It’s been a busy busy week… In fact Monday seems so long ago it feels like I’ve been back in Tanzania a month rather than a week.
We’ve made some good progress this week. I’ve talked through our ideas with the local manager of the Centre and got the unwavering go ahead (which was no surprise as many of the ideas had come from the community before Christmas) and have today just finished the first version of our project plan for 2010, which has an excitingly large number of stages.
I’ve found the technology to do our bulk SMS service in the form of a wireless Vodafone internet dongle. Trials are going to start in earnest in the next couple of weeks, but initial tests of the technology have been very promising. We hope that within three months we will be able to conduct all our course advertising through SMS which will cost us just 30p a month – 1% of what it costs us at the moment. Importantly we hope to use this system to then get important health information out to the community. I’ve been in discussions this week with the local clinic and Proctor and Gamble to plan the distribution of free water purification sachets to the community as part of our new health education programme. The access that this bulk SMS service will give us will save many lives.
I have started teaching the Advanced Computer class, an almost incidental part of my role here owing to people wanting it, there not being a local teacher able to teach it, and me having the knowledge to teach it. I’ve got a keen bunch of students who are beginning to learn about the power of the internet. Technology willing, we’re going to get a Skype webcam link going between UK classrooms and the Maasai – perfect for Year 9 geography about tourism!
Amidst all this I’ve had the pleasure of welcoming Matt, a freelance photographer working for Vodafone, to Meserani and showing him around the work LivLife does there. Matt has been very popular with the students and he’s already taken a few thousand superb shots which will no doubt be available online before too long.
We’re getting moving on the outreach project this week as well as looking into the management processes and business side of things (thanks to help from my parents who are coming to lend their extensive expertise to LivLife for 5 days). We’re also going to make a start on constructing a sports area – a hugely important part of any life.
The sad news this week was that the baby elephant passed away on Tuesday morning. He was just too weak after so many days on his own in the bush and the wound created by the snare had gone down to the bone. A real tragedy to lose such a marvellous creature in such a pointless way.
