I have believed for a long time that true giving (or unconditional giving) is one of the most important aspects of being human. The ability to give of ourselves without any expectation of a reward is a profoundly important dimension of our evolution. I would argue that this emerging, fragile instinct, is probably the single most important dimension of human behaviour since the emergence of consciousness. And the primary reason for this is that it sets us apart from purely reptilian behaviour driven by the three forces of fear, greed and the need to reproduce at all costs. By doing this we can move away from selfish thinking to a place where we think more about collective well-being, not just for the human species but for all of life. Reptilian instincts have got us this far but they have served their purpose. Its time to think bigger.
I'd spend more time elaborating on this concept except I am writing this in Mombasa Kenya and there are unpredictable power cuts every few hours;)
Anyway, wonderful and all that unconditional giving is, its damn hard to do. A couple of days ago I was In Lamu and I met a young man calling himself Aref shortly after getting off the boat. As soon as a white person lands on Lamu they are instantly surrounded by all kinds of people offering them services from carrying luggage, to finding accomodation to helping organise boat trips etc. Most of the time I politely make my way to my hotel and then later I engage somebody to help me get sorted out during my stay...
For some reason, on this occasion I connected immediately with Aref. I was wearing an Irish tee-shirt and he began his interaction with me saying he had visited Ireland a few years ago. He then told me that he had lived in a small bedsit on Dorset Street. He pulled out an old polaroid photograph showing a younger version of himself playing in the snow on Dorset Street in the late nineties...
Even though he had a look about him that he was on something, I was hooked. I invited him to walk with me for a chat.
It was not long before he was telling me of the difficult circumstances he had found himself in. His father had died, his mother was very sick, his young daughter was out of school and it was low season and he had no job.
I had heard this kind of story before. It is just about everybodies story in Lamu. Lamu may well be a World Heritage Site but that is scant comfort to most of the locals here who live on the absolute margins of basic human existence. That said, the best way of giving people options here is through education. Its risky handing over money as there is a big drugs problem on the island. Even though it sounds harsh, handing over money to somebody to ease your conscience probably does more damage than good.
So I told Aref that I would connect with him later. I then headed over to the Lamu hub. However, Aref followed me and waited outside for me to finish.
I asked some of the local volunteers did they know Aref? They told me that he was not a 'bad' man but was likely to be 'high' on something. The volunteers were Muslim so I took this with a grain of salt. Muslims generally take a very dim view of any kind of 'high' including things like having a drink or smoking tobacco (admiteddly two addictions that can cause serious social problems but you get what I mean).
Nonetheless, I decided to go out to Aref and challenge him.
He told me that he did not take drugs. His eyes were red because he had a lot on his mind. He was not well and was struggling with an illness.
He then proceeded to show me his legs. He pulled up his dishevelled trousers to reveal huge bleeding ulcers on both his lower legs. He explained to me that he had been diagnosed with skin cancer but he could not afford the expensive treatment required.
If everything else had been a ruse to extort money out of me this was the absolute truth. The young man was extremely ill and I honestly had no idea what to do.
We agreed a few simple things. Aref would do some simple jobs (including being a guide around the island for one of my colleagues who was travelling with me) and he would be paid sufficient funds to get his mother the medication she needed and his daughter back into school. He would start some basic computer training(sponsored) in the hub and if that worked out we would see what to do next.
On a couple of occasions I gave him larges sums of money (relatively speaking) asking him to buy some things with the requirement that he come back with the change. This is a simple test one can do to check the sincerity of a persons intentions when they have money in their pockets.
He never let me down. In fact, he did a great job as a guide to the island for one of my colleagues.
I spoke to everyone about the situation and one suggestion of supporting Aref was to pay for his ticket to come to Mombasa so that his condition could be properly assessed in the Aga Khan hospital here. It seemed like an appropriate response to the situation.
Then on Saturday night, three days into the trip, myself and my friends went down to Petleys - the only bar on the island - to watch a world cup soccer game.
Aref was there but was not drinking. He was surprised to see us and invited us to sit with him. We watched the game together.
I could not get it out of my head that Aref was in Petleys on a Saturday night but decided that he was there because he wanted to watch the football.
We left after the football and Aref stayed on. The first sign that something was amiss...
