Gratitude

New glasses on my nose, seeing the world afresh, crystal clear. For a while my glasses were scratched, off strength, and regularly popping out of their frame. What a change, what a blessing!

The Zambezi river shows off its might. I watch in awe from atop the gorge at rapid seventeen. Unstoppable, majestic and fierce. Waters turned white, flipping passing rafters. Every second, massive, fresh, H2O, steaming wet life flows. We struggled a bit with water, as the site's water pump engineering failed functioning to quench human demands. However, nature's flow continues unabated, grinding the gorge.

Wow, a Taita falcon sped by. Elusive, stealthy, purposeful. Crafty bunch of feathers in full control. Through the airquarium it goes where it wants. I tried so last Thursday, in an obtrusive metal airplane. Clumsy, however, I did feel privileged and full of gratitude.

Kids squeal, jumping in a refreshing pool. Air at a temperature that cannot be sensed. Clouds shading a piercing sun. Air filled to the brink by the orchestra of nature, performing an enthralling masterpiece.

Easter. Bursting my seams with gratitude.

Discourse on Innovation vs. Discourse on Control

It is in the reflection of great writings that one can link literate utterances to observations that were lacking words in which to describe them. In the absence of specialist bookstores in a range of over a thousand kilometers, only recently I am empowered to access good books, on Kindle and with Visa Electron downloaded through the internet. A world has opened to me, with a refreshing rain of well wrought wordings.

Each book brings me both balance and unbalance, relieve and stress. I try to recognize and puzzle with thinking patterns, especially those shown by psychiatristic daredevils like Freire or Fanon, or in structural seminal methodological textbooks like Sachs or Collins. Then I augment them with thoughts from inspirational writings on culture, anthropology, theology, humanism, and mysticism.

Has all be told, has all be understood? Certainly not! Context and cultures change, emerge and seemingly do repeat. I just aim to assemble theory to support progress, sustainably, helpfully, inclusively, unitingly, and lovingly. Progress needs new insights and theories of dynamics. Thus I relish my everyday school, which provides a healthy meal of theory and practise.

Oh, what a world of fortunate joy and unfortunate hurt! Through it I can understand cynicism when sharing my experience out of Africa. At the other hand, I feel for a Rwandan friend who shared his hurt feelings after a presentation on Rwanda's impressive achievements in the role out of ICTs. It was the question from the audience that stabbed, which could be summarized like “You are giving a positive presentation about Rwandan developments. Are you giving the complete picture? Could you please expand on what is going wrong?”.

It is Fanon whom for me encapsulated the issue of us as the recipient being confused by the myriad signs of the [developed] world, so one never knows where he/she is out of line. Fanon explains how the subject is always presumed guilty, and how she/he in turn considers such judgement as a kind of curse, a sword of Damocles. This resonates with my own observations. We live in a dual and segregated world, with those being developed living in a world of foreign judgements stating 'you are guilty'.

For its donors, Macha Works creates impressive and often highly detailed reports. Such is rather unique from a rural African environment that is used to share its relationships, not its information. Recently I noticed a comment “I do trust that goods have been purchased, but how can you prove they have been used for the intended purpose?”. This is example of a known cascade of precepts:

1. when money goes to Africa, Africans will divert it;

2. when money is not diverted, reports will be cooked;

3. when reports are not cooked, the utilization will benefit the boss (only);

4. when use is not for the boss (only), then it is just a matter of time (for it to collapse).

For every step, a recipient in Africa is considered guilty unless proven otherwise, conform consistent cynicism.

The paradox of the wish for breakthrough and innovation and a situation of pervasive fear and urge for control fuels a spiral that almost encourages inertia or wrong doings. When one is labeled questionable from the start, it is most luring to confirm such judgment. It is draining to be distrusted, even before one starts. No wonder that Fanon observes “[the person being developed] is made to feel inferior, but by no means convinced of his inferiority. He patiently waits for the [the person doing development] to let down his guard and then jumps on him”. This is in line with Leautier's observation that such change can come with high speed in Africa.

I will continue to aim to engender an atmosphere of hope, trust, faith and forgiveness. Raise 'can-do' leadership, with creative, innovative attitude, ready to explore. And sustain entities that aim for the stars, leapfrogging vigorously, not necessarily avoiding difficulties, mistakes, or even failure. Such needs focus on Discourse on Innovation, one that I gladly envision.

