Barrio Malawi blogs

What happens when a Blogger dies?

jon — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 01:56:51 -0500

Sad news has come. A good friend, and one of the great IT minds in Malawi, Mangaliso Jere has passed away. As my friend Mike McKay wrote, Mangaliso "was probably the most prolific Malawian blogger in the world, and he is being mourned and missed by many." We are all greatly saddened that he is no longer with us.

In his blog, Mangaliso left behind an impressive, amazing, and unique collection of thoughts on IT development in Malawi. I have referenced his writing many times in my work. When I heard he had passed away, I wondered, what happens when a blogger dies? Is their blog deleted after a certain time by the hosting company? What can we do to make sure that great electronic works like Mangaliso's are preserved alive on the internet even though the author is no longer able to maintain them?

Reading Blogger.com's terms of service didn't help much. Although, the terms mention nothing about rights to content or hosting after the death of the author, they do not explicitly say anything about the blog being deleted if the author fails to login or post content during any period of time. This was encouraging, but not convincing.

I did some research and found these postings: (#1, #2, #3 ) in the blogger.com user forums. They strongly suggest that blogger.com will leave Mangaliso's blog, and the blog's of other authors who have passed away, untouched for as long as they possibly can.

This is good news. I was impressed to learn that it seems blogger.com is going to leave the content posted. There are no guarantees, however, and perhaps its up to us, Mangaliso's IT friends, to find a more sure way of preserving his work (mirroring or hard copies).

Our regards to Mangaliso's family.

Opportunity Bank of Malawi Website

jon — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:49:13 -0500

Marissa and I have completed the website for Opportunity Bank of Malawi

Take a look... www.oibm.mw

We also made a website for Mayoka Village

Case Study: Overcoming the Digital Divide in Malawi

jon — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 12:04:20 -0500

Our last week in Malawi, and there is one final success story to report! It seems the internet connectivity will be coming this year to the development offices of the CCAP church (Church of Central Africa Presbyterian) in Ekwendeni (just 15km north of Mzuzu). I am very excited. Some of the most effective aide offices in all of Malawi are based in Ekwendeni and run by the CCAP church there. Decent internet connectivity is only going to increase the productivity of people who are already doing some of the most effective development work in Malawi: fighting the spread of AIDS, opening clean water sources, treating sickness, and creating education and job opportunities for Malawians.

The manner in which the offices and organizations of Ekwendeni were able to "bridge the Digtial Divide" and obtain internet connectivity is fascinating and, I think, useful for others in remote parts of the world who are interested in connecting. There are three steps to achieving connectivity off the main communications grid:

Resource Pooling
Often connectivity options are only accessible if a number of people and organizations pool their financial resources together. In the case of Ekwendeni in Malawi, the CCAP church offices there were each asked how much per month they could contribute to internet connectivity per month and front for installation costs at their office.

Once the budget was finalized various ISPs in the capital city Lilongwe were approached with the budgets and asked to submit competitive proposals for providing as much bandwidth as possible given the budget constraints of the CCAP offices. Also companies were asked to provide plans for sharing the connection among the various offices once internet connectivity had been establish successfully to a single point on the CCAP campus.

Within one month 4 companies had responded. One said that they could not offer anything for the budget that CCAP had provided. Three others returned with proposals for various different connectivity options.

By pooling resources and approaching the ISPs directly, the offices of the CCAP retroactively created a market and brought it to the attention of ISPs that were too far away and too unaware of the connectivity needs 500km away. This approach was much more effective that their previous attempts where they had called up ISPs and simply said that they were "interested in getting an internet connection". For the ISPs in the capital city, everyone is "interested in getting a connection", the trick is identifying serious buyers who have enough resources to pay. The resource pooling strategy gave ISPs a immediate idea of the seriousness of the CCAP and brought to their attention that connecting the CCAP would be profitable endeavor.

Engineering as Development
From the standpoint of the ISPs, the proposal by CCAP came at a very fortunate time. Until very recently, the only option for connecting a site like Ekwendeni had been to license and install a dedicated VSAT satellite internet connection. It was only within the last year that some new wireless technology allowed ISPs to use existing cell phone towers to relay data back to shared VSATs in larger cities from remote areas.

These new technologies drastically lowered the price of connecting remote places like Equindeni, and made it possible for some the of ISPs to offer profitable internet service to the CCAP.

