I am because You are

Would it be possible that people in rural areas of Africa connect with people in urban areas around the world?

That one can walk into a scene and meet someone who walks into the same scene, even if it is geographically separated? That we explore and connect rural and urban worlds worldwide without anyone being forced into cultural suicide? That we meet around the globe and relate, embrace, love, and build meaningful relationships? That we find ways to be of significance and support to each other and together shuffle poverty and disease into the abyss? That we encourage each other to withstand drunkenness and drugs, bullying, self harm, and greed? That we share spiritual nutrition to deal with wealth, loss, alienation and pain in this generation?

That we unite through social networks overcoming divides and separations? That we share ancient, tested and new resources, opportunities, visions, and dreams that lead to knowledge, understanding and wisdom?

That we collaborate cross-everything to discuss, and make tools to balance the way toward, taking into account integral health of all systems? That we together, South and North, build capacity and accountability, and progress, for justice and fairness?

That I am because You are?

How DO you?

What do you do? That question is proposed to me mostly by people from western snit. It tends to be part of a line of questioning, going like what do you do?, what do people say about you?, what do you have?. Answers to these questions supposedly lead towards the assessment and subsequently guides the measure of commitment of association. Thus challenged, I diligently write reports - both formal and informal - answering that question for many audiences. And still I will have to write many others, as the hunger for answers to this question is huge. Hence twitter.

Fortunately, I am privileged to sit in a hotel room in Cape Town, taking time off while my wife Janneke attends high level HIV-related conferences in this remarkable city. Intentionally I take time to reflect on what do I do?. I can state that I wander rural African lands, champion the poor, provoke people, and implicitly and explicitly call the international community to account, however, upon reflection all this vanishes in view of the question who are you?

I am grateful for being in Africa, where the question who are you? is the most important question and main course of every interpersonal interaction. The answer thus fuels collaboration and inspiration and guides groups of rag-tag and seasoned visionaries, dreamers, and hands-on load-carriers to implement its consequences into every day living. And as such fuels thedoing.

Well, who am I? The answer needs study, interaction, and, of course, is multi dimensional and to be discovered daily. However, it incorporates aspects of 'a broken person, crushed by, seeing the consequences of death through AIDS and other poverty related deceases, the profound pain and struggles during the uphill battle for sustainable progress by the poor, and, the many other extreme challenges that disempowered communities of this world face'. Also it contains 'a person, inspired by vision for empowerment of those in disease ridden communities, awed by the magnificence and strength of the poor, and, who has chosen to believe to be able to be together and seize opportunities that our amazing world provides to build bridges between cultures and circumstance over which we can interact and support one another'.

So, what do I do? Aiming to build relationships and communities, trying to conquer the challenges of relating. In that programs, platforms, projects and meetings are instrumental only, part of the arsenal of means to. I seek solutions and innovations that are more complex and less rationalistic than mainstream Western worldview seemingly dictates.

All in all, let us BE before we DO.

Broken Bicycle Seats

Things break. Such is known. But the rate of how things break in rural Africa is hard to comprehend.

This morning I noticed that only one seat of our six biclycles is not broken: the seat on Elmo's biclycle. That one we replaced with a new one last week. My bicycle seat is broken, Janneke's bicycle seat is broken, Merel's bicycle seat is broken, Beauty's bicycle seat is broken, and the guest bicycle seat is broken too.

Then we were taking files off a laptop this morning, as the screen is faulty. We will continue using the laptop with an external display, if we can find a working one. And I struggle to keep a back up from my data, as three hard disks bigger then 500 Gb broke within one year, only one left - with all my data on it.

Rural Africa is harsh on stuff. It breaks at an unimaginable rate. Stuff that we get from the West, that normally lasts there, breaks here fast. Stuff that we buy in the South, often cheaply made, breaks even faster.

All in all, in rural Africa it is not about implementing really. That is just one step, a start. No, it is all about maintenance.

This year and the past years we gladly welcomed a multitude of visitors to the works at Macha. Some came with an explicit agenda to smell the scent and to learn. Others came to help for periods of one week, several months, or even years. The effectiveness of these helpers is subject of this blog.

Seeing short term helpers come and go, it becomes interesting to attain a view on the effectiveness of this activity. Some have come, worked and their work did evaporate when they went or shortly after. Others came, worked, and their legacy continues to exist and bloom. This stark difference in sustainance, I think, can be linked to the mindset, the outset, the attitude of the helper.

It seems that mainly the works of those coming with a servant attitude have remained. Those whose motive was to edify the local community, to serve wholeheartedly, have been most effective. They focussed on being a blessing and did not focus on good report to bring home or on pleasing others outside of the local community.

Those that came with an attitude of knowing what to do had limited effect.Them that did ask what others could do for them have gone and their works did not linger.

Many made silent sacrifices to be able to come, put the needs of the local community first, and did accept all the arrangements made by the local community. They did not ask anything in return, and their names are still known. They earned the love and respect of the local community, these helpers truelly influenced the lives in rural Macha.