The Man with the Key

Undoubtedly one of the most significant person in rural areas is The-man-with-the-key. Who holds the key holds access to resources. In my experience there is often only one key to a door. And thus when at a door the issue is 'who has got the Key?'.

Conveniently, on most of our doors the key number is scratched in the wood above the lock. So when the key is really lost, with most mortice locks in the country being of the same low-cost supplier, one can relatively easy source an other one. The number also helps when The-man-with-the-key has got a whole bunch of keys, so one can match the key with the door, and does not have to test them all.

The challenge lies in to match The-man-with-the-key with the door, to be able to pass through it. Of course, the person is somewhere, and one has just to find her/him. The person could be at home, could have left 'for town' and handed the key over to someone else, or might be in the fields.

This weekend it took almost 24 hours to find The-man-with-the-key to open a power cabinet that supplies the internet equipment of our Internet Service Provider. The person's phone was off, and a pursuit was launched via people in his vicinity to track him down. This morning I was chartered to drive to his house about 5 kilometers away, where the LinkNet associate hunted him down. He was busy in his fields. Thus found, The-man-with-the-keys was instantly available, got his keys and we drove him to the equipment cabinet. With the door opened, after some investigation, a power fuse was found off. Resetting the fuse restored the internet feed. Then we brought The-man-with-the-key back home so he could continue his day.

Anecdotal evidence suggest that, on average, it takes about one hour to get a door opened. This process includes a number of phone calls and travels and searches to meet up with The-man-with-the-key. Then, of course, after access has been secured and the work done, the reverse process takes place to facilitate the return of the key.

Fanon states that, in an environment like this, a person must constantly aware of his image, jealously protecting his position. Such can be witnessed in the daily dance around access to resources. And The-man-with-the-key holds one of the major keys to that!

Taking it Personal

In the culture of rural Africa juridical personalities appear not to exist. This is a discovery that got me reeling the last weeks. It is again proof that even after 11 years full of overflowing days in rural Africa, one continues to stumble upon new and fundamental truths every day. How could I not have seen this before? And, now understood, how to integrate this knowledge in wise mentoring?

Currently Macha Works is in the middle of a program called 'Pruning for Growth'. This program was initiated when during January and February two major expansion and donor commitments did not materialize; follow up Universal Service Funding expansion support for LinkNet, anticipated since May 2010, and delay in reimbursement for a large, executed target-based-funding building project.

With financial sustainability under attack, and thoughtful of the aim for long term sustainable progress, while avoiding particularism, Macha Works management took the only possible and tough decision to lay off all staff per 1 March. A growing contingency of volunteering staff continue activities in March, while the process towards rebuilding of the organisation takes off.

All this goes 'according to the management-handbook' and is a clear pass in the exam of local talent to sustainably operate an organisation in rural Africa, even under 'pressure cooker' circumstances! A signal that did not land on deaf ears and positivity exited most cooperating partners.

However, in the rural area the message is not easily digested. Some former staff and community members did start a hunt for 'the person who did this'. As Macha Works is community owned and run by Local Talent, a twister of attention focusing on the 'who'-question wanders through the area. It aims to uproot the local individuals seen as liable. Outside of the cyclone most remains at peace. Still, the magnitude of the difficulties for the individuals involved attains levels that startle me. Thus we forcefully entered a new phase of local talent training and mentoring, and discoveries.

One such discovery is that the concept of a legal entity, with a legal name and rights, protections, privileges, responsibilities, and liabilities under law, is not readily understood in the local culture and context. When I probe community members, local leadership, and even district dignitaries, they confirm this finding. Some even compassionately welcome me in the community of those endowed with this knowledge from experience.

Legal bodies in rural Africa seem to be a scarce and often bewildering artifact. It appears that, apart from the clergy that esoterically represent God, there are two entities that do exist in rural areas: the People and the Government. As such, anything that is not 'people' thus per definition is 'government'. One signal of such classification is that writing, necessary in the operations of corporate legal bodies, signals the separation of such bodies from people; People utilize orality and government literacy. Entities that utilize writings are thus seen to be necessarily part of government. Albeit the continuous review of an institute's government recognition, registration, and interaction.

On the other hand, it seems that a community owned entity like Macha Works, is seen necessarily having all rights, protections, privileges, responsibilities, and liabilities connected to a person. And thus, when the entity goes through a challenging period, the community searches for the person whom should have the full responsibility. That is quite tough for institutional leaders, whom have to watch two fronts at once, one rational/institutional and one relational/personal!

