UTBT Malawi Non Profit: Chapter 3

And, I’m back. After a brief hiatus filled with studying for the LSAT, my pen is in hand, and I am excited to get into the Malawi nonprofit blog scene. There is a lot to tell. Www.underthebaobabtree.com is quickly becoming what it has always wanted to be: a stable website that is at peace with its server. The team has finally mastered the technological mysteries of our website’s server. All systems are a go. Yo has continued his lack-of-sleep pattern, but luckily, has also continued to make giant strides with Under The Baobab’s progress. As you can see, we have added some photos of Malawi and Rwanda along the sidebars of the blog. These pictures offer a small glance into the everyday life of the children of Malawi and Dr. Paul’s Rwanda experience.

If you have not noticed, we also have a new logo. Alli Arnold, a well-known illustrator based in New York City has been working hard on developing a logo that fits Under The Baobab Tree’s mission. Our new logo has several different versions in both color and black and white. Alli Arnold’s illustrations are mystical, playful, and simply irresistible. They leave lots to the imagination, and can be enjoyed by all. Alli Arnold’s clients include The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Barneys New York, kate spade, Travel & Leisure, New York Magazine, and Target. Her unique style can be spotted throughout the bustling streets of Manhattan as you can see in the photo shown on the sidebar. She has definitely made her mark, and we are so grateful to have such a talented artist on board. Please check out her website at www.alliarnold.com. Furthermore, Alli Arnold’s vision of our nonprofit has been transmitted onto t-shirts. Yo is working on developing our logo t-shirt line as an integrated piece of the website. The t-shirt line will act as a function on the website. Instead of making a straight donation, you will be able to help raise funds through purchasing shirts directly on the website while spreading the word by making others aware by wearing our t-shirts. We hope that they will be a big hit.

To bring you all further up to speed, a big thank you goes to Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple Computer (now Apple, Inc.), and Jim Valentine from www.Woz.org for arranging David Elliott, their business associate, from Solutions Benefiting Life (www.solutionsbenefitinglife.com) and Yo to meet so that Yo could accept SBL’s gift of a unique water purification system. David was kind enough to donate a one-of-a-kind water purification filter system to our nonprofit organization, Under The Baobab Tree, in order to help the village people of Malawi construct their own cottage industries so that they too may spread the knowledge of clean water usage to other surrounding villages. This exclusive system provides a template along with the physical mold that will allow us to teach the Malawi villagers how to use the purification system. A big thank you to Steve Wozniak, Jim Valentine, David Elliott, and Prizm Technologies for allowing this to happen so that we may get one step closer to a sustainable environment in Malawi.

Now, I would also like to discuss a bit about Kevin Taylor. Kevin Taylor has jumped on board as Under The Baobab Tree’s attorney, helping us out with all of the government legalities while reviewing the legal documents that go into a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization. Taylor and Mrisch, LLP, which can be found at www.globaltechlaw.com, is a New York-based law firm focused on corporate, information technology, and intellectual property law. Kevin is a popular speaker and writer on issues concerning information technology security, e-commerce, cyberspace law, and outsourcing. He has also been published in Secure IT and E-Commerce Law and Strategy. His law degree from New York Law School, Masters Degree in Economics from Catholic University, and Bachelor's Degree in Economics from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida allow him to draw from numerous sources of knowledge. He is also a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. We are pleased to have Mr. Taylor on board. Raj and Lisa have been actively working with Kevin on assembling all of the legal paperwork. The mounds of paper are slowly, but gradually, lessening and we are starting to see a light at the end of the long tunnel of red legal tape. Moreover, we have also begun the hunt for our first Volunteer Project Manager for our small nonprofit in Malawi. If anyone has any recommendations, please let us know! Additionally, we are also in the midst of beginning the announcements and finding partners for our launch party.

Furthermore, our Junior Ambassador Program has informally begun. We are setting up initiatives now. Our first members of the Junior Ambassador Program have already set up a lemonade stand to begin raising funds. As you can see from the photo on the sidebar, we have a great deal of enthusiasm coming from all age groups even before the program has established a firm foundation. As the Director of the Junior Ambassador Program, I, personally, look forward to working with several different groups from various schools and areas in order to create a fantastic program that will continue to grow throughout the school year. I hope to meet with the first crew in the upcoming week to work out a sketch of our approach for the upcoming school year.

Next week there will be more regarding the Junior Ambassador Program in addition to Yo’s trip to New York. It looks as though he may be heading back again to straighten out some more Under The Baobab Tree business. Though the summer has slowed down a little bit, the tree of life is still holding strong, and undoubtedly continuing to reach great heights. We are anxiously waiting to hear back from Illumine regarding a layout for the next steps to raise awareness for our nonprofit. 


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