Straight on to November

Thank you.  Thank you to those who donated, thank you to those who shared LIP information with friends and colleagues and thank you to those who “liked” my blog posts and videos and pictures on facebook. 

The time for donations has come to a close and I can happily share with you that we have a total of $1,503.  We did not get entirely as far as we wanted, but that’s the only half-complaint you’ll hear from me!  With this 1.5k we’ll be able to do almost everything we want to do!  Also, folks at the school have pledged to raise the rest of the money by way of the PTA and school funds from the gov’t, so we may just get to where we need to go. 

What will we do now?  Well, as soon as possible, we will begin building the Library shelves!  A carpenter will come and build them on-site, and I have no idea how long he plans to take to complete the project.  I hope it’s no more than two weeks, but I have also learned not to hope too hard when it comes to things like this.  The job will get done and it will be well done.  I will be supervising every step of the way, and I’ll hopefully paint the shelves with inspiring, bright hues before it’s all said and done. 

After the construction of all shelves is complete, I will help organize all books and get them to their new homes.  We will do another inventory of the books and arrange the system so that it is easy for Jimmy, the Librarian, to use and maintain.

What have I learned so far? 

•            My school really is deserving of such a “facelift” and all of the staff I’ve been working with are eager to work and thankful to be able to.  I know that this sort of project is going to greatly benefit the school
•             Fundraising is difficult! So, to those of you who did donate, thanks again!
•       With enough patience you can accomplish almost anything on the internet, even from East Africa.
•       I have some great people in my life, both near to me and far, and without them, this project would (quite literally) never have been made possible.

young Primary students crowding around the Library door

Some of the best Kindergarteners this gal will ever meet.

Kids getting enthusiastic

Beautiful young ladies of G.S. Kiruli

Be on the lookout for more posts updating you on the LIP progress.

Have a great day and, as always, thanks for stopping by!

Donation Deadline Extension!

Wow! Since my last blog entry our total raised has climbed to $1,417! This is FANTASTIC folks.  I never thought we could get this far, and seeing that we're SO close to where we want to be, I've extended the donation deadline through this weekend.

That's right, you have until Monday, November 5th to get your donation in!  I know a few people have expressed interest and the desire to donate, but have not yet been able.  To those lovely friends, here's your chance!

Remember, I'll be rounding up some excellent students to write personal thank you letters to each and every person who donated.  I'm also toying with the idea of including a photo or two with each letter so you have some small thank you from all of us here.  Let's say, it's going to be a surprise, and one that's coming your way right around Christmas/ Chanukah time.  There will also be another video or two made before this thing is all said and done, so keep your eyes peeled for updates!

Since we started this entry talking about donations, let's end full-circle.  We are less than $600 away from our dream budget, but the better news is that we're less than $200 away from our "bare-minimun" budget.  I am sure that we can get $200 more over the next three days- what do you think?

All of the Primary School books, stored in the back until our new shelves arrive!

Taking a break (from lugging around dirty, heavy books) with my favorite Kindergarteners. 

Sorry for the low photo quality.  Sometimes the connectivity out here dictates what I do.  Wait, did I say "sometimes?" I mean ALL the time.