<div dir="ltr"><div>OLPC-ZA,</div>
<div>Good afternoon, my name is Paul Commons. I led the Limpopo deployment this past month and am now trying to expand OLPC-ZA as an intern for the organization. I'd like to get an idea of how much interest and involvement we have in the olpc-za list serve. The following email details what olpc-za is planning to accomplish in the coming months and how you can take part. We'd like to see OLPC expand in South Africa, but to do so we'll need to become more structured and organized. I'll try and be concise in laying out some of what needs to be done. We need all the support in getting us off the ground. Everyone has a different set of skills, unique network, etc. Please let us know how you see yourself contributing. If nothing below applies to your skill set, please email us with your ideas on what you'd like to see happen w/ olpc-za or ways you'd like to help. This is an organically evolving project, we have nothing set in stone, yet. Once we get a level of involvement, we'll set goals.</div>
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<div><strong><u>How you can help with olpc-za:</u></strong></div>
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<div><strong>OLPC-ZA's Gmail Account:</strong></div>
<div>I'm emailing from OLPC-ZA's new Gmail account. I recently created this to serve as one centralized account for organizational purposes. As we expand OLPC in South Africa, we'll need to stay organized, maintain better communication, etc. Gmail is capable of storing all emails and has an easy search tool to find old emails. I believe Google with it's different tools, such as google docs, will help us organizationally. If you'd like to contribute, please reply and I'm happy to share the password.</div>
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<div><strong>Outline of Project Proposal & Strategy Plan</strong></div>
<div>Attached is an <em>outline </em>of a business plan fused with a project proposal outline. It was taken from several different sources online to serve as a format only. So that nobody reinvents the wheel, we are going to create 1 extensive document covering all aspects, including description, marketing, competition, operating procedures, project proposal, time frame, monitoring and evaluation, etc, etc. This doc will be tailored to OLPC-ZA. The purpose of writing this is to allow us to approach companies for additional Give Many donations, apply for grants, etc. Marco Rosa, who will be taking a lead role in developing olpc-za, and I discussed creating a doc w/ a strategy for presenting to donors, this will serve that purpose. Investors need to know this (1) works (2) sustains itself (3) is supported by a locally structured organization. We intend to do that via this doc. </div>
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<div>If you have knowledge or experience in the following, please let us know, as your expertise is needed: writing business plans, project proposals, or grants, have academic knowledge on the government's past or current role in education, or finance. We can delegate sections to maximize our resources.</div>
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<div><strong>OLPC-ZA PowerPoint Presentation</strong></div>
<div>I'm currently sifting through the PPT Presentations on the Wiki page (wiki search Presentations, click Presentations/May Country Workshop, click on the download option on the top). We'll use some images, logos, ideas, etc from these but tailor them to SA. The idea, like the PP & SPlan above, is to create 1 detailed PPT presentation. That way each of us can download it and tailor it to our specific audience. If you have experience creating profession PPTs, please contact us.</div>
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<div><strong>OLPC-ZA as a Non-Profit</strong></div>
<div>We'll primarily be working under the umbrella of Kliptown Youth Project, a Johannesburg-based organization. They were the first deployment, have the most experienced, and will be able to provide long term support, monitoring and evaluation programs, etc. They also are an established non-profit.</div>
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<div><strong>Descriptions of Existing Projects on the Wiki</strong></div>
<div>The wiki page is an invaluable resource we're not using to its full potential. I need 1 or 2 people to help me organizing and structuring the wiki page. Ideally, we should post descriptions/reports of the existing SA projects with updates every month or two. Once we finish the PP & Splan and PPT presentation, we'll post them on the wiki page. We'll use this as our main resource, eventually.</div>
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<div><strong>OLPC Awareness</strong></div>
<div>Once we've compiled the above information, we need to create Press Release packages to send to news media, NGOs, companies, personal networks, etc. This will require someone to compile a database on every relevant organization.</div>
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<div><strong><u>General Updates & Info</u></strong></div>
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<div><strong>Communication</strong></div>
<div>Please CC any internal communication between olpc-za members to <a href="mailto:olpc.za@gmail.com">olpc.za@gmail.com</a>. This will help us in information flow, as we're not all based in SA. If you'd like to stay updated on OLPC-ZA activities, please reply to this message and I'll add you to the listserve. I will be sending out updates as we move forward.</div>
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<div><strong>Software Event in Joburg</strong></div>
<div>Contact Morgan Collett for info on next week's event in Sandton. Also, he's receiving XOs from OLPC to expand South Africa's contributors network for anyone interested.</div>
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<div><strong>Current Situation:</strong></div>
<div>South Africa has ~200 XOs. 100 in Soweto and 100 in Limpopo. A 100XO deployment will be arriving in Kwazu Natal in the coming month. In addition, 115 more XOs will be coming from Larry Weber this October (100 to Soweto & 15 to Limpopo). Finally, I should be returning in May with 100 or more XOs. We're gaining awareness and momentum, but there's much more to do.</div>
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<div><strong>Visiting an OLPC site:</strong></div>
<div>Contact <a href="mailto:olpc.za@gmail.com">olpc.za@gmail.com</a> if you're in the Johannesburg or Limpopo region and would like to see one of the two current projects.</div>
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<div>Looking forward to develop OLPC in South Africa,</div>
<div>Paul </div></div></div>
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