Looking for a Good Audience for World Rider
Allan Karl, just back from a motorcycle odyssey around the world, has started another mission: urging people to support World Computer Exchange. First on his list of communities to help is Senegal, where 15 schools assisted by Peace Corps Volunteers are raising the final $3,400 for a shipment of 200 computers.
"Most of the warm-hearted and culturally rich people I've met over the past three years cannot do as I have done," says Allan, who's now back home in Southern California after traveling 62,000 miles through dozens of countries. "Here in the USA, we have access to technology that allows us to grow personally while providing us an economic advantage. Often on my journey I've wondered what it would take to get this technology into the hands of the disadvantaged. I believe that with computers, Internet access and training, these people can improve education, health care and commerce, ideally helping them become self-sufficient."
Allan's Web site, www.worldrider.com, contains a blog that attracted many people who used it to follow him on his long journey. The site also includes a recommendation that people help WCE raise that final $3,400 for Senegal.
"Allan is a great ambassador for World Computer Exchange," said Timothy Anderson, WCE's founder and president. "Few people even dream of making the trip that he made, and fewer still manage to make it happen. Most important, Allan didn't limit himself to each country's tourist sights and scenic attractions. He focused on making contact with grassroots people in out-of-the-way places -- exactly the sort of people served by WCE and its partners."
Anderson is seeking opportunities -- corporate events, sales conventions, association meetings -- where Allan could speak about his adventures (he'd charge no fees in these cases) and where a member of WCE's leadership could explain the nonprofit organization's latest projects. (WCE would also like to make a DVD of one of these presentations.) If you have an idea for a good audience, or if you've got the skills and equipment to make such a DVD, please e-mail WorldRider@WorldComputerExchange.org.