The following day I spoke with the barman who I have known for years and whom I trust. Every time I am in Lamu we play a chess game together and we record who wins. Over the years the scores have always been just about even. The chess game is a great way of enabling a deep conversation with a local in Lamu.
The barman told me that Aref was not to be trusted. He had a reputation of being a 'junkie' and a thief and was generally not allowed into Petleys. They only indulged him staying because he was sitting with me...
And so I am left with a dilemma.
I have no doubt that Aref needs help especially medical help. If he is taking drugs, giving him money will do more harm than good. I have no proof that he is taking drugs but my first instinct on seeing him was that he was. Perhaps the muslim volunteers were correct.
However, at a deeper level my sense of giving has been extremely challenged. In an odd way I am looking for a return in my 'investement'. I want to see Aref become a responsible young man, trying hard to learn about computers so that he can support himself and his family, moving forward and upwards from the awful corcumstances he finds himself in. In this scenario, giving is easy.
However, there is a resistance in me to helping Aref because he is on a path of self destruction. Giving here really is unconditional. There is going to be no return. It is more than likely to end in disaster. I may even cause more damage than good.
Fr. Peter Mc Verry SJ deals with young men like Aref all the time in his hostels for the homeless. He once said to me that you only give to people in real need when you have come to terms with your own needs.
Now I ashamedly admit that I have not come to terms with those needs. I realise now just how hard unconditional giving is....
Wednesday 23 June 2010
Thursday 17 June 2010
Back in Lamu: Regional Hubs again...
I am back up in Lamu. A couple of colleagues are visiting Kenya to see Camara in action on the ground out here and I thought it a good idea to visit the regional hub here in Lamu. At the moment they have taken a Dhow (the local sailing boats here) out to the Mangrove forests to look at some old mysterious ruins on one of the surrounding islands and to enjoy freshly caught fish barbecued on the beach with coconut rich and chapati bread. Its a trip you must do if you are here in Lamu.
In the meantime, Farid(Camara technical director for Africa) and I have been working! We have just had lunch with the Lamu team. In one of my earlier notes I talked up the potential of these regional hubs as a model for getting technology to the very rural areas. They are certainly the way to go but I am now much more aware of some of the challenging issues required to make them work longterm.
Two exceptionally talented volunteers run the Lamu hub along with a local volunteer who has a background in accountancy (and who is also a black belt in Karate of all things - not a bad combination here:-)).They generate revenue by selling computers (at an affordable price to the schools - about €50 a machine), offering affordable training courses (€10 for a basic month long course), and by running the fastest cybercafe on the island charging 50 schillings (50 cent) an hour.
Their outgoings include their rent, their food, Internet charges and power. At the moment they are just about making ends meet and are looking at creative ways to bringing in more revenue (without compromising the core mission of Camara which is essentially to improve education in Africa using Technology). Some of the ideas include:
(a) Offering an outreach service using laptops to introduce people to technology and open source applications
(b) Offering premium services on the internet (like high speed downloads etc)
(c) Setting up a Voice Over IP service allowing tourists make international calls.
(d) Setting up an Open Source IT services organisation that helps small enterprises use technology
With the exception of the first idea, most of these ideas push the hub away from the core mission of Camara. But necessity is the mother of invention so the young volunteers are doing their absolute best to make sure the hub can sustain itself.
I have no doubt that if we can identify talented dedicated volunteers like this to run the regional hubs they can be successful but my sense now is that they probably need some capital to get them going properly and some subsidisation till they become sustainable.
Getting a balance between subsidy and sustainability is always a challenge. Subsidy can easily turn into dependency but at the end of the day we need regional hubs to support rural areas.
Perhaps one way forward is to capitalise the hubs (so they can invest in tools, training resources, more laptops etc) so that they can extend their services to bring in more revenue.
We also need to get the cluster of schools they are supporting on centralised maintenance contracts to support the regional hub. This is quite challenging as many of the schools here think that Camara provides maintenance for free!
This is a perception that comes from the volunteer program we run each year. For the first couple of years the Irish Camara volunteers trained people for free in Kenya. This has been a mistake.
I know it might sound harsh but in actual fact it is always better to charge people for training (even if its a small charge). This serves a couple of purposes. It makes the trainees committed to the training. It also minimises the dependency issue where people might not go for training unless its free and given by white people! We had incredible examples of this in Lamu where computers would remain broken and unused till the Irish volunteers arrived each summer...
