[Hidden-tech] Mac Laptop Donations for Zambian NGO - needed by Dec 1

[William M Loving]

Dear fellow techies,

As I mentioned in a previous post a few months ago, I will be traveling to Zambia in December to visit a friend who runs a small NGO that uses Macs and distributes Macs and PCs to schools and NGOs in Zambia.  The NGO, New Vision for Africa, is government registered Charitable Organization and also has a 501(c)(3) corporation in the US. They have received past support from UNICEF and Ernst & Young amongst other for their projects. They also do a number of other projects including supporting small entrepreneurs, a group of honey farmers, and are currently working on starting a micro-loan program.

This will be my first time visiting Zambia and will include a couple of the sites that the computers were distributed to. I would like to help the local staff with an upgrade to their existing, heavily traveled and ailing MacBooks. Because I’m not flying directly to Zambia and need to travel light, I’m hoping to find a couple of working MacBook Airs (any generation) that we can hand carry to them. MacBook Pros would also be fine. An iPad (any generation) would also be welcome.

In years past I have assisted with the transfer of approximately 3000 working computers (8 cargo containers) for distribution to schools and NGOs. I’ve also helped obtain smaller number of computers that were hand carried by individual travelers to Zambia as “Excess Baggage”. The NVFA website has a slideshow showing the initial two containers from some years ago (http://newvisionforafrica.org/nvfa_slideshow.html)

Neither we nor NVFA have any budget for this, but if you have something that mostly works - MacBook Pro needing a new battery, iPad needing a new screen - and that could be affordably repaired, we can try to find money for that before we leave. Ideally, though what we’re looking for would be fully functional computers. What we CAN do is give you a Tax Receipt for your donation and send you pictures of your old gear being put to use in Zambia.

Our departure date is Dec 3, now just two months away. If you’re planning to upgrade between now and then - new MacBooks expected in the next couple of weeks - this could be a worthy and worthwhile way to pass your old computer along. Please email me directly if you have any questions.

Will

Will Loving, President
Dedication Technologies, Inc.

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William M. Loving
Dedication Technologies, Inc.
7 Coach Lane
Amherst, MA 01002-3304   USA
Tel: +1 413 253-7223   (GMT –5)  
Fax: +1 206 202-0476