Greetings, I am a longtime member of this list and some of you may have noticed forwarded messages from me about the upcoming Summit on Africa national meeting in Washington DC. If anyone wants to find out more about this event, let me know privately and I will forward information. Regardless of the extent to which the Summit's recommendations will actually be implemented in any meaningful way by the powers that be, I think that this project should not be underestimated as a venue to raise American consciousness about Africa policy as well as to provide a gigantic forum for networking among groups and individuals concerned about Africa. I am one of the delegates for the Washington State delegation and plan to attend the Summit on Presidents' week-end. I am now appealing for help from the Gambian community in Washington DC. Our delegation has access to no external funds whatsoever and we are depending on fundraising to pay for going. One major expense is, of course, lodging. To waste several hundred dollars a night for each delegate on overpriced hotelrooms seems less than sensible. I am therefore sending out a request for volunteer hosts who can for, I think, three nights put up a delegate or two on a floor or couch (we are all pretty down to earth folk with reasonable comfort requirements). I am personally set up with friends, but know of a dozen people who are still looking for a place to sleep. These are all nice and trustworthy people with a deep interest in Africa and none should prove to be the houseguest from hell. I hope no one will take offense at this appeal to the famous Gambian hospitality, but see this merely as an opportunity to contribute to a worthwhile endeavor and help us use our extremely limited resources for things like registration fees ($100 per delegate). Thank you so much, Ylva Hernlund PS in order not to clog up everyone's mailboxes, perhaps it is better if people respond directly to me, unless you have general comments abut the Summit. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------