In 2005 I posted hyperbolic praise for Nicholas Negroponte’s $100 laptop program that revealed my idealistic side. A more pragmatic response would be Bill Gates’ "Be a Hero, Feed Your Family" program, in which the Gates Foundation offers poor hungry laptop recipients $100 in hard cash or food or vaccines for their colorful gadgets. ("…The ‘Be a Hero’ program will offer you valuable goods in exchange for your wonderful toy. As much as one hundred dollars, Abdul! Think! That is more than your Papa earned all last year!…")
The apocryphal plan reminds me of one of my favorite Sarah Silverman gags (as quoted in the NYer):
I, this past summer, sent fifteen really fun cowl-neck sweaters to this village in Africa, in really fun colors—expecting nothing, by the way—and they culled their money together, whatever they call it, and bought a stamp and sent me a postcard thanking me, and it said thank you and that they had enough sweaters for every single member of the village to get one and that they were delicious.
(P.S. Holly, I hope you do your yarn activities with the Tanzanian orphans *after* lunch.)
Leave a Reply