Heeding Calling

Often I am asked: "why do you live in rural Africa". This in the context of having the option of living somewhere else, for instance in the West. This is the big WHY question. The answer is: I live where I sense my calling, I am within my purpose.

Purpose is the driver. Without purpose, what do we do? I believe we all have a unique purpose, and thus it is important to know that purpose. We are all unique, and thus have a unique purpose. Taking it to the extreme: competition signals that possibly one is doing the wrong thing (activity), is in the wrong area (location), or in the wrong season (time period).

When working in line with the purpose and calling one can be effective, and make sense of it all. It provides a strong inner drive towards action, whatever the circumstances.

Entities exits to be a home for where people are together, and combine their individual purposes to bring about a common purpose. It might need metaphysical or religious experiences to know one's purpose, and recognize where people combine in the common cause, the international community. This valid in the whole world, both in the South and in the West. In the West, where individuality is a driving force the common purpose will unite people. In the South, where people's individuality is an expression of the common purpose, it start the other way around, but all with the same result.

How does one find out the purpose governing one's life? There are many books in the subject and much motivational literature. I found Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life interesting, and Reuel Khoza's Let Africa Lead. A good talk among friends, time for introspect and needs assessment, contemplating and prayer in the fields of what does one hope for, where one does have faith for might lead somewhere. In any case, it is often a process of seeking and finding.

Calling will give the energy to stick it out, to keep going when the going gets tough, energy for breakthrough when there are obstacles. Calling will help to stand up for what is right, to shed inhibitions and ignites a person to be more then a conqueror. It also helps to live unhidden, wherever and whenever. It guides the environment - including family and friends - with a base for understanding the reason of otherwise sometimes difficult to understand action and perseverance.

Purpose will give reason to connect. It births optimistic action. Optimism gives energy. Negativism drains energy, so lets steer away from that.

Calling will allow dreams to be dreamed. It can provide sense of excitement, testing and weeding of burdens. It provides for hope, and engenders faith. It allows growth, entry into the impossible.

Knowing one's calling is prerequisite for engendering change, both internal and external. I have the privilege to live in a fast changing and challenging environment. Heeding to my calling is one of the reasons why I live in rural Africa and not anywhere else.

Excruciating costs of Internet in rural Africa

Looking at budgets for operations in rural Africa the costs of Internet bandwidth are major and excruciating. Strangely, it seems one of the least known or understood hurdles for development. It is difficult to stomach that we pay thousands of USD per month for internet connections with 'speeds' that the West considers peanuts. In the West one gets 1 Mb/s connectivity wholesale for less then USD 20 per month. For us in landlocked Africa, such connection costs wholesale between USD 3,000 and USD 4,500. When one has to opt for lesser speeds and shared connections, significantly higher prices are calculated. Basically, we in rural Africa pay thousands of times more for Internet connectivity then one pays in the West.

There are not too many websites that mention this situation. In reviewing pricing of satellite capacity, like-for-like comparisons are almost impossible. When preparing for Macha over six years ago, I spend one year studying pricing and service options before being able to make an informed decision. Cost/benefit ratios are masqueraded in the plethora of price/offerings and quick overviews do not show multiple issues involved. In the mean time the situation on satellite capacity pricing, and availability, has significantly deteriorated. For instance per 1 January 2009 our prices have gone up with at least 10%.

There is some movement in the situation. Major institutions and companies show interest, and sea cables are emerging. There will be a learning curve, and there is lots to learn about the way Africa works, and it remains to be see what will really emerge.

The world must recognize the current role they play in keeping Africa in darkness. Current high prices for access to satellite technology, crucial for Africans to connect to the Internet, are really problematic. Of course, with economic principles, capacity constraints lead to higher prices. But, as also we at Macha Works are showing real and major social benefits, and growing demand for special user groups, breakthrough and more providers provisioning capacity over Africa must emerge, with prices going down instead of current rising of prices.

I will continue to write comments and air views on this issue, as in Free Internet for Africa and various websites.

Resource alleviation collateral

Peculiar observations can be made in an environment where resources are being added within a situation of poverty. When resources appear - and a situation with nothing changing to something - there is a significant amount of new stress added to the scene. The stress of resource allocation.

