Dr. Kebwe and the MOU

Below is a photo of Dr. Stephen Kebwe, Member of Parliament from the Serengeti, signing a Memorandum of Understanding on January 29th with Powering Potential to bring our Educating-Through-Technology program to his constituents at three secondary schools: Rigicha, Busawe, and Ikorongo.
left to right:
Dr. Kebwe, Founding Executive Director Janice Lathen,
and Board Member Ena Haines
Dr. Kebwe was recently appointed Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Health and Social Services with a new office at the Ministry of Health in Dar es Salaam.
REA (Tanzania Rural Energy Agency) and TZ Postal  Bank have already contributed funds for this program in the Serengeti, Serena hotels has pledged additional funds, and the IEEE Foundation (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) has awarded Powering Potential a grant, part of which will be used for this implementation.

Country Director Albin Mathias
signing on behalf of Powering Potential


Dr. Kebwe agreed in this Memorandum of Understanding to transfer the pledged funds by February 15 so that we can begin project implementation soon. He has allocated TZS 10 million (US$6,000) for this project.

Meeting with Dr. Mshinda at COSTECH

Below is a photo of Board Member Ena Haines in front of the COSTECH building (Commission of Science and Technology) before Powering Potential’s meeting on Tuesday, January 28, 2014 with Dr. Hassan Mshinda, Director General of COSTECH.

This was a follow up to our initial meeting at the UN on Dec. 11. Dr. Mshinda has been interested in the offline RACHEL educational content we install on our computers. He has also offered to put us in touch with his staff member Faith, who is responsible for ICT for education.

Meeting with Habari Node, LTD

This is a photo of our meeting on Monday, January 27th with Habari Node Ltd. a division of AFAM. They have a non-profit arm that donates Internet equipment and monthly service fees to schools. They expressed an enthusiastic desire to work with Powering Potential. 

left to right: Sam (Habari Node Ltd.), Elibariki Magnus, Ena Haines,

Janice Lathen, Lawrence Rukundo (Habari Node Ltd.)
We started our relationship with Habari Node a few years ago and this meeting was a development of that relationship.

Baray Secondary School

On January 23, 2014, Powering Potential visited Baray Secondary School in Karatu, which is our most remote location. It is also the former school of Powering Potential staff member Eliabarki Magnus. We thank the staff and students for their generous welcome! It was wonderful seeing the results of our efforts first hand.

The Baray Secondary School Emblem 
From L to R: 
Academic master John Burra, Powering Potential Staff Elibariki Magnus, 
Founding Director Janice Lathen, Second Master Godfrey, Board Member V. Ena Haines, 
Headmaster Cleti Madangi and two students


V. Ena Haines speaking with the students


Janice Lathen addresses the students


Janice Lathen and V. Ena Haines
departing from the school after the presentation

The Karatu District Meeting

Powering Potential’s Founding Executive Director Janice Lathen, Advisory Board Member V. Ena Haines and TZ-Country Director Albin Mathias attended a meeting with the Karatu District Executive Director, the District Education Officer and the Heads of Departments on January 20, 2014.

 Left to Right:
Albin Mathias; 
Advisory Board Member V. Ena Haines;
Moses Mabula, Karatu District Executive Director;
Founding Executive Director Janice Lathen.

The Council is committing 20 million Tanzanian Shillings to install 20 computers for our Educating-Through-Technology program in their district. At the current exchange rate that is $12,500. We thank them sincerely for their support of our efforts on behalf of the students in Tanzania!

The Karatu District Meeting

Onward and Upward

Powering Potential Board Member V. Ena Haines met recently with the Tanzanian staff at one of our schools. We are both pleased and excited to add her expertise to our team!

Left to Right:
Daudi Mwakatobe, the computer teacher
Elibariki Magnus, Powering Potential staff
V. Ena Haines, Powering Potential Board Member
Justine Joseph, Headmaster


A Job Well Done

Powering Potential Board Member Ena Haines, Karatu Representative Elibariki Magnus, Founding Executive Director Janice Lathen, and Country Director Albin Mathias, take a stroll after the Karatu District meeting in Tanzania on January 20th. 


