Date: Thursday, November 19, 1998 1:15:41 -1500 Virtual Foundation USA/JAPAN

The so-called Tangden project undertaken initially by the students (mainly the members of Prof. Ota's seminar) of the Chiba University of Commerce this spring finally took off the ground and completed its 1-st stage installation yesterday (November 18, 1998) according to the report received here from Katmandu, Nepal, thanks to the timely participation by Dr. T. Ichimura of the Tokyo Life Science Laboratory who donated a major portion of the fund needed for the project. This marks the successful completion of the second project in Nepal since March this year offered by the Virtual Foundation Japan.

Date: Thursday, October 15, 1998 19:45:41 -1500 Virtual Foundation USA/JAPAN

Yutaka Okamoto, Japan Project Director of the Virtual Foundation, leaves for the States today. Among other things, he plans to participate in a series of conferences with the staff of the Virtual Foundation USA on Asian projects as well as the organization's overall strategic problems. He is expected to return to Japan on November 2, 1998.

Date: Monday, 1st of September, 1998 22:45:41 -1500 Virtual Foundation USA/JAPAN

The students of the seminar on international philanthropy at the Chiba University of Commerce (CUC), has made an important stride last week when it opened a new bank account in Tokyo specifically designated to the safekeeping of the collected donations earmarked for the Tangden project in Nepal.

The move was lauded by the President of the Virtual Foundation USA as follows.

To Yutaka, confirmation
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 13:21:51 -0400
From: ECOLOGIA USA
To: yokamoto@sbpark.com
CC: ecobalt@post.omnitel.net, IAHUNT@aol.com

Yutaka:

Great idea. This is really practicing transparency. My congratulations and best wishes to all involved!

Randy (VF President)

Date: Sunday, 24th of August, 1998 09:45:21 -1000 Virtual Foundation USA/JAPAN

In order to provide for the future expansion of the Virtual Foundation Japan's activities in Asia, a new organizational concept is being tried of operating the system as a unique partnership based on individual's voluntary initiative and sense of ownership. Currently two individuals are at work on their own time, one on Vietnam and another on Myanmar exploring and developing project ideas and local contacts. Each is putting in their own time for one-year period to develop respective projects with the support of VF Japan, and, if successful, they would be willing to continue to be involved as new partners contingent upon VF Japan's securing appropriate funding.

The post-installation report on the Helambu project has drawn some positive comments from our friends, and on the strength of it, a meeting of a private citizens in Tokyo is scheduled to be held on September 11. They come from all walks of life, business executives, professionals and free-lance journalists who are interested in what is being done in Nepal and else where in Asia by the Virtual Foundation Japan.

On July 13, 1998, the installation of solar energy lighting systems at Tashi Choling and Pema Choling Gompas in Helambu District was completed.

The Lotus Energy's installation team took pictures of the Gompas enlivened by the blue solar lights, and transmitted them to us in Tokyo a few days ago. We have since developed our first post-installation report showing the highlights of the occasions at both places.

Those who are interested in becoming donors to fund this kind of international citizen-to-citizen assistance project are invited to contact us at the Tokhyo office of the Virtual Foundation Japan.

August 8, 1998
Virtual Foundation Japan
Yutaka Okamoto (Japan Project Director)

We just received the following e-mail from Nepal informing us of the imminent construction of the solar energy lighting system in Helambu.

Update on Helambu Solar Project
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 15:50:59 +0530
From: Adam Friedensohn
To: "'yokamoto@sbpark.com'" , "'Virtual Foundation'"
CC: "'Peter Riggs'"

Dear Randy and Mr. Okamoto;

Good news! The funds are now in Nepal and systems are ready to go to the field. The date has been set for installtion on the 9th of July.
Two systems will be deployed for installation to both Tashi Choling and Pema Choling Gompas in Helambu region.

Extra good news:

The funds have made slightly larger systems available for these locations for a few reasons.
1) The Gompas are covering a bit of transportation costs (the porters)
2) The dollar arrived at a better rate. Originally the dollar bought fewer rupees when we made the projections.
3) The Gompas are putting in a small amount from their side for each system in order to get a slightly larger system.
4) To assure a better success Lotus Energy has given an additional 5% discount to this project.

The additional funds of $68 Admin fee will cover the photos and reporting during and after installation.
So, congradulations to all of you. We will keep you informed.

Best wishes,

Adam Friedensohn

We directly quote the following e-mail received from the VF headquarters:

Subject: Nepal project Update
Date: Tue, 23 Jun 1998 14:18:51 +0100
From: ecologia@igc.apc.org (ECOLOGIA USA)
To: yokamoto@sbpark.com, ecobalt@post.omnitel.net

Dear Yutaka (Okamoto) and Giedre,

I just wanted to keep you updated on the Nepal (Helambu) project (supported by Mr. Tamura). The funds were wired to Lotus on Tuesday, June 23. With any luck, they will have the funds by next week.