There is much to learn, and understand, and to educate, both for local talents, for communities, and, of course, for me. Never a dull moment!

ICT4R (Information and Communications Technologies for Relationships)

It is a rare honor to be present at the Information and Community Technology for Development (ICTD 2012) conference in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. What a privilege it is to be 10.000 miles from home and share unique papers from rural Zambia, for the first time presenting facts on the locality of traffic in a rural African village and how technology could facilitate local African content generation!

When taking in this conference, mulling over its significance, I wonder how to harness the significant sacrifices made by all that are present, both in body and spirit. Here we sit in the shadow of overarching, imposing sky scrapers, in facilities that give me and my two neighbors already a combined internet bandwidth that equals the total of all available bandwidth in the country of Zambia.

I attend presentations of reports on (research) projects in developing countries, many in Asia and Africa, while being part of an interesting mix of passionate persons from both 'the North' and 'the South'. Of course, presentations entice the ubiquitous questions about sustainability and academic rigor. However, David Kobia's opening remarks on the 'D' in ICT4D - the academic space for most participants at this conference - still ring in my ears. He blamed the the ‘D’ - that stands for Development - to polarize and sustain cognitive dissonance between the institutional (western) organizations that seem to seek to bring technologies to marginalized environments, while such environments call for encouragement of locally relevant expressions of technology. His position was earlier posed by Erik Hersman in “the subtle condescension of 'ICT4D'” which did invoke an insightful discussion that was well summarized by Linda Raftree.

There is clearly an Elephant in the Room that is called 'Who Says?'. Whom is talking from which cultural and contextual perspective, and under which authority? In my view, one should pose tough questions to any ICT4D activity that is not guided by, and embedded in, local culture and context. Activities that are clearly designed and planned from a western industrialized culture, with solutions emerging from western individualistic and hedonistic thought, and implementation done according to western rational planning, cannot be considered for just verdicts of 'success or fail' as per western evaluation. It is presumptuous to think that a foreigner from foreign lands offering foreign things in an other context and culture can be effective. Then academic research appears as a take-away text written in academic English appropriating local culture for private, foreign profit. The local community remains objectified and exploited, with real and potentially disturbing social consequences.

In fact, we all undergo development. It is a human and extremely complex endeavor, heavily depending on relationships. Any form of communication involved is constantly changing and emergent. Undoubtedly, doing review on technology from within, and to the benefit of people in severely resource restrained environments, is challenging. However, as culture is the context in which things happen; out of context, even information and communications technologies can lack significance.

My daily experience in the rural Africa is that cross cultural knowledge is hard to come by. Its apprehension takes much effort and time, and, when known, its consequences often baffles foreign people involved. Although ICT4D practitioners can argue that integrated technologies have a logic of their own that are not affected by culture, the objective dimension of technologies, including Information and Communications Technologies, do have totally different meanings that different local human cultures read into them. Thus, in any presentation of ICT4D activity, a multidisciplinary, ethnographic description of the context and culture is imperative, as ICT4D is a subset of ICT4R, Information and Communications Technologies for Relationships, which can only be researched as a complete human experience.

What Time Does It Start?

The final of the African Cup of Nations between Zambia and Ivory Coast was clear focus of attention for everybody last night. We planned to go to Vision Community Hall, where the game would be shown on a big screen, and we would watch with hundreds of others. We got ready for a meal at 18.00 hours, to assure we all - 2 adults and 4 kids - would be ready for the game, which we 'were told' would start at 19.30 hours.

Just before the meal I went online to check the exact starting time of the final Zambia - Ivory Coast, in Libreville, Gabon. The starting time proved more difficult to find then I expected. Thus Janneke requested the info by SMS from colleagues and friends while I surfed the web and called around.

SMS from a friend: “The game starts at 19.30 hours”
Phone call with an organizer at the Hall: “The game starts at 21.00 hours”

This clearly needed more research, as to assure the kids would get enough sleep. Thus we continued communicating. Google did not yet point to a clear answer yet..

A community leader said: “I think it starts at 21.30 hours, I am pretty sure”
A leading South African website announced covering the game, starting at 20.00 hours.
SMS from an ardent soccer fan, known to walk Macha with his Zambian scarf the whole last week: “Definitely, the game will start at 21.15 hours”

The BBC website mentioned: “kick off at 19.30 hours”.

