This is just a small mini-update, the day is far from over. I’m going to give this a dedicated post, though, because I think it is important enough to deserve one. I have set up a process where you can safely and securely donate straight to my gap year fund, in case you want to help fund my projects in Nepal and beyond. You can find the donation link to the right of this post, in the sidebar titled “Welcome To My Gap Year Website!”.
The low cost / low power computers I’m building are around $165 USD each, which can be paid for in full by just a few small donations from individuals. All the money I receive will pay for the (non-profit) computers, I won’t keep any of it. I set up this donation account because I now realize that Muni and I have the capability to distribute far more computers than we can afford ourselves: while I originally thought that just finding recipients and distributing the seven preliminary computers I brought with me would take a significant amount of time, I now realize that especially with Muni’s connections and staff, we could distribute computers as fast as we can afford them.
Even after I leave Nepal, I will leave behind the specifications of the computers and a hard drive with the copy of Ubuntu on it. As the parts come in, they will be assembled here at Hi Tech Pioneer, and the copy of Ubuntu (with educational software pre-installed) will be cloned on to the hard drive of the new computer. This way, even with me gone, the computer project can live on.
Once again, this is a non-profit venture and neither Muni or I will see any of the money you donate. It will go towards parts and shipping, and we will build and distribute the computers from there.
That’s all for now.
Charles
PS – the mountain in this post’s thumbnail seems to be the highest peak of Ganesh Himal, which is 24,000 ft high. This morning I woke up and saw it for the first time; the weather was incredibly clear. If anyone could calculate how far away it is from Dillibazaar Rd in Kathmandu, I’d much appreciate it!
I was born in London, England. At the age of ten, I moved to Hong Kong, which opened up a whole new part of the world: Asia. Since then, I have enjoyed traveling to different locales around the world. Having graduated from High School, I am taking a gap year to work on a computer project in Nepal, and later a cultural immersion trip in Ghana. This is the blog I am using to keep the world notified. 
Charles–Ganesh Himal is a sub-range of the Himalayan mountain range. It is named for Ganesha. The range lies about 70 kilometres north north-west of Kathmandu. Elevation 24,000 feet. You might be pleased to know that I got this information from Wikipedia! That’s right — I concede to the power of the internet!
Charles, you could also try http://www.wikimapia.org/ to find out radial distance between two points.