It was stories like this that convinced us of the need for regional hubs run by local people.
We just have to find a way of making them sustainable....
In the meantime, Farid(Camara technical director for Africa) and I have been working! We have just had lunch with the Lamu team. In one of my earlier notes I talked up the potential of these regional hubs as a model for getting technology to the very rural areas. They are certainly the way to go but I am now much more aware of some of the challenging issues required to make them work longterm.
Two exceptionally talented volunteers run the Lamu hub along with a local volunteer who has a background in accountancy (and who is also a black belt in Karate of all things - not a bad combination here:-)).They generate revenue by selling computers (at an affordable price to the schools - about €50 a machine), offering affordable training courses (€10 for a basic month long course), and by running the fastest cybercafe on the island charging 50 schillings (50 cent) an hour.
Their outgoings include their rent, their food, Internet charges and power. At the moment they are just about making ends meet and are looking at creative ways to bringing in more revenue (without compromising the core mission of Camara which is essentially to improve education in Africa using Technology). Some of the ideas include:
(a) Offering an outreach service using laptops to introduce people to technology and open source applications
(b) Offering premium services on the internet (like high speed downloads etc)
(c) Setting up a Voice Over IP service allowing tourists make international calls.
(d) Setting up an Open Source IT services organisation that helps small enterprises use technology
With the exception of the first idea, most of these ideas push the hub away from the core mission of Camara. But necessity is the mother of invention so the young volunteers are doing their absolute best to make sure the hub can sustain itself.
I have no doubt that if we can identify talented dedicated volunteers like this to run the regional hubs they can be successful but my sense now is that they probably need some capital to get them going properly and some subsidisation till they become sustainable.
Getting a balance between subsidy and sustainability is always a challenge. Subsidy can easily turn into dependency but at the end of the day we need regional hubs to support rural areas.
Perhaps one way forward is to capitalise the hubs (so they can invest in tools, training resources, more laptops etc) so that they can extend their services to bring in more revenue.
We also need to get the cluster of schools they are supporting on centralised maintenance contracts to support the regional hub. This is quite challenging as many of the schools here think that Camara provides maintenance for free!
This is a perception that comes from the volunteer program we run each year. For the first couple of years the Irish Camara volunteers trained people for free in Kenya. This has been a mistake.
I know it might sound harsh but in actual fact it is always better to charge people for training (even if its a small charge). This serves a couple of purposes. It makes the trainees committed to the training. It also minimises the dependency issue where people might not go for training unless its free and given by white people! We had incredible examples of this in Lamu where computers would remain broken and unused till the Irish volunteers arrived each summer...
It was stories like this that convinced us of the need for regional hubs run by local people.
We just have to find a way of making them sustainable....
Friday 11 June 2010
Try this for a days work....
A couple of years ago I was challenged by a colleague who asked me would I be able to live a 'local' life whilst out in Kenya. Would I truly be able to give up my own bed, a fan in the room to keep me cool, having to sit on the floor to eat my meals, having a single ring gas cooker to cook food and having no place private to read or write.
On this trip I have tried to push myself as far as possible in this regard (admittedly its driven by the fact that I am broke!). I am staying with a young family, together with their house help, in an unfurnished apartment, with one ring to cook on and no fan. I do have my own bed however...;)
The experience has really opened my eyes up to just how hard it is to get by out here.
The young mum is considered to have a very good job. She works for a budget airline that is trying to capture market share from the state carrier Kenya Airways. To cut costs the company exploits their staff dreadfully. Consider this for a typical working day:
The young mother of two gets up at 5.00am in the morning, dresses in the company uniform (that needs to be clean and ironed every day) and is picked up at 5.30am and driven to the airport for 6am.
She works till 9pm that night and is dropped home getting in at about 10.30pm. Thats a 15 hour shift excluding travel time.
She works two shifts like this and then gets a day off. Even on a day off she can be called at 5.00am in the morning and told to get ready for work if somebody reports in sick (a regular occurence).
If she herself reports in sick, the time is deducted from her salary at the end of month.
If a delay in the flight schedule occurs over the day she stays late (sometimes till after midnight) for no extra pay, no compensation - not even a bite to eat or a free cup of coffee to keep going.
Even if she gets back late she is still expected to be available at 5.30am the following morning in a washed and ironed uniform.
