leave this all to Carla so here it goes - if I actually remember and
type everything I've thought about over the last few months this could
be quite long.
Backgound...
I'm doing IT work here in Mugumu. In geek speak, I get to clean
viruses off of PIII's with 64MB ram that someone had the bright idea to
load with XP. But my main focus over the next little while will be
networking a bunch of computers to share a 64kbps VSAT connection.
Initial Thoughts...
So some groups of Mennonites have some very conservative ideas about
technology and it's true value. And part of me is right there; although
I am a computer engineer (Professional Engineer too!) I'm in a bit of a
love/hate relationship. What good is internet access when many people
don't know when they'll have their next meal? (And now I KNOW people
who live like that.) Is this just another imposition of a western
tool/thing/way-of-thinking that needs some major thought and
readjustment before it is introduced to a rural African context? I read
about a UN forum where someone had apparently documented how democracy,
freedoms and general education DECREASED after the introduction of the
internet. (I definitely need to read up on that.) So those are just a
few of my skepticisms about my own work here that I deal with.
However, as I get to understand the situation better I see that there
is some use for it here. (Just to be clear, I was called here by the
local staff to pioneer internet. This was not something I nor MCC told
our clinic that they need.) It will certainly give people more access
to information to help them understand their own context better. And,
although I don't believe in "top down economics", I still hope that by
providing internet to the more educated people in the health community
here and to the wealthier people who can afford internet cafe costs that
it will trickle down to the rest of the community.
One liners...
Wealth is...
....having THREE laptops in our house in a town where 99% do not have
electricity or running water. (We have so much wealth in many other
ways but that's just one way.)
Culture shock is...
....wirelessly surfing dlink.com, linksys.com and newegg.com researching
wireless access points on your brand new Core 2 blah blah blah and
looking up to see a mother watching you with a sick child on her back
who very easily could have walked 15km to get to the hospital and now
has no way to feed herself or the child. (The hospital ONLY provides
medicine and a bed - I'll post a very illustrative picture some day.)
Power is...
....being a young 28 year old punk and giving water to the head of the
Tanzanian Mennonite church (a VERY wise, influential and respected man
and my boss) for a bucket of water.
on a lighter note,
Fear is...
....having your face covered by a blanket or pillow and know that at some
moment in the near future a 50lb two year old will land somewhere on
your body.
Other bloggable thoughts that I might get to some day...(so if you want
to hear them you'll have to comment!)
The Turtle (or How White Guys Wreck Everything)
A Culture of Preparedness
My Projects
The Information Superhighway in Dis-empowered Societies
So that's all for now, that wasn't too long now was it?
