Sharp Shooting

In the pursuit of Sustainable Progress we at Macha translate relational thinking in a holistic approach with tangible results. It is always good to come back to Macha from other places in the world to see what we really have achieved! We are able to bring together a broad coalition of partners in the South and the North whose aim is to inspire local talents to take the reigns in their communities, realizing their collective and individual potential. Such is done at the Center of Experience in Macha, with many more Centers of Experience to follow - ideally at least one rural site in each province - to harness the local and rural experience and bring it ever nearer by to all those and inspire to tap from this source.

The three key ingredients of the approach are:

1. Internet connectivity;
2. Local talent in the driver seat;
3. Scalable solutions that work in rural setting.

Men, are we making progress?! Everywhere I go I find people busy. Today I touched base in two hours, after a two days visit to Lusaka. In that short time span I saw the following, mind boggling amount of activities - which are just a tip of the iceberg that is again floating today:

• local talent working on clearing for high voltage power lines to the Ubuntu Campus;
• local talent working on new roads to a proposed site for Bio Energy production;
• local talent working on replacement of a worn out water pump;
• local talent working on building a classroom for LITA, the ICT-training branch of the proposed Ubuntu Leadership Academy at Macha;
• local talent working on finishing the MICS House, the future housing facility for destitute children at MICS, currently already in use for the school and to house a family for guiding the children;
• local talent finishing the first two rondavel housing experiments at Macha;
  
• local talent putting some improvement on the roof of Vision Broadcasting House at the onset of the rains;
• local talent working on new technology implementation at LinkNet in a make shift laboratory environment, in both network mesh technology and access and accounting technology.

While going around I met local talent with which I discussed our financial and accounting processes and outstanding draft reports and funding requests, with other talents the implications of the ethics involved with administration and our wish to be fully transparent to the local community first, second Zambia at large, and thirdly international stakeholders and the international community at large. Then on it went, discussing the flight schedule of the airport with the local leaders at ABFA-MACHA Aerodrome, bringing new drugs to be tested at MIAM that I transported from Lusaka in our new car, handed over an old battery that I received in town for a local person in the rural, in the mean time continuously explaining how to culturally appropriately view the realities witnessed during this short tour with a a Netherlands student whom tagged along and whom arrived in country yesterday only.

Well, after writing this blog I will continue working on putting the oral information into written format on locally defined and tested ideas and plans for health, education, transport, communications, education, health, and agriculture. Great I have got access to Internet in the whole of Macha, on any devise, so we can continue communicating and interacting, over any cultural, geographical, time, and whatever barrier.

It is a great privilage to be alive and kicking in the African rural areas!