Thus kids to bed quickly, to catch some sleep. We woke them up at 21.00 hours, and went to the lively Vision Community Hall. Kick off of the final proved to take place at 21.30 hours, the hall filled to capacity, and the game finished well passed midnight with a wonderful victory for Zambia!

Back at home the kids went to bed around 01 hours. We woke them up at 06.15 hours, as usual. Upon leaving the home for school at 07.00 hours I noticed an unusual quietness outside.

The kids returned home from school around 11.30 hours, well before the scheduled 13.00 hours. They said that only 15 of the 100+ children had reported for school, to little to continue classes.

All this is a clear cut and understandable witness of the local culture's diffuse synchronicity, it particularist communitarianism, of course engrossed by an unusual external controlling event, Elephants failing to withstand Copper Bullets (Chipolopolo)!

Shortage of Engineers

When traveling through Africa, wherever I go, I am also always asked to have a look at operational or stalled computers. Often I venture to check settings to get them on networks, and to check the software to keep them working. Always I find slow or not working network connections, infected computers, and outdated software. Often I find computers without virus-scanner, 'old' programs, and frustrated users. From the colleagues at LinkNet I hear that too. Wherever they go, they encounter frustrated users, and too many requests and too much work to handle.

Yesterday again, I sat at an hospital, doctoring on two laptops connected to a dedicated satellite connection. A simple change in settings solved connection issues, and I left with a number of downloads ongoing for virus scanner and software updates. Any IT engineer could have done this. But they are just not around..

On a daily basis, we are confronted with needs for engineering in water, energy, agriculture, and many more. Retention of engineers is a daunting challenge in rural Africa. Actually, there are not many engineers to start of with in the first place..

Many African countries pursue economic growth, aiming for sustainable service provisioning and access to cost-effective goods and services, as close to the communities as possible. Progress towards achievements of global and national development goals outcomes are fluctuating, certainly not helped by severe shortages of engineers for appropriate technologies. The engineering sector in many African nations is in crisis and there are shortages of engineers at every level.

Clearly one of the major obstacles to sustain the economy and to reach the goals set by the Millennium Development Goals, and working infrastructure at the local level, is the shortage of human resource in engineering.

リーベン湖

On my way to Wall Street, New York, coming from New Brunswick, New Jersey, I get lost in Penn(sylvania) Station. Although it is day time, I have seen little daylight since hitting the tunnel under the Hudson River. Now I roam searchingly the mole's labyrinth of Penn Station, New York, New York.

Finally I end up on a subway pier, unclear if I the coming train would bring me to lower Manhattan or the middle of the earth. At the quay, the first two persons neglect my inquiries, engrossed in mobile phone and/or music via earpieces. Inquiring from the third person hits humanity, resulting in a person fishing a (guide?) book from his pack. It is in Japanese katakana I think. The text apparently confirms this is going to be the right way.

“Where do you come from”, I ask the rhetorical question. “Anchorage, arrived at 02.00 hours at JFK today. Now on my way to the Statute of Liberty, and then maybe to Ground Zero, and tomorrow fly to ...”. I lost the name in the noise of the approaching train, but am sure it is a location in a far away land.

“I live in Tokyo” is now added. The book and New York map thus must be in Japanese, indeed. “That is good, I am from Zambia, on my way to meet a friend living in the tents of Occupy Wall Street I think”. “Zambia? I will be in Uganda in three weeks I think”.

Where has this world turned into? Who is from where I am now, or where I am going, are we all travelers? Undoubtedly we (all?) are..

Assimilatedly - and seemingly like what people do - tomorrow I will be in Denver. The next day in San Francisco, and then Macha.

History "Gregory Mweemba" (2003)

Greg peers around the corner of my closet. The closet, the pantry of our house, is claimed to be my full fledged office. It contains a desk, a plank of 1.2 x 1 meter, hammered between the walls, with equipment stacked up to the ceiling. When I wiggle around and hold in my stomach, I can even close the door to have privacy in my office. Today the door is open, and there is Gregory. He is in the house getting a glass of water while doing piecework in our garden, slashing grass.

“Can I use such a computer?”. Tough question, as computers are scarce in Macha. Maybe five in the whole village, of which two in our house. One, a fourth-hand Pentium I is Janneke's personal computers, set up on the desk in our living room. The second one, a two years young desktop, operates in my closet.