Macro Level Internet Policy
The national regulation of the internet in Malawi also played a huge role in the internet connectivity of CCAP in Ekwendeni. In Malawi, there are steep regulation fees that must be paid on VSAT internet connections. These fees are so steep that they effectively price a VSAT out of the budget of the CCAP. During the time when the VSAT was the only connectivity option, essentially this meant that these fines priced the whole internet out of the budget of the CCAP.

But with the new cellular rely wireless technology, that is not tightly regulated by the government, it became affordable for CCAP to connect. While these regulations are out of the power of individuals and organizations to control, individual organizations can play a role in publicizing their inefficiencies and ineffectiveness to the government and to decision makers.

Conclusion
It was the combination of resource pooling, engineering, policy that finally made the CCAP a true market for high speed internet connectivity. The combination of these three factors all coming together at the right time are finally what will bring reliable, powerful, capable connectivity to the office of the CCAP that were once on the wrong side of the Digital Divide.

Extreme Makeover: School Edition

marissa — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 04:55:24 -0500

Standard 1 and Standard 4 classroom which we have painted with teaching aids and murals to improve the learning environment in Mzuzu schools. I have hired a Malawian friend to continue painting at Mzuzu schools see below (click the "read more" link) for the missions, core values, and budget of the project. If you would like to sponsor a classroom or donate in part please contact me. We are eager to finish painting the remaining 12 classrooms at Zolozolo Primary School and move onto other schools in Mzuzu.

MISSION

Our mission is to improve the quality of education in Malawi’s schools by creating an inviting and inspiring learning environment. We do this by painting classroom walls with interactive teaching aids and murals.

CORE VALUES

1) Bring art education to students and teachers by including them in the painting process.
2) Every picture has a purpose (teachers should be able to use the pictures in their lessons, and/or the pupils should be able to teach themselves lessons by interacting with the pictures on their own)
3) Always encourage gender equality and empowerment of individual talents and abilities.
4) Give pupils a high level of responsibility and have high expectations for the quality of their work. Guide, encourage and support them while they work pointing them towards success.
5) Foster a spirit of pride for the school and a sense of teamwork while working.

PRIORITIES

· Paint as many classrooms as possible using the money and supplies we have
· Buy all supplies locally to support the local economy
· Paint academic resources that can be used by teachers.
· Involve as many pupils as can be managed and supervised well. Make sure each child is given tasks and responsibilities.
· Include questions and words with pictures so the students can interact with the pictures and learn.

BUDGET PER CLASSROOM

Supplies $60.00
Money Transfer Fees $20.00
Malawi Supervisor Salary $20.00
Transport $10.00

total $110.00

HISTORY

Children are visual learners, they learn and remember what they see. Therefore it is very important for a school to create an inviting, inspiring and engaging visual learning environment. An essential part of achieving this goal is to have teaching aids and colorful pictures on the walls each and every day for the children to interact with.

Children should not suffer for the bad acts of others. It is a shame that due to theft, teaching aids and other learning tools cannot be hung on the walls at Mzuzu schools. Because this is the case, we are motivated to paint the walls with teaching aids and pictures to improve the quality of education and create a strong learning environment. Painted walls should be well cared for, they can be washed whenever necessary, and should last many years into the future to the benefit of many children and teachers.

In addition to improving the visual learning environment, this project brings art education to students and teachers in Malawi. Government schools have not provided art education in Malawi since colonialism. Painting murals introduces new skills and opportunities for creativity and self-expression which is new to the vast majority of the students and even teachers that we work with. Many of them get to hold a paint brush and play with paint for the first time in their lives.

One classroom at a time, we are collaborating with teachers and students at local primary schools, making an effort to transform the currently empty rooms into something inviting, inspiring and engaging. Marissa Saints, an American artist who spent 2006 living in Mzuzu was inspired with this idea of painting classrooms during her time in Malawi. Mrs. Saints and her husband are both blessed to have mothers who are teachers, both of whom came paid the Saints a visit in Malawi. Mrs. Saints’ mother-in-law came in June bringing a suitcase full of teaching aids, posters and books. Mzuzu schools were very grateful to receive these things but eplained that they would have to remain in the principal's office under lock and key because they would be stolen if left unattended in the classrooms.

With Mrs. Saint’s mother visiting in September, the Lord gave her an idea for the schools. Why not paint the teaching aids directly on the walls so they can’t be stolen?

Painting teaching aids on the walls has absolutely transformed classrooms in Mzuzu. Children are excited to come to school, they are teaching themselves be reading the walls, teachers enjoy teaching in their new classroom and they are all proud of their work and their school.