Poverty - which is the shortage of common things such as food, clothing, shelter and safe drinking water, all of which determine quality of life - influences everything. Rural Africa has also major shortages in electricity, transport, communications, housing, finances, education, and health care, to mention a few. When such resources become available, often those with access to such (still rather limited) resource pay a high price, both financial and intangible.

One has to get used to the availability of the resource, even if it is just emerging. Complexity is added when the resource is shared, and it all becomes even more complex when it is shared across cultural or age boundaries. Often those with access to the resource harbor implicit or even explicit distrust of the other with whom the resource is shared. Resource limitations feed distrust that the other is misusing the resource.

Resource allocation, which is the assignment of the available resource, is mostly defined - and organized - in a rational way. Challenge is blending 'resource allocation' in the relational, rural African cultural way. In such environment resources are shared and catered for quite differently, with responsibilities valued higher then rights.

Currently we are fortifying the scaffolding for the works at Macha, with Zambian management and international volunteers. When that scaffolding is gone, wholesome grown resources should be environmentally sound and sustainably embedded and available. Scaffolding goes with rules and requirements, which go with expectations. Guilt, and shame, and judgment follow suit, and thus hurt, especially in cross cultural environments with wide varieties of people and expectations. Management in poverty situation often equals management of hurt.

Engendering trust, over borders and cross cultural, turning expectations based upon regulations towards expectation based upon relationships, that is what must guide resource allocation in resource limited environments; All tests of character.

Living at Altitude

At Macha we live about 1,100 meters above sea level. Much part of Southern Africa is more or less on a plateau, and it often feels that reflects in our life. Life , almost cannot be more full with events and experiences, it is life to the fullest! Some of the ‘news items’ of the four weeks:

I drove about 6,000 kilometers in three weeks, through Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Most of it we pulled our trailer along, with goods from Zam to Zim and from South Africa. It was great to see many of our friends in these countries, and we stayed in their houses, or camped in their driveways. We found the team in Zim well catered for copying in their specific circumstance. Together with the local community lots of efforts are put in successfully improving the facilities. Of course, going it relative and tough. However, the local team effort is commendable, and requests for support by the local Social Welfare, and the Hospital are being accommodated to the best of capabilities. We are grateful for this collaborative effort.

All this driving around is now possible with our ‘new car’ available and operational. We received the number plates and assembled all paperwork - including registration papers, insurance, Interpol clearance, driver license validation, yellow card, letters of authority, and road taxes - just three days before commencing for the long journey. During this time we also had room for relaxing (our summer holiday) with family visits to Pilanusberg (RSA) and the Vumba (Zim). During all travels we had local talent from Zambia and Zimbabwe along, giving them a needed break and new experiences. All in all we already drove more then 10,000 kilometers since the car arrived in Macha late 2008.

Just before New Year large donor funds hit the accounts of PrivaServe Foundation, allowing us to settle all current activities and debts. It is wonderful to enter the new year with a clean sheet, and to facilitate the flush of activities that we expect to happen. The new year started with every local talent dived in planning and administration.

Professionally we started the new year with operational separation of units with different business models, to facilitate specialization, coordination, and growth. LinkNet's leader is now Gregory Mweemba and the Building activities are led by Cynthia Mumba. Leadership Academy and Transport branches also operate more or less independent, with 'Macha Works' overarching the activities in a coordination role, assessing local plans and reports. It is exiting to see the maturity of the team, and how they relish the opportunities ahead.

Also the past period gave me an opportunity to catch up on some reading. ‘The Shack’ is a best seller in South Africa and served as a cup of fresh water, I enjoyed the read.

The year also started with many hours in the air, facilitated by Flying Mission. Pilot family Rick and Tracy Rempel settled in Macha, with housing gracely provided by Macha Hospital. And, Macha now also has its own resident airplane, a Cessna 210, often flying over 150 knots an hour! Miracles and progress abound. With its connectivity, quality primary education, and abilities in transport, Macha even becomes attractive for international coordination activities. In that manner Mennonite Central Committee Southern Africa coordinators are settling in Macha for their work in coordination of MCC travels in Southern Africa.

More cooperation efforts are being established with joint activities within the setting of the Global Research Alliance. Applied research in rural internet connectivity is the agenda, and grant proposals, white papers, and the like are being penned down. Currently the cooperation includes applied research partners in Finland, Germany, South Africa and Netherlands. Even contacts with Australia are growing.