Intergral International Development

We are blessed with many researchers and bright-minds visiting Macha. As such, one's precepts and ideas are tested and scrutinized, allowing for continuous progress in conceptualizing and lines-of-thought. All in all it become clear that the holistic approach at Macha can provide for input in discussions on how to participate in sustainable progress, especially by people coming from other cultures with a wish to help progress.

Volunteer researcher Jasper Bets came up with some tantalizing observations, and noted the need for 3rd culture perspectives in travelers, which allows someone to be perceptive and effective within the local value system. As such, bridges are build for both developed and under-developed countries to learn from each other.

In Macha an integral perspective is being implemented, with activities set-up horizontally instead of vertically and with investments simultaneously in many different fields. This vitalizes and enforces each other, sustaining the interdependence of structures and systems. Such is done in an environment focussed on trust, respect, emerging from integration with the local community. Leaders are holding the space for change to come, as instilled by a long term view on progress. In such setting, one guides and operates from the background instead of directing by telling colleagues what needs to be done. Also this allows for local talent to stand up and thus local initiative to be fostered.

Furthermore, proper respect for the local environment necessitates aligning one's life with local life conditions, valuing relationships, showing of commitment, living in the here and now, synchronizing resource availability with seasons, recognition of - and submission to - local authorities, and aligning of world views. This supports the sustainability as the local community will embrace, own, and operate.

It is great that these kind of thoughts and ideas can be tested, scrutinized and discussed. It is wonderful to live in today's world, where we now can share, expose, and interact real time through the internet in our search, discussion and communication of an effective way of living and working together in a global community.

Oral Communications Culture

The last days and today I have worked with many local talent and teams on documentation. One realizes in rural Africa what oral communication culture means. In such culture information is processed differently than in those cultures where many had the opportunity of many years of education and are part of a 'book culture’.

One who reads widely, and has paper and pens in abundance, can easily assume that others receive information in the same way. Wrong! It cannot be assumed that one can work with rural Africa using the methods that are predominantly in writing, through literature, books, and abstract papers.

Elements which are essentially oral communication methods are to be included in all that we do. Thus there are significant gaps to bridge, new avenues to explore. It is exiting to bridge cultures using new styles of web communication, for instance in preserving African culture. Actually, that is a crucial aspect of my daily activities in Macha. In the plethora of activities, dedication to preserve the African heritage is prerequisite, and needs energy and dedication, certainly in our cross cultural and cross-technological environments.

What may work well for a professional in the West may not be very accessible to people in Africa. Lectures, books, and many of traditional western methods do not relate easily to people I live with. Actually, interactive communications via the Web is arguably often much nearer to oral communication than printed literature.

Of course, what you see - what you perceive to see - influences how you act. Living in an environment different than the one a person grew up into is something 'to get used to'. Especially for me, living in an oral communications environment, so radically different than the culture I grew up in, needs lots of time for contemplation and study of the culture. One has to be able to see reality from the perspectives of the local person, the common perspective as defined by the prevailing culture in the area. And that understanding is mostly available in oral communications format, with emphasis on stories.

So I wrote.

Ideas on involving grassroots levels in Africa

After writing An Inclusive World, on the inclusion and empowerment of African engineers in the world wide developments, which content was subject in IEEE GOLDRush magazine March 2008, a lot of developments have taken place. Unfortunately, also a lot of development did not take place. After writing nice words and witnessing nodding heads in agreement, we run the risk of celebrating words and avoid the sweat that action brings. As the proof is in the eating, we continue getting our hands out of the sleeves, and take action.

Meetings on the needs in Africa are mostly done in convenient settings in the West. It might also be helpful, even more effective to get out here. Possibly meetings on rural development should be done in the rural areas themselves. Participants will be exposed to new experiences and issues, and one is prone to see and understand at a different level. Also, it helps for sustainability, as relationships are build and deposits in the relationship accounts are being made.

Let us think out of the box. My contribution on Innovating and Learning versus Reporting deals also with that, and the issues are real. Sustainable progress activities in dis advanced places can be pin pointed. It is also time for (social) venturing onto new roads. Such can be done with more cooperation, across expertise, geographical and cultural areas. As an example, see our list of partnerships, growing by the day. Partnerships are productive as we accumulating knowledge and understanding in a continuously accelerated manner, and - for the first time ever - we are really able to partner because we are connected! We embrace the challenges, agree that change is a constant, and seek to establish and maintain new equilibrium.

Africa's intelligentsia, like engineers, can be involved (and get back to Africa!). It would be great to assess how many resources for projects in Africa are actually remaining in the West. Donor syndrome can be countered by engendering and soliciting innovative proposals from Africa. We need to think from African user perspectives and might need to find ways as how to empower users. And African providers must gain access to wholesale pricing. Then social venturing is a good vehicle to assure plowing back of margin and results into the communities.

