|
♦
Congressional Meetings in Washington D.C.
During the week of May 17, 2004, representatives from WWW United met with
Republican and Democratic members of congress on Capitol Hill in Washington DC.
Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) was instrumental in presenting our
Learning Boards™ to several members of Congress and underscoring their potential
to help educate children in lesser-developed areas like the Middle East and
Africa. WWW United members also met with Representative Bob Ney (R-Ohio), who
immediately saw the value of the Learning Boards™ and pledged his support
through future proposed Congressional activity. The trip culminated in an
hour-long session with Howard Liebengood, Chief of Staff for Senator Bill Frist
(R-Senate Majority Leader), who repeatedly expressed his approval of the project
and agreed with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee that the Learning Board™ project should
become a “pilot program.” This proposed avenue would mean that Learning Boards™
could possibly be taken along when our soldiers enter new areas where education
and educational materials are scarce.
At the end of the week, three full boxes of Learning Boards™ were delivered
to Capitol Hill at the request of several Congressional members. These boards
will be distributed throughout Congress to gain more exposure and support for
the project. Two boxes were actually brought into Afghanistan and presented to
Afghan President Hamid Karzai by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Rep. Bob Ney on May
25, 2004. We cannot thank Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee enough for her support of the
Learning Boards™ and for her endorsement of our vision that these boards can
change the lives of children across the globe, as well as change America’s image
around the world.
On the last day, we were escorted
into the Pentagon by an Army Major, who introduced us to a Lt. Colonel in the
Army who is an expert in matters related to Southwest Asia. The Lt. Colonel was
able to give Josanna Smith some very valuable advice and information on her
upcoming trip to Afghanistan.
Josanna
Smith, center, with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
(D-Texas), left, and Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio), right.
Both
members of Congress express overwhelming
support
for the Learning Board™ program.
Josanna
Smith, center left, and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
(D-Texas), center right, present the Learning Board™
to
representatives of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist,
including Senator Frist’s Chief of Staff Howard Liebengood,
right,
and Senator Frist’s Legislative Director Andrea
Becker,
left. Both agree on the proposal of a pilot program.
♦ Josanna
Smith’s Trip to Afghanistan
On May 22, 2004, Josanna Smith, founder and president of WWW United, embarked
on a 12 day trip to Kabul, Afghanistan. This journey was the fulfillment of
years of hoping and dreaming that there is, in fact, a better solution to the
lack of educational opportunities in the region. Mrs. Smith was joined in Kabul
by a representative from Paxton International and KBR, the global Engineering
and Construction company, both of which are shipping thousands of Learning
Boards™ into the country pro bono. During her stay in Kabul, Mrs. Smith traveled
to several of the schools where children assemble in bombed out buildings with
no roofs, in dirt-floor mosques, in tents, in “mentors’” homes, in mud huts in
the mountains, and just about anywhere else they can find. The children walk
from far distances to crowd into these spaces with no electricity and sit
cross-legged on the floor all day. Paper is a very scarce resource, and pens and
pencils are even more rare. In some of the schools, children were using small
brown beans to form letters on the floor because they had nothing to write with
or on. The children and their teachers were so happy to receive their own
individual Learning Boards™ from Mrs. Smith. They will be able to have these for
years. It is more than just the gift of a small chalkboard; it is the gift of
education for these children and for their families.
School
girl in Afghanistan uses beans to form
letters
on the ground because her school has
no
writing instruments.
During this trip, Mrs. Smith was also able to meet with many other
individuals who strive to make life better for the people of Afghanistan. This
included the American Ambassador, local families, government and local
representatives from East and West, an Afghan television star, teachers,
directors of schools, and hundreds of school children. Mrs. Smith also met with
representatives of other international relief organizations, one of which
requested 170,000 Learning Boards™ to augment their project of getting more
school supplies to children in the area. This was a “golden opportunity” to
build bridges between cultures and form partnerships with like-minded people and
organizations who are united in their quest to help those children who so
desperately want to be educated.
Mrs.
Smith hands out Learning Boards™ to school
children
in Kabul, a rare class with both girls and boys.
Girls
high in the mountains of Afghanistan display
their
new Learning Boards™, chalk and erasers with
Josanna
Smith. Note the plastic in the new school windows.
♦
WWW United’s 1st
Annual Euforia Live Fundraiser
On June 8, 2004, WWW United’s first fundraiser was held at
the Cotton Exchange Bar in Houston, Texas. This was a wonderful evening, during
which we were entertained by a benefit performance of Euforia Live. During this
incredibly unique performance, Cuban-American fine artist Rolando Diaz created
an original oil-on-canvas, while the audience was inspired and soothed by the
sounds of original piano composer Seth Simmons. Everyone who attended agreed
that these brilliant performers bring together two art forms in an experience
unlike any other.
Rolando Diaz’s work has been exhibited in numerous
museums and galleries, as well as in the private homes of collectors like Liza
Minelli and Reggie Williams (Vice President of Disney World Attractions). He is
also the signature artist for all 10 of the Samba Room restaurants around the
country, including Bossa restaurant in Houston. Seth Simmons has been writing
and performing his own neo-classical, romantic, original piano compositions
since he discovered he had this tremendous talent as a young child. Samples of
his music can be heard on the Euforia Live website.
