Dear Friends, It seems hard to believe that little-less than two years ago I found myself in rural North India, drafting a letter of appeal to family and friends, asking them to part with their used- computers and not-so-used financial resources. Waiting for the first few responses to trickle in via electronic mail it was difficult not to feel small. I had, after all, set off on a somewhat ambitious, if not foolhardy course. With little to my name other than a return plane ticket to the United States, I made a promise to a small community I encountered while backpacking through the foothills of the Himalayas, that I would one day return to their village and help to establish a community-learning center. At first the response to that initial letter of appeal was little more than underwhelming—then slowly, letters expressing kind sentiment found their way to my inbox. Shortly thereafter, our first donation of fifty dollars was in-hand, and soon a one-hundred dollar donation followed, as did our first, second, and third used computers. Today, over twenty-thousand dollars and one-hundred plus computers later, I am pleased to report that the More Than Tomorrow Project has made good on its promise to establish not one, but five community-operated learning centers in rural portions of India, providing access to information and communication technology as well as English enrichment to over one-hundred students. Currently, The More Than Tomorrow Project is in the process of establishing a sixth learning center--this time in the United States--and with your continued support we can double our year-to-date efforts. From the very beginning, our organization adopted a posture of knowing only that we did not know. This was done partly out of necessity (as we were treading on unfamiliar ground), though more fundamentally because experience vetted that effective service to others is really about partnership on equal footing, and requires a willingness to be taught as much as to teach. We also learned rather quickly that the best of intentions will amount to nil if individuals do not feel a sense of ownership over a given project. In short, the roads traveled from here to there have proven to be bumpy ones—but where is the fun in a ride devoid of at least a few bumps? It is my every hope that your stay with our organization will not be a brief one, and that you are able to herein find the information as well as the inspiration you seek. Feel free to contact me directly (click here) should the need arise. And please join us in working to create the type of world that enables all to live with dignity—there is, after all, so much to be done. Peace and commitment, Marshall J. Krinitz Marshall J. Krinitz Founder The More Than Tomorrow Project mailto:marshall@morethantomorrow.org?subject=The%20More%20Than%20Tomorrow%20Projectshapeimage_1_link_0
Executive Summary