Sincerely,

Kim Wolf (ECOLOGIA)

The Helambu project proposal has recently been formally approved by the Virtual Foundation Board, and Mr. Tamura, the donor from Tokyo, Japan, has immediately committed the fund so that the project can be started without delay in Nepal before the onset of the Monsoon Season. Mr. Tamura is currently discussing with the Virtual Foundation Japan the possibility of organizing a club of business executives in Japan to invent a new Asian concept of philanthropy based on Asian values. You can contact Mr. Tamura to find out how you can join them.

The long awaited RBF Grant has just been authorized. Our headquarters has received the notification by the Rockfeller Brothers Fund that the RBF Board approved the ECOLOGIA Virtual Foundation grant. Randy Kritkausky, President of the Virtual Foundation USA e-mailed : "As (we) worked together (with RBF) to combine the VF USA and VF Japan proposals I believe that the combined total was approved as we submitted it. Thanks and congratulations to all."

Dr. Yoichi Usunaga of Ichikawa City met Mr. Tamura in mid-May and discussed his plan to visit Nepal to take a firsthand look at the site of the proposed Virtual Foundation project for Mr. Tamura. The Lotus Energy has already prepared a preliminary Helambu project proposal, and an early approval of it by the Virtual Foundation Board is expected so that the Helambu project is now very likely to become the first project to be formally launched this summer.
Dr. Usunaga spent the last week of May in Nepal and visited various project sites around Kathmandu with the representatives of Lotus Energy. His personal account of the Nepal tour with some good pictures will appear in the "Citizens Action Group" page (http://sbpark.com/vfjapan/nepal/nepal03e.html) soon.

After an intense Internet communication, and an intensive discussion discussed about the available options with Mr. Tamura, the Virtual Foundation Japan has come to an agreement with him to pursue the possibility of the proposed project in Helambu, nestled in the foothills overlooking Kathmandu. Mr. Tamura, who wants to visit Nepal upon completion of the project, seems to think nothing of the 8-hour mountain -path trekking required to visit the people in Helambu. In all respects, the project is ready to take off the ground subject only to the formal approval by the U.S. Virtual foundation board.

Mr. Nanei Tamura, the new president of the Messe Franfurt KK Japan, has notified the Virtual Foundation Japan on March 26 that he has decided to become a lone donor to provide a Buddhist monastery or a community center in the remote region of Nepal with a solar-energy lighting system. Further more, he wishes to pay a visit to Nepal upon completion of the project in order to see with his own eyes how life quality is being improved, or if there are still other problems. This certainly is an encouraging news for all of us.

On March 25 at 3 p.m.,the first general meeting of the members of the four seminars was held at CUC pursuant to their joint decision to construct an integrated international seminar, unique in its own right, to provide the participating students with new learning opportunities as well as not-so-virtual experience of becoming real international donor-volunteer workers in and through cyber space.

Some fifty students attended the meeting with their instructors as well as some university administration officials. Yutaka Okamoto was the featured speaker to give the audience an overall view of the Nepal solar-energy lighting project proposal presented by the Virtual Foundation USA, of which Okamoto is the Japan project director. Prof. Ota explained what his contribution is going to be in terms of upgrading the participating students' English capability, while Prof. Ueyama emphatically urged the students to give this totally new international education project a fair chance of success by active participation..

On March 25 at 3 p.m.,the first general meeting of the members of the four seminars was held at CUC pursuant to their joint decision to construct an integrated international seminar, unique in its own right, to provide the participating students with new learning opportunities as well as not-so-virtual experience of becoming real international donor-volunteer workers in and through cyber space.

Some fifty students attended the meeting with their instructors as well as some university administration officials. Yutaka Okamoto was the featured speaker to give the audience an overall view of the Nepal solar-energy lighting project proposal presented by the Virtual Foundation USA, of which Okamoto is the Japan project director. Prof. Ota explained what his contribution is going to be in terms of upgrading the participating students' English capability, while Prof. Ueyama emphatically urged the students to give this totally new international education project a fair chance of success by active participation..

The Nepal side is going to be represented by the Lotus Energy Inc. of Kathmandu, Nepal. In the coming months, the CUC students participating in this project will be able to monitor select e-mail communication between U.S., Japan and Nepal in order to learn how to write e-mail messages and at the same time develop their skill in international communication by actually doing things in cyber space. There are increasing numbers of people here in Japan expressing desire to participate in the Nepal and other similar Virtual Foundation projects in Asia, heralding the coming of a burgeoning era of citizens' voluntary activities on the Internet through out Asia and the rest of the world.