Her duties include checking passengers in for upto 10 flights a day, meeting aircraft on the runway, ticket sales and reservations, complaint management (and there are lots!), passenger manifests, handling cash fares and so on. Beyond flying the aircraft, she is involved in everything at a ground staff level (troubled European airlines should hire her immediately - a couple of staff like this and they could half their operating costs;) - Ryanair beware...)
If over the course of the day she makes a mistake by charging a fare that is too low it is subtracted from her wages at the end of the month.
And her wages?
The equivalent of 250euros per month.
She has no health insurance - if she gets sick she loses her job.
She has no pension.
She is not allowed claim any expenses. For example, when she has to travel to Nairobi for obligatory training, the company flies her there but she has to look after food and accommodation herself.
She works Christmas eve and Christmas day and all bank holidays like any other day.
With this salary(about €8 a day) she has to support two young children, a house help, rent, food, clothes, school fees, transport to markets and so on.
She only sees her children on her days off - times when she is so exhausted she spends much of that time sleeping.
And were she to quit the job it would be taken by a long list of people far worse off than herself.
This is considered a good job by Kenyan standards.
And in there is the crux of the problem. As long as there is desperate poverty and high unemployment, companies can exploit workers like this young woman. The airfares for this airline by the way are more expensive than fares back in Ireland for the equivalent distances. So its not like they do not have the money!
It makes me so angry that people are exploited like this. I suspect I feel the exact same way people felt before the invention of unions.
I would love to do something about this but as soon as I interfere I run the risk of the young woman losing her job.
If anyone reading this has has any ideas about how to expose this practice whilst protecting the staff let me know....
On this trip I have tried to push myself as far as possible in this regard (admittedly its driven by the fact that I am broke!). I am staying with a young family, together with their house help, in an unfurnished apartment, with one ring to cook on and no fan. I do have my own bed however...;)
The experience has really opened my eyes up to just how hard it is to get by out here.
The young mum is considered to have a very good job. She works for a budget airline that is trying to capture market share from the state carrier Kenya Airways. To cut costs the company exploits their staff dreadfully. Consider this for a typical working day:
The young mother of two gets up at 5.00am in the morning, dresses in the company uniform (that needs to be clean and ironed every day) and is picked up at 5.30am and driven to the airport for 6am.
She works till 9pm that night and is dropped home getting in at about 10.30pm. Thats a 15 hour shift excluding travel time.
She works two shifts like this and then gets a day off. Even on a day off she can be called at 5.00am in the morning and told to get ready for work if somebody reports in sick (a regular occurence).
If she herself reports in sick, the time is deducted from her salary at the end of month.
If a delay in the flight schedule occurs over the day she stays late (sometimes till after midnight) for no extra pay, no compensation - not even a bite to eat or a free cup of coffee to keep going.
Even if she gets back late she is still expected to be available at 5.30am the following morning in a washed and ironed uniform.
Her duties include checking passengers in for upto 10 flights a day, meeting aircraft on the runway, ticket sales and reservations, complaint management (and there are lots!), passenger manifests, handling cash fares and so on. Beyond flying the aircraft, she is involved in everything at a ground staff level (troubled European airlines should hire her immediately - a couple of staff like this and they could half their operating costs;) - Ryanair beware...)
If over the course of the day she makes a mistake by charging a fare that is too low it is subtracted from her wages at the end of the month.
And her wages?
The equivalent of 250euros per month.
She has no health insurance - if she gets sick she loses her job.
She has no pension.
She is not allowed claim any expenses. For example, when she has to travel to Nairobi for obligatory training, the company flies her there but she has to look after food and accommodation herself.
She works Christmas eve and Christmas day and all bank holidays like any other day.
With this salary(about €8 a day) she has to support two young children, a house help, rent, food, clothes, school fees, transport to markets and so on.
She only sees her children on her days off - times when she is so exhausted she spends much of that time sleeping.
And were she to quit the job it would be taken by a long list of people far worse off than herself.
This is considered a good job by Kenyan standards.
And in there is the crux of the problem. As long as there is desperate poverty and high unemployment, companies can exploit workers like this young woman. The airfares for this airline by the way are more expensive than fares back in Ireland for the equivalent distances. So its not like they do not have the money!
It makes me so angry that people are exploited like this. I suspect I feel the exact same way people felt before the invention of unions.
