I just spoke to Nico, my young friend in Mozambique. He goes to grade 10 (15 years old). He and his family live on a small farm near Prado de Xhai Xhai. They live in extreme poverty (< 1 dollar a day), but are happy! Nico is a very clever and hard working young man, who told me he really needs a bicycle to go to school. His family shares a mobile phone. I have been trying to reach them the past weeks and finally got through now, so great! It is just incredible to know that this young man (Nico) has the ability to reach out and create possibilities through new technologies. I am so enthusiastic about Mobile Technology in the 3rd World!
So now what?
a. I want money for Nico’s bicycle and
b. I’ll figure out a way to get the money/or bicycle there
When and where did I meet Nico?
…a few weeks ago I was very lucky to be taken on a holiday by my mum and brother, who flew in from The Netherlands. We’ve rented a car and basically drove to the places that inspired us at that moment. One of the things we did was a visit to Mozambique. Our rental car was having a hard time on the roads full of potholes, our eyes enjoyed each and every bit of it. What a wonderful country! What an extremely friendly people (especially compared to South Africa…I guess the absence of the the fear oppression -Apartheid- provided space for a community to be developed, rather then a culture of segregation and aggression)Stepping in a different world, separated from this “luxury” South African world. No big shopping malls, not a lot of cars (yeah sure in Maputo), mostly:…no running water, no electricity, no money, no technology. Rural, like really rural. Small villages, compiled of traditional woven or clay houses, fruits and small farms.
Coconuts and palm trees all along the road, just like ..cashew nuts…in plastic bags floating in the wind, lots of them connected to a tree. The roads are full of Potholes, women and children walking. Baskets of fruit and wood on their heads. Some bicycles. Lots of Vodacom and Cell C. Mobile phones everywhere! no landlines. no computers. but hey…they all have mobile phones…can you see the potential!
Mozambique has been independent since 1975 and was colonized by the Portuguese (you don’t come far with English!…I was lucky to being able to communicate in Spanish). The civil war (between ‘82 - ‘92) has its scars visible all over the country. Firstly all the do-not-enter signs everywhere….the land mines dangerously waiting for some innocent child to play freely. Secondly the ruins all over the place! Each little village has the remainders of what used to be a great and wealthy place, beautiful buildings, not being touched by anybody at the moment.. the informal trade gathers around the previous villages.
We met Nico while setting up our tent in Prado de Xhai Xhai. He wanted to make some extra money for his studies, which he got by assisting us to set up camp. After that he invited us over to his house in a small rural village, where we met his father and little brothers. They climbed up the palmtree to get us some fresh coconuts! (check video!). It was such a delightful surprise to being able to connect with a family, together with my family from a completely different back ground.
We have started the Afrigadget Grassroot Mobile reporting project!!!! How exciting!! With a big THANK YOU to David Sasaki who donated his Nokia N95. In Davids words: “I was given my N95 by the good people at Pop!Tech and I know they’ll be pleased that it will be used for such a worthy cause. And if you’re not reading Afrigadget you’re missing out.” I agree. And thanks Pop!Tech !
Yesterday evening we had our first session together: me in the kitchen, cooking….Lukho and Zintle behind my laptop, reading all the previous Afrigadget stories, exploring the phone, brainstorming together how to find stories.
I asked them to write a few words about why they think an initiative like Afrigadget is important for them/their communities…
By Zintle Sithole
Wow! When I first read Fre’s email I thought excellent! This is exactly what Africa needs at the moment. The weekend before I received her email, my family and I were talking about how everything is going on a downward slope especially in South Africa with the politics and crime etc. I guess people find it very hard to look beyond all the bad things that are happening and actually focus on the good!
Well I am very excited about this but I also feel kind of nervous because this is kind of intimidating a bit and I feel the pressure. The reason why I’m scared is that I don’t think there are enough (inventions, creative, unthought-of and untapped) things that are happening in Cape Town or in South Africa generally or is that I have been too isolated and ignorant to learn or go and find out about things that are happening in my community or the world that surrounds me?
