GOING TO BACK TO MY ROOTS IN LITITZ

On Friday afternoon, September 3, Andrew and his two daughters, Furaha and Alice, rang the bell at the Alpha and Omega Community Center. They were inquiring about getting a computer. I could provide each of his daughters with a Linux desktop with wifi. The one desktop had built-in speakers, but neither had a webcam.

As we talked, they said they live in Lititz. They speak Swahili and Kinyarwanda. I told them I grew up outside Lititz and went to Warwick High School. Furaha is interested in studying nursing. I told her my wife just retired as a nurse. Alice is in 11th grade.

They came back the following Saturday, September 11, to pick up the two desktops. Great!

Then, late Sunday afternoon, I got a message from Alice that her wifi kept shutting off. I asked her some troubleshooting questions to try and solve the issue.

My schedule during the week is pretty full, especially the evenings, but I had about an hour and half free that Sunday evening. I could run out to Lititz and take a first-hand look because we guarantee our computers for 30 days.

I don’t always get up to Lititz, but I recognized their street. I still typed the address into my Google Maps just to make sure I didn’t get lost. As I drove into Lititz, the street signs looked familiar although a lot had changed. Soon, I found their home. We checked out the computer, which started up fine. Since sending me the message, Alice had moved the computer closer to the modem, and the wifi signal was stronger. The internet connected. Our technical partners, Stu and Charlie, opt for the Ethernet cable, but the wifi worked by getting closer.

Although we generally don’t make house calls on a Sunday evening, I wanted to make sure everything was ok. We were happy.

With a common connection to Warwick High School, I wished Furaha, Alice , and their father Andrew the best. They are making Lititz a better place.

We are actively seeking donations of laptops, desktops, and especially mice