Fundraising 2007/shortened testimonials (draft)

Do you know Patricio Lorente?

From the outside, Patricio seems like a typical Argentinian – he loves soccer, good food, and spending time with friends. When Patricio began working for an international development agency in 1991 he became deeply aware of the disparity that existed between those that "have and don't have."

Today Patricio and his friends from Wikimedia Argentina are researching ways to help underprivileged students and schools in Argentina with textbooks created with Wikipedia's free content.

With your donations we'll help Patricio and his friends to transform the reality of many underprivileged people in his homeland into something positive and hopeful.

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More than half of the world's languages are in danger of extinction. Wikipedia is playing an important role in the preservation battle by bringing at-risk languages to the digital arena, and providing speakers from those communities with tools to share centuries of knowledge and cultural ideas. While the online encyclopedia is currently available in 250 language versions, this number only represents a fraction of the world's 7,000 languages.

Dr. David Harrison, co-founder of the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages, believes we should aim even higher: "Wikipedia has held up a magnifying glass to one corner of the universe. What they found is interesting, but let's not forget about the rest. My challenge is this - increase the number of Wikipedias to include languages not considered 'top tier' languages, and help open doors by bringing smaller languages into the Unicode system."

Are you up for the challenge? Donate now.

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In 2005 SOS Children's Villages, the world's largest orphan charity, created offline versions of Wikipedia that could be used by schools without Internet access. Titled Wikipedia Selection for Schools, the project was an instant success, with organizations like the Shuttleworth Foundation distributing the CD and DVD versions to schools in remote corners of the world.

Andrew Cates, CEO of SOS Children's Villages UK and a long time Wikipedian, is pleased with the result: "It is heart warming and educational to see people of all different backgrounds end up working together to complete a project." SOS Children's Villages has plans for future Wikipedia Selection for Schools releases.

The Wikimedia Foundation collaborates with organizations like SOS Children's Villages to bring its online educational resources to disadvantaged communities. Your donation helps us to make a difference in the lives of people world-wide.