I plan to make the best of every opportunity that has been granted to be at Afrigadget. I got the new phone that was sponsored to us (thank you David Sasaki !!!!). It is the Nokia N95, which is perfect for Afrigadget. Like you said Fre, it might be a bit on the fancy side but it is sure worth it!
Thank you very much Erik for doing this, it is a great opportunity for us! This is going to be a great avenue for us youngsters to realize the beauty of our countries and to show us that we can do more!
By Lukho Lufuta
My initial reaction to the Afrigadget project was one of tremendous interest, as I am keen on all things technological and consider this a great means to show the world exactly what Africa can do, and what our people are about and also the ways in which we think and live.
It is now my chance to showcase a different slightly positive side to Africa, using mobile technology, irregardless of what people think they know about us from the BBC or CNN news media. So I ask you, what better way to do this than to start with resources that is universal to confirm Africa’s inventiveness?
I am only too eager to start working on this project and am truly appreciative to people like Frerieke van Bree and Erik Hersman, who are innovative in such a way as to find a niche and then provide the correct platform for day to day ordinary people and present their inventions to the world.
“I am so happy that I was able to step over my own foolish insecurity and explore and exchange at the above mentioned conferences. Great things come out as a result! Me being the connector enables underprivileged students from Khayelitsha to become mobile reporters on Afrigadget !!! “
I am now inviting you to have a look at Erik’s latest post on Afrigadget, find the ‘chipin’ (visual, online fundraising tool) and take your action in making “this” happen! (”this” is the start of a great grass root reporting project all over the developing world!)
Do you want to know more about those amazing South African ladies (Zintle Sithole and Lukhona Lufuta) who will be contributing at the Afrigadget blog?
Find them in one of our old videos: (Zintle is the first lady to speak, followed by Lukho)
Techie is a term, derivative of the word technology, for a person who displays a great, sometimes even obsessive, interest in technology, high-tech devices, and particularly computers. (source: Wikipedia)
The word geek is a slang term, noting individuals as “a peculiar or otherwise odd person, especially one who is perceived to be overly obsessed with one or more things. (source:Wikipedia)
by Frerieke van Bree
I don’t consider myself a real ‘techie’, but I do have a strong passion for technology.
And although the word ‘geek’ is often used in obsessive computer/technology/connectivity situations, looking at the explanation on Wikipedia makes me think: Yes I am a geek. A big one. I am obsessed with combining my passions (humanity, technology, design, leadership). I am a people loving-passion following-intercultural connecting-voices facilitating and human empowering GEEK.
Last year I attended the Web of Change conference in Canada. Being among some of the brightest web focused changemakers from The States and Canada was extraordinary. People like Peter Deitz, Marc Laporte, Michael Silberman and many others inspired me to hold on to the thought that technology can make a difference in the lives of many underprivileged people. Attending the (mostly white) Wordcamp South Africa (a gathering of fans of the open source blogging software Wordpress ) opened my eyes to how big the gap between technology implementation in the privileged (mostly white) and implementation and usage in the underprivileged (mostly black/colored) communities is.
Recently I visited MobileActive08 in Johannesburg. A (to me) very inspiring, but also overwhelming mix of geeks, techies (including Google, Microsoft,..), funders and implementers, who all make a difference in the world through mobile technology. I was blown away by what is already being done with the mobile phone in the developing world. A few personal highlights: meeting Erik Hersman and getting to know the crisis report enabling Ushahidi and listening to Guy Berger and his Journalism project The News is Coming in Grahamstown, South Africa.
Being at those conferences made me feel like being back at University. Our faculty of Architecture was considered to be the ’soft’ faculty of the Technical University of Delft in The Netherlands, other faculties used to make jokes about the ‘cut and glue’ course we were attending. The 80% male-20% female rate in Delft, being the only girl on our Windsurf association board, living with 4 bright men in a house…it all made me feel like a black sheep in a world of Men and Technology. And after university it was: being a woman in the building industry, being a woman in a (unfortunately still!) predominantly white-male dominated South African society and now I ‘torture’ myself with….visiting technology conferences…
My insecurity at conferences tells me: What am I doing here? Where’s my IPhone/blackberry/apple computer? How do I talk tech? How on earth do I catch up with all knowledge in this audience? It is like being back at University…..I don’t belong here.
