:Title:    SOLID ~ G.R.O. Foundation
:Author:   Meron Moroz
:Date:     Sat, 10 Nov 2007 19:00:01 PST
:Modified: Sun, 11 Nov 2007 22:05:28 PST
:URL:      http://www.ned.com/group/solid/news/3/

.. image:: http://www.ned.com/group/solid/file/308591/5.26.11948471265/get/GRO_LOGO_letterhead.jpg

Some of you refugees from O'net may remember SOLID's friends Jean and Jamie.  Jean was a Peace Corps Volunteer and Jamie is a registered nurse and social outreach worker.  Since returning to Canada they have started the `G.R.O. Foundation`_ and its first project, the Family Scholarship Fund, in response to community needs they witnessed while working at Tsepong HIV Clinic in the Leribe district of Lesotho, a Gardens of Hope location.

SOLID recently received a letter from them suggesting a partnership between SOLID and G.R.O. so that together we can further our efforts in the Leribe District of Lesotho.  We propose to use this space to discuss how we can make that happen.

**Dear S.O.L.I.D Salt Spring**,

I am writing to you on behalf of the Global Relief Outreach Foundation (G.R.O.) and our North American partners.  In 2005 we engaged in the development of a scholarship program and grassroots co-operative in Hlotse-Leribe, Lesotho.  In our efforts to increase support to our students and project participants we are currently seeking to reach out to other organizations and initiatives operating in the region.

As a Registered Nurse at Tsepong Clinic Leribe, and through our mutual contacts in Lesotho I have been aware of your organization’s involvement at Molapo High School and in the Leribe region over the past several years. As both of our organizations continue to pursue successful and sustainable development progress in Lesotho I feel that it is of vital importance to open the lines of communication between us so as to facilitate mutual project success.

As we are both aware, project development in Lesotho can be both logistically and ethically challenging, particularly in terms of communications, financial transparency and transition of responsibility to local partners without reliable follow-up.  Due to this we are eager to develop reciprocal partnerships in order to share information, provide mutual project follow-up while in country and to provide continuity of services considering our target population is the same.

We are eager for you to review the attached project summary as well as our website at www.grofoundation.org in order to gain a better understanding of our goals and projects.  I am available at anytime to discuss ways in which our organizations can support each other, promote each other’s success and contribute to more co-operative and sustainable development in Leribe.

As a starting point we are hoping to exchange weblinks for our respective websites, and if you are comfortable discuss and draft a more detailed partnership agreement.  I am eager to discuss these possibilities and I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards,

James White R.N.

Director – G.R.O. Foundation


.. _`G.R.O. Foundation`: http://www.grofoundation.org/