picture-2.pngSo when you give to a charity what do you expect in return? If you gave something as a donation, knowing that you would get a little something in return, and then you don’t get the return, can you be upset? Frustrated? Disappointed?

We gave money to a charity a while back (November to be exact) that provides computers to children in underdeveloped nations.  We actually gave enough money to give one computer to a child and then get another one for ourselves.  Of course I have more than a few computers sitting around the house so what do I need another one for?  Well Mary and I were going to start showing it off and talking to other groups about getting involved with the organization and donating also.

This was a very popular program.  Way more popular than the nonprofit that started it expected.  So now we are in the middle of a “shipping delay”.  Turns out the company “lost” thousands of orders through what they call the Give One Get One program.  We have been reassured that we will receive the computer, we just don’t know when.

My question is if it is within reason to be upset?  The goal of this was not for me to get a new computer.  It was for a child in Mongolia, Africa, or South America to get a computer to use in school.  From what I can tell they have shipped millions of computers to those children.  And our donation helped make that possible.

Now I have read multiple forum post by people who say they are in the process of having their credit card company begin a charge back process.  That makes me sick.  Those people were in it for themselves and don’t care about trying to embrace the spirit of the OLPC movement.

I’m not really upset, just kind of confused.  Everyday I come home hoping to see a green box on the doorstep with and XO on the front.  I want to play with it, show it off, develop for it, but most of all, get people involved with it.