In the mean time we continue to grow our knowledge base of the rural areas, and as such I continued discussions in Lusaka, touched down in Loloma, and visited Chitokoloki (near Angola) last week.

It is high time that our Tonga Hut in the garden is being repaired. The grass roof caved in one year ago, but we did not work on it as all other projects were of higher priority. Good rains this year stimulated a full roof-collapse, and thus no escape than to really get going with this. Now the grass is getting on a new wooden frame, and we look forward to its completion.

The electricity company ZESCO started to deliver on its contract to connect Ubuntu Campus with an 11 kV line. It was 11 months ago that we paid the contract, but now we can see something happening, with three quarters of the poles standing. Let’s hope that we gain some more speed in this work, which will be a big relieve and support for the activities there.

Innovating and Learning versus Reporting

While today sorting, packing, storing goods and resources received from generous givers all around the world, for pinpointed fueling of empowerment of the rural community, I was contemplating that the works in Macha evolved from a process of innovation and learning. Local talents were exposed, trained, mentored and supported in a process which was not planned nor documented upfront. Basically we were part of change 'on the fly', and maybe even were lagging in our understanding of what really is taking place during the wonderful progress we have witnessed. We have learned a lot, and now have an idea on 'how to be part of change', materialized in a change process that supports constant learning and action research.

While growing, all must be balanced with the often explicit and strictly implemented necessity to produce plans, contracts, reports and assessments. Basically it keeps me glued to the computer, typing many pages of text a day. And not only me is typing full time at Macha. Almost seven persons are already busy in administration for book keeping, accounting and reporting of our activities in Zambia. And then Dick and his group in the Netherlands should be added to this at well. It is good to tell the story, and to share the lessons learned. And of course, the pendulum swings forth and back between control and freedom.

Having gone through significant growth of organizations and activities this year, the feeling lingers that renewal of the value chain and value creation in development aid, with more attention for innovation and learning-by-doing, in a real time and fully connected environment is now due.

This year I have become even more convinced that Information and Communications Technology is a key enabler for progress, especially so in the rural areas of Africa. Preservation of African culture, transformation for those without chances, and in general giving local talent the chance to develop themselves all depend on 'being connected'. This, of course, both in figurative and technical sense. When connected, diversity is supported as well as the opportunity to specialize and join in ventures.

The horizontal, holistic approach in Macha has shown that many specialist parties can work together, and that specialism in providing for connections and flow of information - by means of Internet - between parties in rural Africa is possible, even from a base in rural Africa. We have shown that after priority to connect the rural communities and train local talent, we can deliver tailor-made community driven solutions, adding value to, and engendering, partnerships with expert organizations. Although heavily challenged by in vogue bureaucratic approaches, we must support learning, innovations, and entrepreneurship instead of overly focusing on reporting. It is quite frustrating to live in rural Africa and to spend much time on writing reports instead of being 'out there' doing the job. One just wonders where all those reports go, and if spending so much time on such work is 'all worth it'. Of course, full transparency and accountability is imperative. Such must lead to tangible participation in the work at hand, and not on 'reports to fill filing cabinets'.

Being connected, to work in a fully connected way, and reporting on the fly - multifaceted and real time, focusing on those things that 'make the difference' for the local community, well tuned in a holistic setting, building upon national and international relationships, from a solid and leading base 'in the South', that is the way we have gone and will continue to go in 2009.

Africa is Large

On my way on a day-flight from Lusaka to London there was lots of chance to see Africa. The flight took almost 10 hours, of which more then 7 hours were above Africa! It is the Gall-Peters projection that shows areas of equal size on the globe equally sized on the map, and see: Africa is long!

When looking down, and thinking of the hundreds of millions of people living there, and all need to participate, and interact, it really dawned what massive task there is ahead.

The change of abilities of a community to participate after bringing Internet to a rural settings are significant. For instance, any of the capabilities underneath only became available after Internet was introduced in Macha. Before that event, they were not possible:

So, off I go again, from summer to winter, from South to North, on a quest to assure attention for the plight of the people in rural Africa whom need to be connected now!

Internet in African Bush Changes Lives

Internet is a powerful engine for development. Today this became true again, making another big impact in our family life.