“Why do you want to use a computer, Greg?” “I have seen and touched one at school, a laptop owned by an international missionary teacher. I would love to learn how to use a computer so I can train others”. “OK, and when you have trained others, what then?” I probe further. “I want to start an internet cafe, we need an internet cafe in this rural community!”. “There is no internet in our community, Greg, not even telephone line. I am trying shortwave radio to send messages, and mostly that does not even work!”. “No problem, it will come to pass one day. Can you assist me to use a computer, please?”.

Greg sits in our house, every day, for he next five weeks. Quietly and diligently he pushes himself, working on Janneke's computer in our living room. He works within his own user account. At the end of the day he erases his trails. He resets the computer so Janneke can use it for her work in the evenings.

Within five weeks Gregory has conquered all the computer can manage. Self taught, as I am much to busy getting onto my feet in this resource challenged environment.

“Greg, sorry, we have to leave for a few month. We travel abroad to be with relatives, awaiting the arrival of a new family member”. “No problem, I will see you when you come back”. “What do you want to do now you are being able to handle a computer very well, Greg? Do you want to make money for you and your family, or what?” “No, I want to serve the community, and open the internet cafe.”.

“Let's make you a deal Greg. You know Choma town's internet cafe. They are growing well, and have an urgent vacancy for computer literate staff. I met them and did recommended you. It provides for a well paying job. Or, when you really want to continue in Macha, I suggest you spend your time on further studies. For instance, enroll for official training in Lusaka. I promise to pay for your expenses when I return. Yes, it is expensive. However, you must find funding yourself. Just bring results and receipts when I am back.” Greg responds: “Good deal, see you when you are back in Macha.”

Upon returning to Macha, my heart is heavy when Greg does not show up the during the first week. I do not dare to investigate if he accepted the lucrative job in the internet cafe in Choma. Two weeks later, Greg at the door... “I heard you did return. I was delayed as to finish much computer training. Here are the receipts”.

Together we refurbish a large, run down building and turn it around for the proposed internet cafe. A container arrives with donated goods. In it we find a pile of twenty written off Pentium I computers. Without delay they are deployed in “Vision Internet Cafe”. Right upon arrival of internet in Macha, Vision Internet is wireless connected. Gregory is in charge of it all.

History "Fred Mweetwa" (Apr-2003)

“Knock, knock” goes the door. “Who is there?”. “Fred”. “Fred who?”. “Fred Mweetwa”. I stumble to the kitchen door. Another knocking on the door today, what will the story be now?

“Would you like to buy trees?”. “Trees, let me think, do I need trees you think?” “Yes, you need trees, there is much room in your garden to plant some trees”. “OK, let us plant some trees, where do you think they should go?”. It turns out that Fred nurtures trees from seed to seedling in discarded milk packages. “What do they cost Fred?”. “Give me 2,000 Kwatcha per tree please”. ZMK 2,000 equals USD 0.50.

Fred enthusiastically markets his trees, and other activities. I learn of his vision of the importance of planting trees, especially fruit trees, as the community is used to pluck the fruit, and take the wood, but not used to facilitate a process of replanting trees they harvest. He continues by explaining more and more initiatives and works, for instance the one bringing together communities to exercise the art of bee-keeping.

“Fred, such a tree brings in little turnover. There might not be a very big tree market in this rural community, and it seems you are able to do much more then that. What would you do if you were free to choose your carrier now now?”. “I would be a journalist”, he replied. “Journalist? What are you knocking at my door selling trees then? Why don't you knock on my door and ask me to be active in journalism? I will buy your trees, but let's start over and reacquaint!”.

Four weeks later Fred knocks at that door again. With two handwritten reports, expanding on the agreed journalistic tasks. One report provides insight on “What does the community think HIV is?” and the other “What does the community like to be educated in?”. Fred explains how he loves the tasks at hand, how he organized a good number of community sessions in which the questions under investigation were discussed, in communities near and far. Also he eludes on how the whole exercise has made all involved enthusiastic, including himself. “People were happy to be asked questions, and felt valued. They are keen to discuss these kind of issues further, it was a worthwhile exercise. What else could I investigate?”.

“Fred, what do you think you should be next? Do you need to be selling trees, work in journalism, or what?”. His heeding to calling: “I need to lead the community Radio Station”.