George MacMillan reports that, so far, a
total of almost £9,500 has been raised towards the
purchase of computers and solar panels for the school and
the community. Part of this is held in the George MacMillan
(Got Matar) Account and part has been paid into PEAS.
Contributions
Anyone wishing to contribute may either send a cheque to
George MacMillan (see below), who has opened a special bank
account for the purpose, or contribute through the charity
PEAS, using the donation form that can be downloaded
here.
This option has the advantage that donations by UK
taxpayers can benefit from “gift aid”. If using the PEAS
form, please write, under Purpose of Donation, Computer
Fund, unless you want your donation to be used to finance
bursaries or further construction at the school – which
George says he would understand!
Please print out and complete the
donation form and return it with your cheque to
the address provided.
The total now includes:
About £1,150 from joint fund-raising projects undertaken by
the Presbyterian church in Langbank and its sister church in
Port Glasgow (St.
Andrews);
Almost £4,900 in the form of donations from friends and
relations attending his 80th birthday parties;
£3,500 in response to Christmas.
George says "I've been amazed by the enthusiasm with which
people have greeted this project".
As a result of such a generous response, there is already
enough money collected to buy and install 8 computers and
related photovoltaic panels. We have agreed with the
Community, however, that it would be best to wait for a
decision by DFID on their application for a grant towards
the overall costs of the project before starting
installation of the equipment and beginning training.
Hopefully, however, the first computers can be installed in
the school by September, enabling final-year pupils to begin
to acquire computer skills before they "graduate" at the end
of the year.
|