Message from Advisory Board Member

My name is Scott Morgan and I've been privileged to serve as an Advisory Board member since the inception of Powering Potential and I want to bring your attention to some of the amazing work and accomplishments of Powering Potential during 2011.

Janice Lathen, Founding Executive Director, has done an extraordinary job of building the profile of Powering Potential. In 2011, Janice met with Ambassador Maajar, Tanzanian Ambassador to the US; Minister Wasira, a Minister of State in the President’s Office; Mr. Mlaki, former director of the Tanzanian Commission for Science and Technology; Dr. Kawambwa, the Minister of Education; and the President of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete himself!

Janice’s tireless efforts to network and build relationships are paying huge dividends! At a meeting at the Ministry of Education, Janice was asked if she would be willing to join a team of people devising technology solutions for improving education across the country, as well as set up a Powering Potential demonstration computer lab at the Ministry. Ambassador Maajar has invited Powering Potential to partner with the Hassan Maajar Trust to improve Tanzanian schools. And finally, Janice is continuing her discussions with Tanzanian government officials to secure funding for Powering Potential.

In her most recent trip to Tanzania Janice concluded a five-month technology training course certifying 23 high school graduates to be Powering Potential Technology Trainers, installed The Technology Tent—a solar energy system and five computers with embedded educational content, and commenced technology training at two more secondary schools.

The beauty and genius of Powering Potential is that it builds knowledge experts and trainers from within to exponentially train more and more students. I have been to Tanzania and met some of the teachers and students whose lives have been changed by Powering Potential. While words escape me to adequately describe what Powering Potential means for so many students, I can surely tell you that one look into the eyes of any Powering Potential participant and you will see the pure joy of having the opportunity to learn. As Samson Goodluck, a Technology Tent graduate, put it, “Now I see the way to pass in my life.”

Janice has taken a simple idea and in less than six years, turned it into a superbly managed, stunning example of a small non-profit that exists to change young lives.

As we approach 2012, we have laid the groundwork for a new level of growth. The demand is palpable, the stage for expansion is set, the players are in place—and we need you to join us.

With a 2012 budget of $150,000, we only have commitments of $45,000.

Nothing can be more satisfying then a gift to change a child's life.

Please help us to meet our 2012 budget so that Powering Potential can continue to grow and serve young people, to give them opportunities that would otherwise never be possible.

As Janice often ends her emails:

If you want to go fast, go alone
If you want to go far, go together
              ----- African proverb

Join us and let’s go together to make 2012 a successful and empowering year to bring technology and education to young people in Tanzania through the power of Powering Potential.

To donate online, click here
To donate with a check, please make payable to ICSEE-Powering Potential and mail to:

Powering Potential
PO Box 230913
New York, NY 10023

ICSEE (International Collaborative for Science, Education and the Environment) TIN: 22-3158263 is a 501(c)3 non-profit public charity and serves as fiscal sponsor for Powering Potential. Donations to ICSEE-Powering Potential are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

With warmest wishes for the holiday season and New Year,

Scott W. Morgan
Powering Potential Advisory Board