Fortunately, my secure and balanced me says: does it matter? My vision is clear, my passion is big.
Go and explore girl, make those connections, learn as much as possible. Major Non-profit organizations have their own Technology consultant on board and come up with the most creative and innovative uses of technology on the ground. Great. But….
I wonder: How to get the message of what is possible with technology out to the many “heroes in underprivileged communities”??? How to hear the needs and ideas of young brights minds in the developing world??? How to empower Africans by African ingenuity??? How to have Africans say NO to the brain drain? How to have Africa really be in the hands of Africans!!
I enjoyed reading Ethan Zuckermans words on bridge figures {…we need bridge figures, people who can help build connections between cultures. We need xenophiles, people who are interested in the whole world and in building conversations that break out of the homophily trap.}
If people ask me what my secret skill in life is I say I am a connector and facilitator. I facilitate a space where the one can meet the other, where people from The developed West meet the poor South, young meet old, You meet Them, They meet YOU and YOU get to know YOURSELF. I facilitate a space of no judgement, listening and curiosity. A space of fun! and smiles
Back to the title of this blog post: {How To: technology and implementation}
How to improve the implementation of Technology in order to eradicate poverty/empower the underprivileged/bridge the implementation gap?
My two cents…
Improve the language of technology: right now it is too techie and not easy accessible for all. It can not be read/reached by the communities on the ground that know best what is needed in their village.
Include (underprivileged) youngsters!! The bright minds of the future should be included in the conversation of today! Let them be inspired and generate ideas!
Support bridge figures! Give them a feeling of -belonging- in the world of Men and Tech! Create (more) scholarships for fancy conferences!!
I am so happy that I was able to step over my own foolish insecurity and explore and exchange at the above mentioned conferences. Great things come out as a result! Me being the connector enables underprivileged students from Khayelitsha to become mobile reporters on Afrigadget !!!
I promise I will never doubt the impact I am making in the world and the fact that I matter…
I have experienced a shift from ‘not belonging’ to a ‘knowing who I am and what my passion and purpose in life is’
Being a bridge is the best! Thanks COSAT learners! And thanks you Tech-savvy global inhabitants!
What matters to me the most is see my mother having the best life she could get while she is still alive. We grew up in rural area and life was hard but my mother worked hard 2 see that we heard clothes on back and having a good education.
My father worked here in Cape Town while we were staying in Eastern Cape. In all of that the money that my father was giving as was not enough because we were 8 living together.
The reason why my mother is “WHAT MATTERS TO ME THE MOST” is the fact that she is a fighter and its very rare to see a woman being a fighter and that is something I admire about her.
AS IT’S SAID THAT IF YOU STRIKE A WOMAN YOU STRIKE A ROCK
I lv my mama.
Where did we go wrong?
Down the road of Africa
Africa my beginning, my ending.
I will die here ‘cos I was born here
Friends and enemies you have
I also have ‘cos I’m an African
If you are an enemy of Africa,
You are my enemy as well.
If I get rich, I will get rich in Africa and
If I get poor, I will get poor in Africa.
Behold because Africa is here to stay
Down the road is the way we should go
For Africans to remain truly Africans
your colour alone shows how much power, strength and perseverance you have in you Africa
Poor or rich, I proudly remain an African
Yours is to love not to hate
Yours is to lead not to be led
Yours is to build not to destroy
Please Africa forgive but not forget
In order for you to obtain your ultimate purpose and goals.
Nourish your youth today to secure a better tomorrow Africa.
Listen in order to be an adviser to other continents.
Listen to your children in Zimbabwe, Algeria, Nigeria and Somalia, when they all cry for your love, understanding and help.
Your natural resources are enjoyed by the foreign world while your children are starving and dying because of hunger.
It’s about time we asked “Where did we go wrong?”
Let’s strive to go down the road as Africans.
“The City of Cape Town sponsored the Khayelitsha Festival Business Tour because we believe it will stimulate growth and development among emerging businesses in Khayelitsha. Further investment is essential to addressing the key developmental challenges of the region. We need to increase business and job opportunities in order to improve living standards and promote overall growth in Cape Town’s economy.” So says Cape Town Executive Mayor, Helen Zille.
