Letter from Board Member Rich Segal

Dear Patrons,

My name is Richard Segal. I am a member of the Powering Potential Advisory Board as well as a Board member of the Segal Family Foundation, a strong supporter of Powering Potential’s Educating-Through-Technology program since its inception. My wife Joanna and I made our first trip to Tanzania this past summer. I wanted to see firsthand the positive impact Powering Potential was making as well as to learn what more could be done to achieve our goal of improving rural education using technology. What an experience! With Janice as our guide, the impact of Powering Potential’s work was evident in the two secondary schools we visited and with the many students, teachers, heads of schools, and government officials we met. Photos of our trip.

We had many memorable moments. A headmaster told us about the parents in his local community organizing to build a new classroom to house a Powering Potential computer lab. Students were seen studying Khan Academy instructional videos hours after their school day had finished. Several former students of Powering Potential programs sought Janice out to thank her for giving them the opportunity to learn the computer skills they needed to get their current jobs. Powering Potential is engaging communities, improving education, and creating better employment opportunities for its graduates. This is what it is all about!

We participated in a workshop with the heads of schools and computer teachers from all six Powering Potential schools. The value the schools place on the Powering Potential computer labs was evident in the lively discussion. We learned how the schools use their computers and what more we can do to maximize their usefulness. As the result of these conversations, we are now increasing our efforts to train all the school teachers (not just the computer teachers) in order to leverage the computer labs in more subject areas. Additionally, we plan to raise funds to add a projector to each lab to make hands-on-learning demonstrations more effective.

It was a pleasure to meet the Powering Potential staff headquartered in Karatu. Albin, Elibariki, and Happy are dedicated employees who truly appreciate the value of Powering Potential as they themselves are beneficiaries of Powering Potential’s program.

They are passionate about giving the same opportunities to the students served by Powering Potential, and it shows in the quality of their work. It has been an excellent year for Powering Potential with Phase 2 of our Educating-Through-Technology program being implemented in two schools which serve over 1,200 teachers and students. Installation costs have been significantly reduced by having most of the technology-installation work performed by the Karatu staff. We launched our 3 in 30 campaign with the goal of providing computer labs in 3 schools in each of the 30 regions of Tanzania. This ambitious project will need your help to complete. Every dollar you contribute will help improve the educational and employment opportunities of young Tanzanians.  To donate online, click here. To donate by check, please make payable to ICSEE-Powering Potential and mail to: Powering Potential PO Box 230913 New York, NY 10023 Note: 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 best wishes for the holiday season and New Year, Richard Segal, Ph. D. Powering Potential Advisory Board