Yesterday I bought two laptops through the “Give One Get One” program of “One Laptop Per Child”. One of the inexpensive laptops will be sent to me and the other goes to a needy child. Here’s the link:

http://laptop.org

I’m looking forward to seeing what this laptop can do. Ultimately, I’ll probably give it to my nephew Jack or my niece Emily, but before then I’m definitely going to be playing with it myself.

As for the program, I’ll admit to being someone who thought it was silly to give needy kids laptops when they really need food and water, but I’ve changed my way of thinking. Individuals can’t do much about providing water for a village. That’s something that a government or other large organization needs to do. Giving an individual a laptop empowers that person. That individual may now learn to read or solve problems. If I were a government, sure I’d set up water resources and food supplies. But I’m not. So giving someone a tool to help themselves is the best that I can do. It’s me helping someone to help themselves.