer includes a downloaded copy of a wide range of educational, instructional videos from Khan Academy.  We anticipate that not just Dolly will benefit, but also many other youths in the community. 

The youths and young adults and the community in general have been observing the progress excitedly and are eager to see it completed and to start using the new computer lab.  This lab will help us basic computer training free for hundreds of people.
 
What we finally need to do now is to fully furnish the room – in terms of 15 computer desks and chairs, 15 computers, a podium, document scanner, overhead projector and printer.  We are hoping to complete this by the end of the year and estimate that this project will take around $20,000 to complete. 
  
Strike a chord? Does this resonate with you in any way?  Would you be interested in being a part of making this happen in any way?  We would love to hear from you and be so grateful if you could join us in this worthy venture.  Together we will help to prepare hundreds of people in the community for success in our computer-aided society.   Thanks so much for your support and best of wishes