I would love to do something about this but as soon as I interfere I run the risk of the young woman losing her job.
If anyone reading this has has any ideas about how to expose this practice whilst protecting the staff let me know....
Thursday 10 June 2010
Regional Hubs
One of the biggest issues Camara faces in Africa is how to support very remote regions that require computer technology. Its a key issue because there is serious educational disadvantage in the rural areas (albeit there is probably more poverty in the cities - I acknowledge that this is a contentious point to make!) and obviously where there is educational disadvantage, computer technology can play a profoundly positive role to address this.
The main issue is not how to get computers to the remote regions, but more about how to support that region if something goes wrong, as well as providing on going training. There is nothing worse than going to all the logistical trouble of getting computers to a remote area only for them to break down because of no support mechanisms in the area capable of fixing or maintaining them properly. This is a truly bad outcome for everyone concerned.
Over the last couple of years a model has begun to emerge that might tackle this issue. We are running a pilot on Lamu island.
Last year we managed to secure a marvelous premises in an ideal location on the island. The hub in Mombasa equipped the Lamu premises with a maintenance centre, a refurbishment centre, an open source internet cafe and a training centre, essentially duplicating all its own key operations on a smaller scale.
The Lamu facility has spare parts (including a small stock of machines) and is run by two trained volunteers from the main Hub in Mombasa who have moved to Lamu permanently. They in turn have recruited a number of local volunteers to help them manage the operation.
The operation has required some capital injection from the Mombasa hub but has managed to cover its basic operational costs through Internet Cafe revenue and training courses revenue.
The Lamu hub supports 12 schools in the area. It provides ongoing maintenance and training to the schools as well as offering computer courses to local people wanting to further their education.
What remains to be done is to put in a fully functional community led governance structure that drives the initiative forward.
I am really impressed by what they have achieved in such a short space of time. It has the potential to be the way we support the rural regions as Camara grows in Africa. In Kenya alone over 150 schools now have Camara labs and de-centralising the support structure to a local level is going to be key for the project to scale. Its also great that key enabling resources for the Lamu hub to happen like community support (providing the premises) and expert volunteers (who have been trained in the main hub) are readily available. Obviously these volunteers take an allowance to support themselves and so are effectively now employed as technical trainers and technicians.
A win win for everyone in my mind.
The main issue is not how to get computers to the remote regions, but more about how to support that region if something goes wrong, as well as providing on going training. There is nothing worse than going to all the logistical trouble of getting computers to a remote area only for them to break down because of no support mechanisms in the area capable of fixing or maintaining them properly. This is a truly bad outcome for everyone concerned.
Over the last couple of years a model has begun to emerge that might tackle this issue. We are running a pilot on Lamu island.
Last year we managed to secure a marvelous premises in an ideal location on the island. The hub in Mombasa equipped the Lamu premises with a maintenance centre, a refurbishment centre, an open source internet cafe and a training centre, essentially duplicating all its own key operations on a smaller scale.
The Lamu facility has spare parts (including a small stock of machines) and is run by two trained volunteers from the main Hub in Mombasa who have moved to Lamu permanently. They in turn have recruited a number of local volunteers to help them manage the operation.
The operation has required some capital injection from the Mombasa hub but has managed to cover its basic operational costs through Internet Cafe revenue and training courses revenue.
The Lamu hub supports 12 schools in the area. It provides ongoing maintenance and training to the schools as well as offering computer courses to local people wanting to further their education.
What remains to be done is to put in a fully functional community led governance structure that drives the initiative forward.
I am really impressed by what they have achieved in such a short space of time. It has the potential to be the way we support the rural regions as Camara grows in Africa. In Kenya alone over 150 schools now have Camara labs and de-centralising the support structure to a local level is going to be key for the project to scale. Its also great that key enabling resources for the Lamu hub to happen like community support (providing the premises) and expert volunteers (who have been trained in the main hub) are readily available. Obviously these volunteers take an allowance to support themselves and so are effectively now employed as technical trainers and technicians.
A win win for everyone in my mind.
