Where we are at.

Dear friends,

I hope this helps clarify things.

From the New York Times on Jhai: "How do you bring the Web to people who don't have phone lines - or even electricity? With a level of ingenuity that would have impressed Robinson Cruesoe, it turns out."

From the Economist on Jhai: "He (Bill Gates) even wondered if it might be possible to make computers for the poor in countries without electric power grid. The answer is yes, and things are going even further."

From the Wall St. Journal (1 Aug 05) in article featuring Jhai; Dr. Lynne H. Irwin talks about technology solving problems of poverty: "The basic cure involves management, not technology."

1. Jhai PC and Communication System - Now
The Jhai PC is a low-power, rugged computer that works, is completing its second field test, and has never crashed during three and half years of development and testing.
-- It is part of a system that includes proven community buy-in methods, proven models for business and financial sustainability, and a thorough understanding of both technology and how to build success on assets already in place in rural communities.
-- It was built from the ground up by people very familiar with extreme environmental conditions in rural areas where people make less than $1/day.
-- It responds to exact, expressed needs of people living in remote villages for a tool that will help them make more money 1/through knowledge that adds economic value 2/through communicating with market towns and relatives nearby and overseas, 3/through education, and 4/through better communication and information-sharing among nearby villages and worldwide.

2. Partnerships that make a difference - Fast
-- The Center for Development of Advanced Computing (government of India) in cooperation with Jhai, is planning to develop and engineer a PC for India that can be produced in large volume, along the broad lines of the Jhai PC, with a target selling price of $200, including Operating System and basic application software suite in English and Indian languages. The turn-around is quite short.
-- Mission 2007, of which Jhai is a member, has garnered the support of the Indian government, the private sector, professional organizations and civil society organizations to undertake an information and communication technology (ICT) roll out that will positively effect the economic well-being of people in 600,000 villages.
-- MS Swaminathan Research Foundation and Datamation Foundation Trust with Jhai's help, will test the advanced socio-economic development systems of these two world famous ICT and development organizations and the new Indian PC in early 2006 to demonstrate appropriate training, connectivity choice, content decision-making, capacity building and coordination services that can used as one template for Mission 2007 efforts as it develops Knowledge Centres country-wide.

3. Always empowering, never controlling
Jhai Foundation has been approached for cooperation by people in 65 countries. We will offer 1/a GIS/Wiki website for development of localized data and 2/a peer-to-peer relationship and support website with near instant translation services – for India and then internationally. We will quickly share what we learn. We will be available to vendors, implementers, governments, and non governmental organizations everywhere for consultations on means, tools, and critical paths for rural ICT and economic development. Our focus over the next two and half years is to work with Mission 2007 to create process and action templates that work.

4. I am bringing a Jhai PC v1.6 to the UN World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis and will display it at two events sponsored by Mission 2007, as I understand it. A showcase at 3 pm on 15 November and a workshop on grassroots and Mission 2007 tba. I also will participate in events sponsored by InfoDev, SIDA, and IDRC and hope to attend Media Lab's showcase with Jhai's designer, Lee Felsenstein. I'll have my mobile. Hope it works. ;-)

yours, in Peace,

Lee Thorn

Chair, Jhai Foundation/JhaiTech
350 Townsend St., Ste. 309, San Francisco, CA 94107 USA.

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