On the website of LinkNet there are many stories on how Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has been an engine for development at Macha. The story of how information was gathered through the internet that added sunflower growing to the agricultural landscape of Macha is well read. As is the information on the data entry work via the Internet at Macha. Interest often focus on financial significance.

The biggest impact that I experience of the full time availability is in inspired lives; Esther Kalambo is now certified pastor in the Brethren in Christ Church, after numbers of years hard study on a college in the USA connected from her home in Macha. She did so while uninterrupted serving Macha Hospital and the rural community at large. Fred Mweetwa is well underway in his Bachelors studies Public Administration at the University of South Africa. He does so from his tiny room in the Ark, while continuing to serve as emerging leader in rural Community Development. Doctor Sitali is studying for a Masters in Public Health from his house in rural Macha, while continuing to serve as medical doctor at Macha Hospital. And in Mukinge, the matron of Mukinge Hospital, Lynn Hacker has commenced an online MBA study. Most educators I know in these rural areas are now studying online, or are having plans to do so. This development in minds and skills of local people will have lasting impact on society.

Every day life of most professionals in Macha is now intertwined with the rest of the world. Sending and receiving e-mails is a continuous routine. Searching the internet for answers too. Exchange of pictures of medical cases to check with peers are nothing special anymore. We are all connected through Facebook and instant messaging, we post and discuss, and put Standard Operating Practices on Intranets. Local and online file servers, document servers, and application servers do their job, and internet libraries are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Some even buy cars in Japan, and almost all tickets and lodging bookings are done online. In Macha it is now news when the internet is down, not when it is up. It is like tab water, one only takes note when it is not flowing.

Of course, this is not applicable for everyone in Macha. Most people are not yet connected to, or using, the Internet. Like many do not have running water or a power connection. However, ICTs are now available and accessible. And most professionals in the community are able to use this connectivity to communicate with family and friends and do online studies. Through peer-to-peer communications with others the quality of work improves. One can even start thinking about 'efficiency' in rural Africa as personal effectiveness is enhanced.

We run between 4 and 10 Gb a day through the internet from this rural village. That is almost a DVD full of information flowing into this rural area, every day. It was ony a few years ago that the only way of communication was per weekly post batch or by HF or VHF radio.

Today, for our family, there was an apporteosis. At 17.30 hours, Merel sat behind her kindly donated, full size piano keyboard, glancing at the computer screen in front of her. Through the Internet connection she was able to see what her teacher Kristin was saying and showing on her piano, over 15.000 kilometers and 8 hours time difference away. Diligently she played on the piano keys for the first time, keenly watched over by her teacher in her music studio in Minneapolis. Merel played "kitten are we, cute as can be, playing the keys, miauw", and two other rimes.

We live as a family in rural Africa. This implies advantages and disadvantages for our children. I saw our daughter doing piano lessons today ..... there are no words to describe how I felt. Wow, thanks God, technology, all involved, and anybody else! This is life to the fullest, which should be available for all on earth, also to those living in rural Africa.

Existence Farming

This morning while cycling with Elmo, Beauty and Merel to the primary school MICS, the air was full of noises of people working in the fields. Men cheered their oxen pulling the plough, and children joined their mothers and grand mothers in working with the how in the fields. Holes are being made, seeds are dropped, holes are covered and prayers go up for good rains and affordable fertiliser.

Yesterday afternoon the first good rainstorm hit Macha. And thus today people plow and plant. Last week we brought 1,200 kg of seed maize for the workers at Building Activities from Choma to Macha. Then all was still very, very dry. Today looks different, with muddy paths and messy roads. One big rain storm makes all the difference. People working in the fields, quickly doing their work in the fields from sunrise till going to work in the hospital, the schools or the mainy works at Macha. Any piece of land is being used.

The encyclopedia defines: "Susistence Farming: form of farming in which nearly all of the crops or livestock raised are used to maintain the farmer and his family, leaving little, if any, surplus for sale or trade." We might have to define 'Existence Farming' too.

