Two interesting things happened today:
1 - friend of mine out on a survey (they hike around the country like backpackers, to find villages and find what languages those areas are using, so we can gather statistics to guide which Bible translation projects we do).... and he came back with an interesting story. Read, the Tonda Survey
2 - we were able to announce 1/2 price internet per/mb for October. One of my goals here has been to work towards faster, more reliable, and more affordable internet so that we can remain in contact with the places we need to, to get the work done.
After many years at it, our team has the fastest, most reliable internet that we've had in ... well EVER. But people are very used to using it the way they used to when it was expensive.
SO, we had an idea, came up with a calculation and decided we could take a risk to cut the cost to everyone in 1/2 for 1 month. IF they use it more, it'll cost us less per mb.
My hopes would be to have a nice side effect of everyone being able to skype home for the holidays at 4 cents per mb !!!
(when I came here, the internet cost was around 22 cents per mb)
Our idea to make this happen is a bit risky, a bit zany, but it's a risk we can afford to take, so it's not super risky. What it means is that if we're wrong, and price isn't the prohibitive factor, and people simply don't NEED as much here, well then we'll end up having to pay the internet bill ourselves without the income to do it. BUT, we do have the budget to cover it.
So, it's a bit out of the ordinary, but if it succeeds, it will have been a huge leap forward in making things here more affordable for people.
So... pray it succeeds!
-Chad
nothing succeeds like a toothless parrot.
