2007 In Review

Dear Donors,

Thank you for your generous contributions in 2007. You helped sustain our communications network in Africa, and prepare for network growth and improvements in 2008 and beyond. For your interest, here is a brief update of 2007 REMCU results.

The network in Africa is now more stable than ever, and is experiencing consistent daily traffic. Partly this is due to better equipment we were able to install this year, but this is also in large part due to the staff of our partner organization, the Zambia Flying Doctor Service (ZFDS). They are becoming very familiar with how to support the system, and regularly monitor its status.

As one might anticipate, there is quite a variation in use of the system - some remote sites are using it daily and receiving great value; some have left their system idle. We are working with ZFDS to encourage the low use sites to take advantage of the system, and trying to understand how we can make this tool more valuable for them.

On the technology front, we have made some inroads that will improve the offering we can deliver to the remote communities. We continue to focus on reliability and total cost of ownership. During our upcoming 2008 trip we plan to implement some of the new alternatives. We are very confident in them because we have tested them in our now-very-well-equipped development/test facility in Victoria, and across the continent of North America with new REMCU supporters.

Humanitarian communications opportunities continue to far out number our ability to assist. Throughout 2007 we had many inquiries from other organizations that were hoping we could help. We are working with a few that we feel we are a good match to best collaborate with at this time, but we are keen on growing our capacity to become more responsive.

2007 was our first full year as a stand-alone registered charity in Canada. There was a lot of work just to run the organization and meet our legal/fiscal requirements, and a lot to learn in the process. Thanks to the help of friends, family and new partners we have a foundation for future success and efficiency.

Thank you again for your support! Please visit our web site (www.remcu.org), and particularly the “blog” (web log); we will be using this more as we start to achieve more milestones in 2008. We are very excited about what is possible to achieve; with your continued support we most surely will increase the positive impact we are having!

Sincerely,

Nzola Swasisa, Rob Porter, Trever Blair