Businesses, social entrepreneurs, NGO’s, governmental structures, musicians, youth and other individuals from different (local) communities gathered this weekend in the OR Tambo hall in township Khayelitsha, Cape Town to celebrate and further explore the potential and opportunities that this emerging place (township khayelitsha) offers during the 3 day event, the Khayelitsha festival!
Our friends of the Heart of Healing (you’ll find Rufus of the Heart of Healing in the above photograph) co-organized this 3 day festival, which is based on the very successful Soweto Festival that has been organized over the last 3 years in Soweto, the black urban area in Johannesburg.
Three days of music, entertainment and information market attracted young and old, rich and poor. The Khayelitsha festival (that says on it’s website to be “free”) did leave out the poorest though… It was heartbreaking to see all those individuals (mostly youngsters/children) begging at the gate in order to collect the 10 Rand (to be compared more or less with the price of one bread and a pack of milk) that the entrée would cost them.
I received some free tickets for the COSAT students to attend the festival. One of the COSAT learners, Dinono even performed live on stage! Dinono shared her poem with lots of passion and dedication with hundreds of youngsters around the stage. Well done girl! (unfortunately, the sound of the attached video is very bad, but please be inspired by this young individual that is so full of fire). Dinono…please share your poem with us here online?! And also your story about it and around it!
What an opportunities in Khayelitsha. It is a booming business…you better be there and be there now, because hey….(soccer worldcup) 2010 is around the corner and before we know, all shacks will be replaced by mixed used developments! Apartments, retail, offices, public nodes….a diverse and lively place for all! (at least….if we choose to make this happen!)
It takes a woman with balls (respect for Cape Town mayor Helen Zille!) to be a stand for transformation and development!
Local government officials within the building department that we (architects) are dealing with, seem to lack these balls to take responsibility and make the decisions that will enable investors/architects/community to make development plans reality. A few weeks ago, after a meeting I had within the community (to design development plans together with community), I spoke on the phone with one of those (local) government officials and was told to “stay away from local community, because we (government) will be hold accountable for the false hope you (the architects) create and as a result, the community will blame us (government).”…yeah sure…15 years after the end of Apartheid and still so many people struggle to keep the rain outside of the tin board structures and try to avoid being raped during the dark night (no street lights) on their way from shack to public outhouse…. Who to blame for this mister local government official? Why do you choose the way of no commitment, no passion, no action?
I see the Khayelitsha festival, with the created connections between investors and potential as a first step in the process towards actual implementation of development plans.
It takes secondly more individuals like Helen Zille in council who understand that risks need to be taken to see actual transformation in Africa. It takes government officials in the building sector who are willing to take responsibility, who are willing to open their eyes towards development and are willing to work together with passionate planners/developers/architects (like us www.makekadesigns.com). A Paradigm shift within council is a crucial step in the process towards actual implementation. It is an important shift that will lead to improved living standards and increase of economic situation in the Township!
Opportunities can’t be seen unless we choose to discover our blind spots….it takes courage and commitment to take on this new paradigm of thinking. This challenging exercise might appear to be a very scary one; shifting away from the known to the unknown (away from our comfort zone) is not something that we do on a regular base….not a government official, nor you or me…Opportunity and transformation will be experienced if we choose to do so!
Tebello Makeke is a 15 year old student at the center of science and technology in the underprivileged community of Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Please let her story of what matters to her inspire you today on this international blog action day 2008. Let this story inspire you to take your own action in creating ways to eradicate poverty!
By Tebello Makeke
What matters to me are teenagers. Their behavior matters to me the way they do things. Lot of teenagers do
things that they regret at the end of the day. So many teenagers get pregnant at this age because they are confused they need someone to be an example. We as teenager like to have role models.
Now that I know what we need I am also a teenager so I know what we need that will be easy for them to understand because I know what we are going throw. It is not like when an elder tells it because we have that thing about “you have done these things so why don’t you want us to do them”. If they hear it from me someone who is on the same age as they are.