Zolozolo Primary School Library Opening Ceremony

marissa — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 04:29:57 -0500

Yesterday I visited Zolozolo Primary School for the Grand Opening ceremonies for their new library. This school recieved 1.5 tons of books from the World Care shipment. Zolozolo has dedicated a small room for the library, built shelves, labeled everything by category, and are making arrangements for student library cards and class visits to the library for reading time. This is a school that only had 1 book per 6 or so kids before this shipment. They are proud to have a library and have been incredibly self-motivated and resourceful in getting everything organized so quickly. As the World Care representative they gave me the honor of cutting the ribbon and opening the door for the first time.

Recent Painting Sales

marissa — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 04:13:16 -0500

These two paintings recently sold. I wanted to post them here since I won't be showing them back home.
"The Village in The Sky" acrylic on canvas (left)
"Malawi Mama Returning Home" egg tempera (right)

WESM Artsfest November 10-13

marissa — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 04:03:22 -0500

Recently, I exhibited my landscape paintings at the Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM) Artsfest. It was a fund raiser for the organization, and an avenue for local artists and expat artists to professionally exhibit their work. Most Malawian artists rely on selling to tourists that they meed on the streets. Personally, I was impressed with the quality and variety of work at the show.

Presentation: The Status and Future of Mzuzu University Internet Connectivity

jon — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 04:54:06 -0500

Over the past several months the ICT department of the Library has conducted an extensive analysis of Internet connectivity at Mzuzu University. Nkhaniyawo Nyirenda, of Mzuzu University, and Jon Saints, of The University of Arizona, will present the results of the analysis in order to educate and inform users of the Internet and influence future Internet policy decisions.

All members of staff and students and the general public are invited to attend.

Following the presentation there will a discussion session for members of staff
involved in ICT policy making.Presentation Discussion

Location: Mzuzu University Children’s Library
Date: November 24th 2006
Time: 1300 hours

Malawian Corkscrew

marissa — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 00:59:42 -0500

Malawian Corkscrew

Digital Development

jon — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 02:23:52 -0500

If there really is development work to be done everywhere, then how best to go about it?

In my time here, I have come to believe more than ever in engineering, pure and empathetic put-me-in-your-shoes engineering, as one of the most effective strategies for realizing development. (Remember, I am thinking of development as increase in the amount of time that a person or group can foreseeably sustain their lives into the future.)

In the library the other day I came across an interview with the CEO of General Electric, Jeffery Immlet, who I find has been saying and doing very interesting things recently. In the interview Immelt says something to the effect of:

What the developing world needs is not "defeaturization" - factoring down of developed world products to meet budget constraints of its people - rather technology engineered from the ground up to meet the needs and market demands of its populations.

In my opinion Immelt could not have been more correct, or more eloquent, in his statement.

In my field of work ICT4DEV (Internet and communication technology for development), we talk a lot about the problem of the "digital divide", which basically says that the world is divided into technology "haves" and "have-nots". The "have" nations develop quickly using technology to efficiently create wealth. The "have-nots" are left out of economic development because of a modern day electronic chicken and the egg problem; they don't have technology so they cannot develop, but they can't get technology until their economies develop.

In Malawi, I have drastically changed my personal view of the digital divide. I no longer, for instance, believe that a nation or people is worse off simply because they lack access to technology. General lacking of technology is not the problem. In fact technology, in the wrong place at the wrong time, creates more problems. I believe instead that there are groups, nations and people who could greatly further their development if they were able to obtain access to very specific technologies engineered to meet their needs. These technologies are sometimes out of reach; this to me is the digital divide.

The digital divide is not so much a chasm that must be bridged by a transfer of technology invented in the industrialized world, as it is a mountain range that can be carefully scaled when the creativity and market demands of both the industrializing world and industrialized world meet in the middle. It is not so much a poverty problem, as a possible poverty solution.

This difference is subtle, but I think that this perspective changes the way many nerds think about development in the industrializing world. We need to stop thinking that people are "poor" simply because they lack access to a technology. Digital divide crusaders who seek to install inernet access everywhere in the world are mislead if they believe that the technology alone will alleviate poverty.

In specific situations, people who are poor can use technologies, like a tin roof or the internet, to greatly improve the sustainability of their lives. Our goal should be to identify those specific situations and engineer specific technologies to meet those needs and budgets. Thinking this way changes our strategies and our approach to tackling the digital divide. We move away from strategies like "technology transfer" and "defeaturization" and closer to real answers when we are engineering directly to meet market demands and needs of poorer markets.

Here are some organizations that are on the right track:

One Laptop per Child initiative
Baobab Health Partenership