Monday 7 June 2010
Sight
I have written about my connection to Mary and her family many times over the last few years. Her story is remarkable. I met her in 2003 whilst teaching basic ICT courses to teachers in a slum school in Nairobi. A few months later she lost her husband to AIDS. She was also HIV positive having been infected by her husband. Sadly her oldest son was also infected. Believing she was going to die she decided to learn about computers in an effort to setup a business that would support her children after she passed away. Through computers and connections she found out about ARV (Anti-retro-viral) treatment and succeeded in getting free treatment through Medecin Sans Frontiers. Since this time she has setup a small business that provides filtered water to people in the slum she lives. The business employs others who also have HIV. She has also established a small church in the community which now has about 100 members. She goes about her life in a quiet majestic way taking on each challenge with courage and dignity and she never ceases to amaze and inspire me by the way she lives her life.
Her children are also wonderful people. She has two sons and a daughter, all very bright and doing well in school especially her daughter Victoria. Victoria achieved the top marks in the school in her primary school examinations and wants to be a doctor. I have no doubt, if given the opportunity she will succeed in her dreams. Through a good friend in Ireland her high school education has been funded and she is now in her final year and hoping to go to University. Victoria is the class representative in a class of peers that would come from far more privileged backgrounds. Everything she does, she does with passion and energy and commitment. She reminds me so much of her mum.
All was going well till about 6 months ago. Victoria started complaining of head aches when she was studying and if she worked through the pain her eyes would fill up with water making it extremely difficult for her to read. Something which has put her under tremendous strain given its her final year in high school.
At first the doctors thought she had developed an eye infection but after numerous efforts at trying to treat the illness with antibiotics it became clear that the problem was much more challenging.
It now looks like Victoria will need a cornea transplant (possibly on both eyes) which is a very serious operation.
Last weekend I visited an eye specialist to get his opinion on what was involved, why a cornea transplant would be recommended and what the costs might be?
Before I head back to Ireland, he will assess Victoria for free and will give me an update on his findings.
The likely cost of the operation is between 5K and 10K. Given my precarious career situation right now I do not have this cash (but can contribute a couple of hundred euros).
If you read this far and fancy helping out drop me a note. I know its difficult times for everyone but a little from a lot will make the operation possible.
Her children are also wonderful people. She has two sons and a daughter, all very bright and doing well in school especially her daughter Victoria. Victoria achieved the top marks in the school in her primary school examinations and wants to be a doctor. I have no doubt, if given the opportunity she will succeed in her dreams. Through a good friend in Ireland her high school education has been funded and she is now in her final year and hoping to go to University. Victoria is the class representative in a class of peers that would come from far more privileged backgrounds. Everything she does, she does with passion and energy and commitment. She reminds me so much of her mum.
All was going well till about 6 months ago. Victoria started complaining of head aches when she was studying and if she worked through the pain her eyes would fill up with water making it extremely difficult for her to read. Something which has put her under tremendous strain given its her final year in high school.
At first the doctors thought she had developed an eye infection but after numerous efforts at trying to treat the illness with antibiotics it became clear that the problem was much more challenging.
It now looks like Victoria will need a cornea transplant (possibly on both eyes) which is a very serious operation.
Last weekend I visited an eye specialist to get his opinion on what was involved, why a cornea transplant would be recommended and what the costs might be?
Before I head back to Ireland, he will assess Victoria for free and will give me an update on his findings.
The likely cost of the operation is between 5K and 10K. Given my precarious career situation right now I do not have this cash (but can contribute a couple of hundred euros).
If you read this far and fancy helping out drop me a note. I know its difficult times for everyone but a little from a lot will make the operation possible.
Back in Kenya June 2010
Its Monday June 7th 2010. I am back in Kenya just over a week and have only just found the time to write something down about the trip so far. Its been hectic!
Last week I spent some time in Nairobi with a family I have known for many years (a story that I will write in full over the next few days), I have been on a safari in Tsavo East national park (home of the infamous Tsavo Man Eating lions) with some friends and have been up in Lamu for a couple of days reviewing the marvellous new Camara regional hub established up there.
Its only been about 6 months since I was last here and things have changed (not all for the good). There is certainly more economic activity going on and prices have gone up but unfortunately so has crime - a clear indication that the rising tide is not bringing everyone with it.
I'll write more about this later....
In the meantime I have to work out some permanent accomodation arrangements for the next couple of weeks! Will I ever learn....
Last week I spent some time in Nairobi with a family I have known for many years (a story that I will write in full over the next few days), I have been on a safari in Tsavo East national park (home of the infamous Tsavo Man Eating lions) with some friends and have been up in Lamu for a couple of days reviewing the marvellous new Camara regional hub established up there.