Current trends are think big, however grassroots level now has a voice, is empowered, and testing ideas. Connected communities explore ideas, and report findings. Initiatives are starting at grassroots levels, and ideas on solving issues at hand should be valued and allowed to be explored. Ways of interacting between the grassroots level and big, institutionalized bodies can be found, certainly now with the development of connectivity, and the Internet. Possibly definition of Internet's NET4.0 could come from grassroots level in Africa! The social networks for grassroots level interaction, utilizing the multitude of technologies and possibilities available, are empowering interaction across geographical and cultural divides.

Africa is really large

Following up on my observations in "Africa is large", I recently noticed this drawing, which explains it well:

A Triangle of Partnerships

A triangle of networking and relationships for progress and development of the Western World, South Africa and Southern Africa can be recognized to benefit all corners of the triangle. The following benefits result:

1. Southern Africa can execute indigenous ways of developing, which includes breeding new developments from within existing communities in an culturally adapt manner;
2. South Africa can support neighboring communities with resources and understanding of the African environment, being able to build and facilitate bridges between first and third world environments, relational and rational environments, and horizontal and vertical development approaches.
3. The Western World can support in culturally adapt development; visit African settings in an appropriate manners, and report on progress in a western culture adapt fashion.
   

Recognized issues of availability of empowered local leadership, holistic/horizontal approaches including aspects of health (hiv/aids), education, and communities play pivotal roles. Cross pollination of all parties by building multicultural (electronic) community exchange of mature concepts and ideas between the corners of the triangle grows mutual respect and understanding.

Focus on Getting It Done
Africa and the development world has seen many meetings, conferences, and other well-meant discussions passing without them leading to sustainable actions and progress. Now we can build upon a number of exiting and existing projects that are alive and kicking today, often build up in adverse circumstances, having stand the test of time and often well regarded in their respective communities.

Currently we witness a unique time of opportunities. South Africa can show an impressive list of practical work done in township and rural communities, over a period of many decennia in South Africa. Such has been done using indigenous South African resources, often aided with funding from oversees donors over an extended period of time.

Secondly, a large array of relationships are developed and developing with great potential for further growth. These relationships contain those focussed on using resources to getting the job done, and those with focus on participating and empowering those who get the job done, which often are the people in the areas of development themselves.

Developments in Macha, in the rural area of Southern Province in Zambia, have been interesting to national and foreign visitors. Zambia’s Vice-President opened Vision Community Center that did boast over 10 interdependent units, acting as an innovation hub in the rural area. Infrastructure development like those transport, communications, and energy are tackled in a manner empowering all in the local rural community, and supporting multiplication and growth beyond the rural Macha area, and is recognized by national government and the regulator. One of the projects, LinkNet – empowering rural communities including health and education institutions, by building and maintaining internet service provisioning - has branched out to other rural communities. A change process is defined, and a large and growing multifaceted array of partners in these developments is established.

In the West a conglomerate of institutions, private individuals recognize the unique situation at hand. Social venturing investments are made cautiously, with donor organizations empowering projects to grow beyond their current status, which ironically were most often implemented without institutional donor funding. Professional organizations in the West and South Africa are becoming aware of their own capabilities and resource for supporting developments in Africa, in their strive for global social responsibility and study of emerging markets.

All these developments are more and more supported by visionary, holistic, and inspired leadership on grassroot and national level, which is striving for culturally adapt management of programs, projects and resources. With the further emerging of transport and communication possibilities and resources at all corners of the triangle new ways of interaction and cross pollination of leadership is available.

Activities
It needs to be recognized that change in the developed world will emerge mainly from urban areas, while in the (Southern) African setting real change can emanate out of rural areas. Thus activities on several levels must take place.

First of all, on grass root level, projects have to emerge that show the feasibility and sustainability of progress in Africa. Concepts and activities as shown in Macha and (sub urban) South Africa must be guarded, nurtured and multiplied, going from ‘proof of concept’ via ‘proof of reproduction’ to ‘proof of production’.

Funding, Research, and Organization
In all corners of the triangle there is a growing understanding that current mechanisms of funding often do not align with the realities at grassroots level. African knowledge and growing understanding of the value of cultural diversity must lead to consideration of proposals for trust-based funding schemes, including output target funding.

Reviewing actual and sustainable projects established on the ground in Zambia and South Africa will show feasibility of a new approach, closely guided by experts from many nations. Existing and new relationships will act in benchmarking and active monitoring of the program and projects taking into account ethical and managerial frameworks.

Applied and fundamental research is encouraged in further understanding the ethical and African paradigms, cultural ingredients, and actual physics needed in African (rural) environments.

Greet and Smile

The penguins in Madagascar movie got is almost right "Smile and Wave" is actually in Africa "Greet and Smile". Again this morning, while moving to and fro MICS to bring the children to school I met lots of people walking and on bicycles. With each one greetings were exchanged, and I was greeted with kind words and a Smile. How nice to start the day good words, recognition of each other existence, and broad smiles!