January Update

Happy New Year:

As the year draws to a close, I want to wish you all a Happy New Year, and to thank you for the enthusiasm, great advice, and support for MicroAid International. It is hard to believe that last May I started in earnest to create a non-profit humanitarian aid organization to help victims of disasters—a charity where we give people no-strings-attached assistance after they have lost everything, and empower them to recover their place in the social and economic fabric of the community—and six months later, after incorporating, receiving our 501 (c) 3, designing a logo and letterhead, I was in Sri Lanka laying the groundwork for that work: meeting potential beneficiaries and partner NGOs, touring destroyed villages, and assessing project sites.

At every step of the way, your involvement and input got me to the next level. And of course, your financial contributions have allowed me to do the work. (By the way, thank you Nadia for your recent end-of-year donation to help defray the cost of the trip, which came to about $3,000 out of my pocket. And thanks to Les for sending $1,000 to help with that, too.) Now, we are going to raise $52,000 for the Sri Lanka recovery work—all of which will go toward program activities to help families and individuals in need. (Check out the “Where We Work – Sri Lanka” section of the website.) We have houses to build, and others to complete, tsunami orphans to support, and tools of livelihood to replace.

So not only will 2009 be great for all of us, it will be great for those less fortunate people we will be helping in Sri Lanka. Of course, here in the United States, I will continue building houses for low income families with Habitat for Humanity one day a week, as well as donating my time to Surfrider Foundation organizing their once-a-month beach clean-ups and advocating for environmental responsibility. MicroAid is the conduit through which we are making a meaningful impact in peoples’ lives!

I hope this letter finds you well and that you are having a fabulous holiday season. Wishing you peace, happiness, and love in 2009.

Thank you again for all the support. (Website coming soon… microaidinternational.org)

Sincerely,

Jon Ross

Founder

MicroAid International