Its only been about 6 months since I was last here and things have changed (not all for the good). There is certainly more economic activity going on and prices have gone up but unfortunately so has crime - a clear indication that the rising tide is not bringing everyone with it.
I'll write more about this later....
In the meantime I have to work out some permanent accomodation arrangements for the next couple of weeks! Will I ever learn....
Saturday 8 May 2010
A short video tribute to Stuart Mangan and Robert Stringer
As many of you know, on the 7th of August 2009 Stuart Mangan and Robert Stringer passed away. I had been working with Stuart on technologies to help improve his quality of life (he had suffered a severe spinal injury in 2008) and Robert Stringer had been taking a holiday after volunteering with Camara in Tanzania when he was killed. In a strange twist of fate they died on the same day.
I have been giving a series of talks on these events with the sole intention of trying to create something positive out of what was a very sad and challenging time. First and foremost I want to pay tribute to these two wonderful young men.
Recently I gave an IGNITE talk in the Science Gallery on what happened. Its a short, 5 minute format which is quite a challenge to do, especially if the subject matter is non trivial.
I wanted to try and create something meaningful in this short format so it could be passed around in the viral ways we are all so used to. Its by no means perfect but please feel free to pass it on. The talk is here.
I have been giving a series of talks on these events with the sole intention of trying to create something positive out of what was a very sad and challenging time. First and foremost I want to pay tribute to these two wonderful young men.
Recently I gave an IGNITE talk in the Science Gallery on what happened. Its a short, 5 minute format which is quite a challenge to do, especially if the subject matter is non trivial.
I wanted to try and create something meaningful in this short format so it could be passed around in the viral ways we are all so used to. Its by no means perfect but please feel free to pass it on. The talk is here.
Monday 4 January 2010
Power and Powerlessness
This short story is nothing spectacular - just a simple account of how people with very little resources and with no voice or influence are subjected to abuses of power on a daily basis.
I was travelling to North Eastern Kenya a couple of days ago and was using local transport. This involved taking a very old bus on an 8 hour journey, the latter part on unsealed road. The bus was packed with people and merchandise but I have been on worse!
I had made arrangements so that I had my own place to store luggage in the hold. This meant it was only opened when we got to our destination and minimised pilferage.
About halfway through the journey the bus stopped at a little village and we were invited to get off to stretch our legs and get a bite to eat.
I got off the bus. It was a scorching hot day and the bus was very stuffy so it was nice to be able to walk around and 'freshen' up somewhat.
I noticed that the bus driver was negotiating with some more potential passengers before we took off again. These clients would travel '2nd class' which involved sitting on a crate in the passenger aisle. It was illegal but out here in the remote areas it was hard to police.
A woman dressed in ragged clothes was pleading with the driver. She wore the look of somebody who had seen the harsher side of life. in front of her was a couple of heavy boxes which she clearly wanted to put on the bus.
The driver kept shaking his head and waving his hands in the air. They were speaking in Ki-Swahili so I could not understand what they were saying (to my shame - I spent 6 months learning Ki-Swahili once!). I went over to the driver and asked what the problem was.
'This woman has too much luggage. There is not enough space on the bus. I have told her to wait for the bus tomorrow'
I knew this to be untrue. There was always space on the bus. What he was really saying was that the woman could not 'pay' to get the luggage on the bus and so she was not allowed on.
I looked at the woman. Her head had dropped as she seemed resigned to waiting till the following day. She was already beginning to move the boxes back off the road away from the bus. I wondered how many days had she been asked to do this. I wondered what was in her boxes? Probably some food stuffs that she wanted to bring north to sell or to bring home to feed her family. She looked like a person who had worked hard all her life for so little in return.
My heart went out to her.
I was annoyed with the driver. I should not have been. He was probably on an extremely low wage and so this was his was chance to make some more cash to support his own family. However, I felt it was a real abuse of power. Something I have no doubt happens all the time wherever there is poverty.
Poverty really does limit your choices. The poorer you are the less choices you have in life. And the system sustains itself. The lower down the chain you are the harder it is to move upwards and forwards.
I asked the driver to take the woman on the bus. She could use the storage space where my bags were. It would be a tight squeeze but there was space. I refused to give him any money (on the basis that giving him money would justify what he was doing) and explained to him that the womans fare would suffice. In the end he agreed. It was extra money to him and the space issue was resolved.