This morning I turfed at least four power outages of the electricity grid, and electricity is gone since 05.45 hours. I am writing this blog while on generator. There are no banking facilities in Macha, and business loans are not readily available for people in tribal lands like Macha - hardly for anybody in Zambia actually. Heavy machinery and other production assets can only be bought in major towns, hundreds of kilometers away from Macha. Fuel and other consumables are not readily available. Most supplies needs 'imports' from other clusters of activities like towns. And transport is hardly available, and if so very expensive. So much for technology.

On the other side, the perils of the economic trouble in the world are hardly known to people in Macha; Its effects noticed only when taking a long term view on the future, which is not something kin to the local culture. It is all going by as an iceberg in the far distance. An analogy is climate change; Africa is the region where the impacts of climate change on agriculture are predicted to be the most severe. Well, a few in rural Africa know, will observe, and try to play part in preparing. Hopefully we become empowered to be through it all and be part of a solution.

About 20 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP is generated by agriculture. In many countries, agriculture is the main source of employment. Our next chiefdom Chikanta, with very poor infrastructure, no electricity what so ever, and even being further away from centers of activity, is reknown in Zambia for its production of maize, yes, maize for sale also!

Unfortunately, food production in most of sub-Saharan Africa has not kept
pace with the population increase over the past four decades. Lack of access to markets constitutes a binding constraint to the agricultural sector in most of the continent. [Source: United Nations report "Trends in Sustainable Development, Africa Report 2008-2009"]. Previously harvested maize produced the seeds for next year, now we need to buy genetically modified seed and thus have cash at hand. One has to evade this gloom picture and continuously go farward.

Well, this day people are planting again, in fields that were used by their ancestors and their ancestors. Given by the chief to the family in the oral tradition of the land. When we will be blessed with good rains, then we will harvest, and eat. Whatever happens or not happens with the electricity, heavy machinery, bank loans, buildings, and fuel, we will eat and live. Thus, there we go: early morning, digging and planting. And later early mornings: weeding. We will eat, understanding the works of our own hands, like our ancesters did.

I look forward to innovations in the area of agriculture. When we start planting oil crop for local and small scale production of bio-fuels, growing a diversified economy. When knowledge will emerge on new crops like sunflower and soya beans, indirectly stimulating crop rotation and thus yield of the land. To supply for local production of healthy, High Energy Protein Supplement foods, especially for those affected with HIV. It is about the 'human measure', the collective to understand and comprehend, to align with and preserve local culture. It is all about continuity of existence. Today people farm for their existence. We want and will be part of it. Let's put our hands at the ploughs.

Sports, part of Vision Community Works

At Macha we have many students from various 'walks and activities of life'. They take time during their studies to be part of what is going on in Macha. Some do so as part of their studies, others as an intermediate activity. They are also human resource that can be focused on a task that needs attention. Most students to Macha come for activities in medical fields. Some students are easy going, some need lots of attention, but it is always worthwhile and a moving experience to be living within the rural African community. Students keep blogs about their experiences often, and with a Google search you might find several of them.

Today student Pim Herweijer gave his end-presentation of a three month period in Macha. He is student physical education at the University of The Hague and has been instrumental in helping the activities of Vision Community Works, Sports, an other leap forwards. He worked reporting to local community works expert Fred Mweetwa.

Sports offer important means in rural community development. It provides tools in the migration path between value systems pertaining traditional and ritual ways of tribal group life towards value systems incorporating higher authority and direct, absolutist rules. It trains participants in asserting self and handling of dominant behavior and power, as such imparting real life skills needed while being confronted with a changing world. And, of course, sport is conducive for good health.

Although we have been trying for years, it has been difficult to get attention - and funding - for sports development in rural areas. As Macha is now used to 'new developments' Pim entered a fertile area. He worked diligently and supported teaching of physical education at various schools, including Lupata Basic School and MICS. This inspired local educational talent to face questions as 'why sport', 'how to provide sport education', and 'how to use sports equipment'. This went alongside training and participating with local talents on organising of sports events, workshops and more.

We intend to measure effectiveness of visiting experts and students in the amount of coproduction with local talent they produce. As such, Pim worked with Mr. Kennedy Kanane, physical education and mathematics teacher at Macha's Francis Davidson secondary school, on a first concept for a 'rural proof' syllabus for physical education. This sylabus helps teachers in the process of improving Physical Education programs at their rural schools.

