Newsletters: Volume 12 - Spring 2004
GTL Affiliates with Vehicles for Charity
Very recently one of our generous donors offered to donate a used automobile to GTL. He had even researched the concept and found that Vehicles for Charity would suit our purposes perfectly. They are a nonprofit organization that arranges for the pickup and sale of used vehicles, and then directs a healthy percentage of the proceeds to the designated charity. We have made the necessary arrangements with VFC so that you too can participate in this unique way of making a charitable donation.
If you have a used vehicle that is in running condition, and would like to donate it to Growth Through Learning just contact us for the details at 508-757-7765, or Vehicles for Charity toll free at 1-866-628-2277. Remember, it is not necessary that your vehicle pass inspection as long as it runs. For further information you might also wish to visit their Web site at www.vehiclesforcharity.org. All you need for making the final arrangements for pick up is the title, and to notify VFC that you are making a vehicle donation for the benefit of Growth Through Learning.
Currently, if you as the donor itemize your deductions, you can deduct the “fair market value” of the vehicle. IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions, and Publication 561 Determining the Value of Donated Property, provides more detailed information about your donation. Vehicles for Charity does not place a value on the donated vehicles. The vehicle’s fair market value must be determined by you, the donor. If the value is $5,000.00 or more, a qualified vehicle appraisal is required by the IRS. You may also check the following Web sites to obtain help in making the actual appraisal of your car’s value; http://www.kbb.com and http://nada.com
Spotlight on Kenya
Here at GTL, we never cease to be amazed by the eagerness of our students to acquire further education. Thank you letters and appeals for scholarship aid reach our desk almost continuously, and it is always a joy to hear from our girls.
Recently we heard from Victoria Bitok, one of our students in Kenya. She has recently graduated from secondary school, and now hopes to attend college. I was quite surprised to learn that not only has she been accepted at a university in Nairobi, but also at the University of Maine! According to her letter, it is her hope to arrive here in August in order to begin her studies in electronics.
Of course, it is far beyond the capacity of Growth Through Learning to offer Victoria more than a token scholarship if she in fact does come to America. We would, of course, help to facilitate a scholarship for her if a benefactor can be found.
Richard Jenson Returns to Tanzania
Last summer GTL Board Member Richard Jenson began a “vacation math school” for sixth graders at the Kambi Ya Maziwa School in a village named Kisongo outside of Arusha Tanzania . Even though it was their five week school holiday (it’s winter in Tanzania in July!) over thirty children waited for him each morning he taught (and LEARNED from) his eager and cheerful students. He’s hoping to continue this new idea when he returns in July of 2004.
While in Tanzania, Jenson will look in on the two other primary schools where he installed more than 25 older computers that he ferried there in July 2002. Doubtless they’ll require tuning up and software upgrades. In addition he’ll survey and document the Arusha area activities of Growth Through Learning and the Friends of Tanzania Schools. Those parts of both organizations responsible for fundraising and reporting to donors should benefit from his resulting photos and summaries.
Education Promotes Hope
Today’s newspaper readers are besieged with discouraging reports of AIDS, violence, and poverty affecting many people in developing nations. What is a contributor to Growth Through learning expected to do when faced with such dire statistics? GTL would not exist if the Board members did not believe there is a solution to these problems, namely, education. Providing education to young women in East Africa not only offers immediate hope to these students but also works in the long run to improve the conditions for themselves and others in their countries.
Even a closer reading beyond the headlines reveals that hope does exist and education is working to ameliorate the problems of AIDS, violence, and poverty in East Africa. A recent article in Charlottesville, Virginia’s Daily Progress states that the number of people who are HIV-positive in Uganda has dropped from 30 percent to 6 percent in just 15 years, while percentages of infected people continue to rise in many other African countries. Dr. Michael Scheld of the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine, who works with several native doctors to establish AIDS clinics in Uganda, claims, “Uganda’s success can largely be attributed to educational initiatives.”
Uganda also served as the subject recently of articles in the Washington Post. This time the problem was uncontrolled violence which has forced hundreds of school children to leave their villages each night and seek protection in city shelters. Again there is persistent and courageous hope since the children value education so much they return each day to their village schools.
Another Washington Post writer based in Nairobi, Kenya, wrote about a less publicized problem in parts of East Africa, that brought about by a widespread cottage industry of brewing homemade alcohol called chang’aa that is highly addictive and reportedly can cause brain disorders, blindness, and death. Poverty is at the root of this problem. A woman with five children profiled in the article said she would do whatever she needed to do to feed and educate her children, even if that meant turning to the ready money of bootlegging.
Hope enters into this story in the form of other women. In Kenya woman are lobbying for a prohibition act that would jail the brewers of chang’aa. Without education these women would not have realized they had the power to lobby for changes in the law. On the other hand, poor women feel compelled to turn to bootlegging to feed and educate their children. Until the day of free government-sponsored education arrives in East Africa, there is still an important role for GTL and its contributors.
These stories of East African society disturb and sadden all of us at GTL. At times we are tempted to feel that the problems are too great and too enduring for us to make a difference. Yet to combat every problem in Africa there are African voices and African efforts seeking to do something about the problem. Let us not weaken our solidarity with our courageous brothers and sisters in East Africa. Education is the most reliable route to a more just and peaceful society. Providing scholarship funding to young women in these countries is the mission of GTL and that of its contributors.
From the President
This has been another extremely successful year for Growth Through Learning. The number of scholarships granted increased from 117 to 134, and we are beginning to see some of our girls finish their education and move on to meaningful jobs. At the same time we have worked within a conservative budget, fully realizing that charitable donations can vary significantly with changes in the economy, employment, and world conditions.
On June 30th, GTL will be celebrating its 7th anniversary since our founding in 1997. For me personally, it hardly seems possible that an innocent sight-seeing safari to Kenya and Tanzania in 1996 would result in a going and growing non-profit organization. During our first year of operation we supported just 12 secondary school students in Kenya and Tanzania. Almost immediately, however, we began to grow rapidly. In 1999 six students were accepted in Uganda, and the total for all three countries swelled to 32 needy and deserving girls attending school. Included in that number was Anne Mbwambo, our very first applicant and the first scholarship award made for post-secondary education. She will complete her studies in June of this year, and will become a CPA in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
This has also been a real learning experience for me. Not only had I never founded or run a corporation before, but I also knew virtually nothing about international finance or dealing with people of foreign countries. Undoubtedly, my five return visits to East Africa have contributed greatly in providing deeper insight and the opportunity for a meaningful cross-cultural exchange of information and ideas. I am forever grateful to our generous donors who have enabled our entire program.
Last modified: May 28, 2004, 15:50 EDT