The woman was told the good news and her beaming smile made my day. She was genuinely surprised when I offered to help with the boxes (as were the Muslim men gathered around the bus - get a grip lads). I helped her carry her boxes to the bus (they were extremely heavy!) and we loaded them into space next to my bags. She was delighted and shook my hand.
She got a crate at the front of the bus and we continued on northwards. I was at the back and since she had no english nothing more passed between us for the rest of the journey.
It turned out that she had to get off a good distance before my own destination. The bus stopped in the middle of an extremely remote area where there were no houses in sight - just loads of wild banana trees and Paupau trees and other tropical plants.
A little pathway went into the heavy growth and quickly disappeared. I watched from inside the bus as the woman got out with the driver and he removed her boxes for her. The last thing I saw was the woman slowly walking into the jungle with her boxes weighing her down either side.
God knows how long she had to walk like that.
A simple example of power and powerlessness.
I was travelling to North Eastern Kenya a couple of days ago and was using local transport. This involved taking a very old bus on an 8 hour journey, the latter part on unsealed road. The bus was packed with people and merchandise but I have been on worse!
I had made arrangements so that I had my own place to store luggage in the hold. This meant it was only opened when we got to our destination and minimised pilferage.
About halfway through the journey the bus stopped at a little village and we were invited to get off to stretch our legs and get a bite to eat.
I got off the bus. It was a scorching hot day and the bus was very stuffy so it was nice to be able to walk around and 'freshen' up somewhat.
I noticed that the bus driver was negotiating with some more potential passengers before we took off again. These clients would travel '2nd class' which involved sitting on a crate in the passenger aisle. It was illegal but out here in the remote areas it was hard to police.
A woman dressed in ragged clothes was pleading with the driver. She wore the look of somebody who had seen the harsher side of life. in front of her was a couple of heavy boxes which she clearly wanted to put on the bus.
The driver kept shaking his head and waving his hands in the air. They were speaking in Ki-Swahili so I could not understand what they were saying (to my shame - I spent 6 months learning Ki-Swahili once!). I went over to the driver and asked what the problem was.
'This woman has too much luggage. There is not enough space on the bus. I have told her to wait for the bus tomorrow'
I knew this to be untrue. There was always space on the bus. What he was really saying was that the woman could not 'pay' to get the luggage on the bus and so she was not allowed on.
I looked at the woman. Her head had dropped as she seemed resigned to waiting till the following day. She was already beginning to move the boxes back off the road away from the bus. I wondered how many days had she been asked to do this. I wondered what was in her boxes? Probably some food stuffs that she wanted to bring north to sell or to bring home to feed her family. She looked like a person who had worked hard all her life for so little in return.
My heart went out to her.
I was annoyed with the driver. I should not have been. He was probably on an extremely low wage and so this was his was chance to make some more cash to support his own family. However, I felt it was a real abuse of power. Something I have no doubt happens all the time wherever there is poverty.
Poverty really does limit your choices. The poorer you are the less choices you have in life. And the system sustains itself. The lower down the chain you are the harder it is to move upwards and forwards.
I asked the driver to take the woman on the bus. She could use the storage space where my bags were. It would be a tight squeeze but there was space. I refused to give him any money (on the basis that giving him money would justify what he was doing) and explained to him that the womans fare would suffice. In the end he agreed. It was extra money to him and the space issue was resolved.
The woman was told the good news and her beaming smile made my day. She was genuinely surprised when I offered to help with the boxes (as were the Muslim men gathered around the bus - get a grip lads). I helped her carry her boxes to the bus (they were extremely heavy!) and we loaded them into space next to my bags. She was delighted and shook my hand.
She got a crate at the front of the bus and we continued on northwards. I was at the back and since she had no english nothing more passed between us for the rest of the journey.
It turned out that she had to get off a good distance before my own destination. The bus stopped in the middle of an extremely remote area where there were no houses in sight - just loads of wild banana trees and Paupau trees and other tropical plants.
A little pathway went into the heavy growth and quickly disappeared. I watched from inside the bus as the woman got out with the driver and he removed her boxes for her. The last thing I saw was the woman slowly walking into the jungle with her boxes weighing her down either side.
God knows how long she had to walk like that.
A simple example of power and powerlessness.
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