Today presented me with an interesting scenario and I’m mentioning it because it is so completely typical of what occurs here every day for every person trying to get something done. My organization does really fine work – and as I’ve mentioned before, it does it in spite of astounding obstacles. Obstacles that are impossible to even imagine from a first world perspective.
One of the goals of one of our four programs is to introduce both child and adult learners to technology. To accomplish this, there is what called an ICT box: a giant yellow indestructible box loaded with a laptop computer, camera and camcorder. Children are introduced to the use of a camera as a way to stimulate interest and engage them in reading, writing their stories, then submitting same to be published in a LABE newspaper that goes to every village involved in the program. Kids get to see their story, pictures and drawings in print and it’s a great incentive.
The purpose of the computers is ostensibly to help teachers generate computerized lesson plans, improve their technology literacy, share information – etc.
Here are some issues that first world doesn’t understand, so while they provide part of the solution, the part that makes it work (power, back up batters, spare parts, etc.) fall through the cracks.
First, there is one box for thousands of users. That means a number of things:
1. It only goes out when field trips to that area and undertaken and special arrangements are made to either get the box from the center that holds it or coordinate visits TO that center.
2. There are 4 computers for 46 teachers, spread among 4 schools sometimes as far as 60 km. They have no transport, so this means riding a bicycle half a day over bad roads and trails to get there. They work from 7AM to 5PM and roads are a death trap after dark (7PM).
3. There is no electricity at most schools and Home Learning Centers, so that means the devices must be picked up a day or week early for charging, because even in the “city” you may have power for a day or two and about half of that time it won’t be where the equipment is…
4. When all of these factors match up and you can actually get the person who has the box to release it to you, IF it is charged, If the cables are with it, IF pictures taken by the previous user have been downloaded you can actually take physical possession of said box and get it to your distant location (if you vehicle is working and has not been stolen overnight, if the roads are passable…..)
5. If you are traveling via motorcycle, you can either take the box or a passenger – but not both. When two of you are required in the field, one trip is required to take the box and another to come back and collect the person…
You’re beginning to get the idea I trust.
So today, my colleagues were asked to include the box in some training. They had been the day before to the “keeper of the box,” who agreed that they could get the box this morning at 9AM, charged and ready to go. Colleagues arrived there later and were told that not only had the pictures taken earlier not be downloaded (no there is not a secondary scan disk), the device was not charged because they couldn’t locate the cable, etc. adinfinitum and we have been without power during business hours. So – no box, no training, no assessment, etc.
As I said, this is typical. It’s not an indictment, it just IS. It’s the way life unfolds on a daily basis when there is any need to coordinate access, transportation, power, equipment and people. Each of these variables impacts all of the others all of the time. When you have one set of variables under control, the others fall out of the box. It’s like herding cats.
And of course the western mind can come up with all manner of solutions: an extra battery, solar chargers, generators, telephones, etc. Did I mention that there is either no funding, or it’s not there when you need it. Solar panels get stolen, gas runs out, vehicles don’t work, plans are delayed by a million different factors. And it doesn’t help to stomp around, or complain, or push. There is simply so much inertia, so many obstacles, one settles in for the long haul and breathes, finding another work around, another way to use the time…
The young woman PCV who came to visit over the weekend got up at 5AM to catch the early bus to be assured of there BEING a bus and getting here early to make the best use of her time. She walked in the dark the mile or so to the bus and was told the bus had gotten stuck along the way due to heavy rains the night before (a 4 hour deluge). The bus finally boarded at 10AM.
But sometimes, serendipity happens and people and services come together in unexpected ways. Last week, I met a young man, Dean, in Coffee Hut and discovered he has been working with a charity that focuses on creating equal access for people with disabilities. Although the Uganda Education Initiative states equal access and education for all, schools are not required to have ramps, transportation or even bathroom facilities for any level of disability. Add to this that people can walk for hours to get to school (see mud, puddles, path ways, ruts and imagine someone on crutches or a wheelchair managing this) and the idea of equal opportunity evaporates.
Dean has befriended a young disabled mother with two children. She manages to support herself and care for her children through her activities as a seamstress, but has nothing to spare. She does not read or write in any language and desperately wants to do both, in not only Acholi but English as well. In Uganda, a man who fathers a child with a disabled woman does not have to acknowledge the relationship and therefore does not have to claim the children. When Dean found out I work with a literacy group that offers localized literacy training for free (i.e. she doesn’t have to walk 30 K to get there and … it’s free) we started trying to figure out a way this mother can access the program. It turns out that LABE has a program in her village and she can take part in all of the training, along with her children.
The other fit has to do with her being a seamstress and being able to help with the Pillow Case Dress project. Since she already knows how to sew, she can help continue the Project with the community, thereby cementing her involvement there and encouraging that women’s group to follow-up with an IGA (Income Generating Activity). Everybody wins.
That scenario could not have been anticipated, but it bloomed in the process of people coming together and really being committed to making a difference. Her success will breed other successes and motivate others. And so it goes. Yes – it’s a Clairol ad.
In another such instance, the young man I mentioned in an earlier blog (Isaac who needed school fees) is continuing so far and the young woman who got this going is leaving. As her parting gift on his 18th birthday, I along with others contributed to the purchase of a bicycle to help him get to a from school, work and home. So – often against insurmountable odds, stuff works.
Sometimes, just showing up is what it takes along with the belief that making small differences has impact. Sometimes – it works, but almost never in the way you expected.