Bon Voyage Brunch

Powering Potential organized a Bon Voyage Brunch at Sante Fe Restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on January 12, 2014. This is a longstanding tradition that a brunch is held for our Patrons prior to Founding Executive Director Janice Lathen embarking on a Tanzanian trip.

In 2006, the first Bon Voyage Brunch was hosted by Ahna and Peter Bogyo in their home before Janice’s very first trip to Tanzania. This year, patrons had an opportunity to meet Powering Potential Board Member V. Ena Haines, who will be traveling to Tanzania with Janice on January 15, 2014. The first-time attendance of four members from the NY-TZ Community added a special sentiment to our event. It was a lovely opportunity to relax on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Powering Potential Patrons

Letter from Board Member Rich Segal

Dear Patrons,
My name is Richard Segal. I am a member of the Powering Potential Advisory Board as well as a Board member of the Segal Family Foundation, a strong supporter of Powering Potential’s Educating-Through-Technology program since its inception.

My wife Joanna and I made our first trip to Tanzania this past summer. I wanted to see firsthand the positive impact Powering Potential was making as well as to learn what more could be done to achieve our goal of improving rural education using technology. What an experience! With Janice as our guide, the impact of Powering Potential’s work was evident in the two secondary schools we visited and with the many students, teachers, heads of schools, and government officials we met. Photos of our trip.
We had many memorable moments. A headmaster told us about the parents in his local community organizing to build a new classroom to house a Powering Potential computer lab. Students were seen studying Khan Academy instructional videos hours after their school day had finished. Several former students of Powering Potential programs sought Janice out to thank her for giving them the opportunity to learn the computer skills they needed to get their current jobs. Powering Potential is engaging communities, improving education, and creating better employment opportunities for its graduates. This is what it is all about!
We participated in a workshop with the heads of schools and computer teachers from all six Powering Potential schools. The value the schools place on the Powering Potential computer labs was evident in the lively discussion. We learned how the schools use their computers and what more we can do to maximize their usefulness. As the result of these conversations, we are now increasing our efforts to train all the school teachers (not just the computer teachers) in order to leverage the computer labs in more subject areas. Additionally, we plan to raise funds to add a projector to each lab to make hands-on-learning demonstrations more effective.
It was a pleasure to meet the Powering Potential staff headquartered in Karatu. Albin, Elibariki, and Happy are dedicated employees who truly appreciate the value of Powering Potential as they themselves are beneficiaries of Powering Potential’s program. 
They are passionate about giving the same opportunities to the students served by Powering Potential, and it shows in the quality of their work.

It has been an excellent year for Powering Potential with Phase 2 of our Educating-Through-Technology program being implemented in two schools which serve over 1,200 teachers and students. Installation costs have been significantly reduced by having most of the technology-installation work performed by the Karatu staff.

We launched our 3 in 30 campaign with the goal of providing computer labs in 3 schools in each of the 30 regions of Tanzania. This ambitious project will need your help to complete. Every dollar you contribute will help improve the educational and employment opportunities of young Tanzanians. 

To donate online, click here.
To donate by check, please make payable to ICSEE-Powering Potential and mail to:

Powering Potential
PO Box 230913
New York, NY 10023

Note: ICSEE (International Collaborative for Science, Education and the Environment) TIN: 22-3158263 is a 501(c)3 non-profit public charity and serves as fiscal sponsor for Powering Potential. Donations to ICSEE-Powering Potential are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

With best wishes for the holiday season and New Year,


Richard Segal, Ph. D.
Powering Potential Advisory Board

Meeting at UN with the TZ Commission for Science and Technology

The TZ Mission to the UN arranged a meeting with Dr. Hassan Mshinda, Director General of the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology, V. Ena Haines, Director of Information Technology at Teachers College, Columbia University and Janice Lathen of Powering Potential. The meeting was held at the United Nations on Dec. 11. It was a very productive and fruitful meeting and we were invited to meet with him again next month when we are in Tanzania.

Dr. Hassan Mshinda with Powering Potential’s Janice Lathen


Dr. Hassan Mshinda with V. Ena Haines