Telling them which way to take that will be better. They will have this thing about if Tebello can do it why can we. Teenagers like to challenge each other. We believe that no one understand us but if I am standing up as a teenager telling them that I am going throw the same stage that they are and I know how it feels like to need attention because that is what we need to be loved to be taken care of . I would really like to sat a great example to the teenagers. I hate seeing them going down while I am have watching them doing nothing that Is biting me in side. I believe that if I commit my self in to helping them realize themselves, love themselves that would make a different
Looking at girls drinking beer in the tavern, having babies at this age that they can’t even take care of them. Seeing them not obeying their parents living their homes. That make me feel like I am not doing what I was suppose to do. That make me want to take a step and say I will stand up for teenagers even if they can say things about me. Teens lives matters a lot to me.
Today, after my wonderful Free WI-FI Friday (the school is on holiday, so no teaching today), after my 2km swim, right there in the sauna of the gym…right there… I just got it….. I really got it…… >> I LOVE PEOPLE. Swimming is my meditation.. I don’t think, just become one with the water and enjoy.
The sauna……the sauna is the place where i start talking to my inner self, the place where i connect with my own mission/vision!
Today, the conversation went like this: “Fre, why do you do what you do? Why love to the world? Why transformation in Africa? Why ‘making a difference’? Are you doing it because you want to be liked? Show of how good you take care of others? Be ‘interesting’ by being different then your friends in the Netherlands? (Haha, lucky me: today the sauna was empty so I could actually say those words out loud..)
And you know what…as much as I wanted to scream: NO I don’t do this work for me….. I actually couldn’t. To be honest… yeah I am doing it for me. I choose the life I am living here in Africa. I choose to be liked, measured by the amount of care for others or ‘the difference I make in a persons life’. (yep..rather this then being liked because of my money, or being liked because I force you to like me)
So my next question to myself was: “Aha you selfish bitch, so what do you really give and how much would you give if there wasn’t anything in it for you?” That is a freaky question. Then I remembered all the great feedback on our website from our students, how much our work matters to them…. and I wondered: the students satisfaction, is that just an extra to my own fulfillment?”And then it came to me… Fre, you love people.
I believe in the goodness of man kind, even the guy attacking me. I believe in people and i believe that each voice matters! And hell yeah…I’ll spend my entire life making sure you all feel loved! And hey… it is such a great ‘extra’ that you’ll like me for it.
The COSAT students > oh yeah do I love them! Creative, eagerness to learn, care for each other and community, the stand in life they take…. To be really honest with you? Nelson Mandela will have some great competition!
The dance of life is magical…
… Talking about dancing….. Please enjoy this video that one of the students made! South African dance!
” Peace Tiles is a growing network of people using the arts to inspire social change. Peace Tiles are being used to brighten the spotlight on issues, raise funds to support causes, and inspire hope in communities around the world, .. ” http://peacetiles.mixedmedia.us/
By Frerieke van Bree
Ingredients:
50 bright COSAT students, 50 beautiful visions of what matters to them, lots of paint, scissors, magazines,..
Additional tools:
Heat! (oeh what a cold day and room), Anasuya and Fre for the explanations and fun, photo camera’s, …and whatever the students brought with them (from sand, to beats, to leaves, to fabric) and lots of plastic bags to keep the mess out of this examination hall.
The results?
50 very creative and diverse Peace Tiles! 50 very enlightened students! and…. a mess …haha of course
What else?
After the session we put all the Tiles together and asked the students which two tiles would represent them (=all students) best. That was such a fun exercise. It really made them feel as “being one”. Everybody was very energetic when they finally agreed on the two. After their decision we announced that those chosen two tiles will be presented at the school assembly next week. Exciting.
And now?
Next is to create a mural with the tiles, preferable somewhere in the community, to spread their inspiring messages not only here, online, but also directly to the people the students care about.
That was fun!
Please keep on posting your comments to the students here on the site. They check in here quite often and really appreciate your words!
a collective of change makers who want to make a difference in the world, through arts
(visual, photography, writing, drama, online media) technology and leadership.
Our online media activists consist at the moment of the South African COSAT (Center of Science and Technology) students, living in the underprivileged community of Khayelitsha. Would you like to submit your story? mail us
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