There is still lots to do and there is lots of room for further study. For instance, how to understand the rural mindset and view of sports, and how to build and maintain an innovative Vision Sports facility at Ubuntu Campus. However, it is again clear that sports activities are an other important element for sustainable progress in rural Africa.

The Bore hole Pump

Water comes from deep in Macha. In this area boreholes are over 70 meters deep. The yields are low, apparently due to the rock formations in the ground. Boreholes often run dry. Continuity of water supply in rural Macha is a challenge, with today a miraculous saving of our single bore hole and pump at Ubuntu Campus.

We had to drill three boreholes, to find one yielding water - rated 1.5 ltr/second - 60 meters deep at Ubuntu Campus. Costs of drilling one bore hole range between EUR 4.000 and 8,000 depending on the supplier and relocation costs of the drilling rig.

Our 1 horsepower bore hole pump - costing about EUR 1,500 one year ago, excluding transport costs - stopped working about one month ago. Diagnosis at Macha: burned engine. Result: no water at Ubuntu Campus. While hauling drinking water in all kind of barrels and jars from MIAM Campus to Ubuntu Campus, I made a trip to Lusaka with the pump for assessment (transport cost USD 800). The diagnosis was confirmed: a burned engine due to stuck pump as the pump was worn out. As we have ran 'dry' in more then one aspect, I bought with our private funds the only available a new 1.5 horsepower engine with pump at the Lusaka supplier at that moment of time and took it to Macha.

Upon assembling the pump and pipes, and lowering in the bore hole, it was found that our two operational generators were not strong enough for the new pump. Fine tuning the voltage from a newly arrived generator took an other couple of days.

After a few minutes of pumping the new bore hole pump stopped working. The electronics became hot and the pump needed to be stopped. No water was flowing. Assessment by experts from Lusaka by phone: wiring mistake. Thus our chief technician Lemmie Muleya took the Thursday plane from ABFA-MACHA Aerodrome to Lusaka with pump, engine, electronics and all 100 meters of wiring. That same day it was assessed that the wiring was OK, however the pump was full with mud drawn during the short exercise. After cleaning of the pump Lemmie took the whole assembly back to Macha by taxi in Lusaka, bus from Lusaka to Choma, and taxi from Choma to Macha. He arrived home at 02.00 hours.

Friday morning the cleaned, new pump with the well tuned generator was pumping from a higher position and water filled the tank at Maanzi Office (Maanzi = Water). After 15 minutes the bore hole already ran dry and the pump had to be switched off.

Again the whole assembly came out yesterday. With the pump lower it worked well for 10 minutes, after which water stopped flowing again.

Now in crisis - as users were out of water again during days of all most 40 degrees - relatio assured 10 persons to work on the bore hole site this Sunday morning. Disaster really struck when the nylon pulling rope - reaching the surface while attached to the pump - broke! The sisable rope was possibly weakened by a year hanging under water in the bore hole. Now the pump with about 20 meters of 40 mm diameter poly-pipe, full with water, was hanging on a three-core electricity cable only. At this time I was requested to be at the scene.

I saw a hugely strained electricity cable holding a load of tens of kilograms, with the poly pipe about 10 meters in the bore hole. The risks were huge: loosing the bore hole pump and the bore hole itself, as the assembly would clog up the usable range of the borehole.

Well, there were no alternatives. Thus we started pulling the three-core electricity cable. At least five men carefully pulled the heavy load. When the pipe came in sight the wire started to slip, and it felt near that the whole would disappear into the deep bore hole. We blocked the cable and reviewed the options. There were none, so the corporate decision was to keep pulling. Apparently 'down there' something got some grip, and higher the pump came, and then the electricity cable felt to slip again.

Against all logic, we kept pulling and miraculously the poly-pipe now appeared from the bore hole. When it was half way out, we noticed the electricity wire had come completely loose from the pump and was entangled a bunch of 2,5 mm2 earth wire. Further pulling that bundle out we noticed that the bundle also had entangled with the remaining nylon rope. In the end only the rope pulled the load.

Although there are still many obstacles to overcome before we have water running again - eg where and when to get new nylon rope and a role of class 6 40 mm poly-pipe - at the time this morning that all was over, it took over 15 minutes for the adrenaline in my body to settle to normal levels. Elation of the miracle of saving the bore hole lingered much longer.