To find out more about the Euforia show, as well as Rolando Diaz and Seth
Simmons, please visit their websites at
www.euforialive.com and
www.rodiaz.com.
After the June 8th
performance, the recently created painting was auctioned for $3,500, with all
proceeds going to WWW United. We sincerely thank Rolando Diaz and Seth Simmons
for their generosity and for sharing their tremendous talents with us. We also
wish to thank everyone who attended the event for their donation to and their
support of WWW United programs. We hope to see you all again in Spring 2005 for
our 2nd Euforia Live / WWW United fundraiser!
♦
Request for 170,000 Learning Boards to go to Afghanistan
On Josanna Smith’s trip to
Afghanistan in May 2004, she met with a group who is also trying to bring more
educational opportunities into the region. When a representative of this group
saw the Learning Board™, he declared, “This is just what we have been missing.”
Two weeks after Josanna’s arrival back in the States, this group contacted WWW
United and asked if it would be possible to manufacture and ship 170,000
Learning Boards™ to Afghanistan over the next 12 months. WWW United is currently
working hard to make this opportunity to educate 170,000 Afghan children a
reality.
♦
The Trip to China
In the summer of 2004, WWW United CEO Josanna Smith and her
husband Bo Smith (CEO and Chairman of Smith Global Services, Inc. and WWW United
Cabinet Member) traveled to China, where they gave commencement addresses to
3,000 graduating students of The Central University of Nationalities. Both were
also given honorary Professorships from the university. While on this trip, the
Smiths met with several Chinese government officials who were enthusiastic about
WWW United’s idea for English classes to be taught in China. WWW United sees
this as a great prospect for friendly relations, cultural appreciation and
understanding, as well as incredible business opportunities for both countries.
WWW United is currently working on a program whereby American teachers travel to
China to teach 1-2 month English courses. Chinese officials are enthusiastic
about this plan, and have offered to provide the facilities for our teachers.
Bo Smith, left, and
Josanna Smith, second from left,
meet with
representatives of The People’s Republic of China.
♦ Request
for Learning Boards to go to Iraq
WWW United is also in the process of sending 200 Learning
Boards to Baghdad. This comes at the request of the Army’s 489th
Civil Affairs Battalion, which has responsibility for about one-fourth of
Baghdad. Members of this Civil Affairs Battalion, some of which have handed out
our Learning Boards in Afghanistan, have seen experienced many children in the
Baghdad area ask our troops for paper and pencils. The Learning Boards™ that
they receive will actually be handed out by our soldiers while they are on
patrol in Baghdad and the surrounding areas.
Additionally, WWW United is currently in the process of
sending hundreds of Learning Boards™ to San Diego. From there, they will be
taken into Iraq by a U.S. Special Forces team that is being sent to the area.
The Special Forces group is excited about distributing the Learning Boards™.
They think the boards are an ideal way for our soldiers to connect with and help
the children living in these war-torn areas. The Learning Boards™ also give
America and our soldiers the opportunity to change the negative image that many
in this region have of the United States.
♦
Learning Boards taken into Mexico
During the summer of 2004, a youth group from Houston,
Texas traveled to Mexico and took along several boxes of Learning Boards™. They
distributed the Learning Boards™ to children in a local village, who were very
excited to receive them.
Children in Mexico using
WWW United Learning
Boards™
♦ Socks
and Chalk donated at Girl Scout Day at Six Flags
 On
September 11, 2004, WWW United representatives collected socks and chalk from
thousands of Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts at the annual “Sock and Chalk” drive
held during Scout Day at Six Flags in Houston, Texas. It was amazing to see
these young girls and boys arrive with bags and boxes filled with socks and
chalk to be sent overseas along with the WWW United Learning Boards™. Many of
the Scouts had made Learning Boards™ for us in the past, and they were very
excited to see the socks and chalk pile up on our tables located just outside of
the entrance to Six Flags. Some of the troops wrote letters and drew pictures
for children around the world who will be receiving the donated socks, chalk,
and Learning Boards™. These letters were mostly addressed “Dear Friend,” and
expressed such goodwill in the form of statements like “Good luck in school,” (Breanna,
Troop 11177), “I hope you like the gifts that we made to help you learn to
read,” (Destiny, Troop 8234) and “You can succeed. Just put your mind to
it”(Mary, Troop 11177). In total, we collected 727 pairs of socks and 354
boxes of chalk (or 5,006 individual pieces of chalk)! Way to go scouts! Your
socks and chalk will soon be on their way to children overseas. THANK YOU!
A Girl Scout troop from Houston, Texas
donates
bags of socks and chalk to WWW United
representatives
at Six Flags’ annual Girl Scout Day on
September 11, 2004.
♦ Learning
Boards™ now being professionally manufactured
WWW United is
thrilled to announce that, due to worldwide demand, we have begun to have the
Learning Boards™ produced by a professional manufacturer. We will still continue
to have boards made by volunteers, as this is a very important part of the
Learning Board™ program. However, even with the large number of volunteers who
donate their time to cut, sand, and paint the Learning Boards™, we simply cannot
keep up with the increasing global demand without additional production
capabilities. Our manufacturer can produce thousands of these boards at a time,
and is doing so at a very low cost. These Learning Boards™ are being sent
overseas on a routine basis, along with the Learning Boards™ made by volunteers
like the Girl Scouts, churches, and school groups.
|
