Living Zack's Utopia

African solutions to African problems?

2008-09-16T09:11:00.003+02:00

AFP/Getty Images

On being the change that I want to see...

2008-08-22T11:35:00.010+02:00

As I reflect on the recently ended XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico city, I am overcome with emotion to, in the famous words of Mahatma Gandhi, "be the change that I want to see in this world". This December I shall mark exactly 5 years since I got myself involved in the global fight against HIV/AIDS as a campaigner for both HIV/AIDS Awareness and Behavioural change as well as a proponent for the psychosocial support of individuals affected by HIV/AIDS. Again this December, together with Cheri (then) and a few others, it shall be two years since we resolved to wear the Red Ribbon proudly as proponents of the fight - and also began the GLOBAL BLOG campaign to challenge our peers to 'wear a red ribbon today' as a tangible testament of the continuing battle - against HIV/AIDS. In the words of (deceased) AIDS activist Debbie Hood Johnson, "HIV/AIDS is 100% FATAL but it is also 100% PREVENTABLE". By wearing a red ribbon, we show our solidarity with individuals that are living positively with HIV and we are also reminded to mainstream HIV/AIDS in everything that we do.

The Mexico conference presented an opportunity to be among passionate young & old activists, renowned researchers, and those living positively with HIV. In addition, the lessons that I learned from the youth activists as part of the YouthForce Mexico team will not soon be forgotten. I might be (almost) 5 years old as a proponent in the fight against HIV/AIDS but that does not mean that I know everything there is about HIV/AIDS. Matter-of-factly it is only by attending such fora as this one (IAC 2008) and others that we seek to know and learn more and then at the end draw up strategies on how we can together seek to redress the common challenge that is AIDS, even in very small ways!

Somewhere in the photo exhibition stalls was this collection from the last held AIDS conference in Toronto. It was by a little child and in one picture it had what appeared to be a table, in another a clock, and in another a refrigerator. Under each of those pictures the captions read: 'my father's table'; 'my father's clock', and 'my father's refrigerator'; . At the bottom of the photos, it simply had written: "missing my Dad". At that moment, even I was moved to tears! There was a glaring (in your face, if you like) AIDS statistic with a very human face to it. Suddenly it dawned on me that for all the seminars and workshops and a myriad other educational opportunities that I have had chance to attend about HIV/AIDS, none of them actually amounted to the understanding on HIV/AIDS that I had received that day in that instant as I looked at the little child's photos. Someone once said, "there is power in art", and another that 'silences make the real conversation between friends -not the saying, but the never needing to say is what counts!". Go on and take a silent moment with art, maybe you can learn something new, like I did.

***
It is sad to note however, that in some countries (and territories), the legislation still denies the entry, stay or residence of HIV-positive people because of their
HIV status only. Such legislation is very discriminatory! The consequences of these travel restrictions were made even more clear during the conference plenaries. A few people shared their own experiences of how such restrictions had affected their personal lives.

Fact from the International AIDS Conference 2008:
As of 2008, it appears that 67 countries still impose some form of restriction on the entry, stay and residence of people living with HIV. Some 9 countries bar entry of all people living with HIV based on their HIV positive status only; with an additional 5 countries denying visas for even short-term stays. Thirty countries deport individuals once their HIV infection is discovered. Ninety-six countries have no HIV-specific restrictions on entry, stay or residence. For 21 countries, the information is contradictory; and for 12 countries there is no available information.

I shall share with you in a subsequent post at the group blog:Wear a Red Ribbon Today! how even you reading this can participate in the advocacy initiative to help eliminate HIV-related restrictions on entry, stay and residence in the listed countries!

Fortunately, American President George W. Bush signed into legislation the bill (now law) repealing the travel restrictions placed on HIV-positive individuals visiting or immigrating into the United States. During one session at the conference, California Congresswoman Barbara Lee shared the process that concluded in this repeal. Somewhere towards the end of the session the conversation was brought back around to other human rights areas where the United States is lacking. One lady approached the microphone to congratulate Ms. Barbara Lee on her role in repealing the travel restrictions, but also to say that she would not personally attend an AIDS conference in the United States until an official apology was issued for all the human rights abuses that the United States commits in other countries. Although using the session on travel restrictions against HIV-positive individuals as a platform for chiding the US over the Iraq-issue, or as she put it "marching into other countries in the name of democracy", seemed slightly inappropriate, one could say it is a part of what the conference is about. Congratulating and celebrating to encourage progress, along with questioning and criticizing to show that we have not forgotten what remains to be addressed.

On a significant development for Africa, at the end of the Mexico conference, Ugandan Dr. Elly Katabira was elected next president of the International AIDS Society. He shall be the first African representative to hold the position when he assumes office in Vienna, Austria in 2010.

"Six decades after the [Universal Declaration of Human Rights] was adopted, it is shocking that there should still be discrimination against those at high risk, such stigma attached to individuals living with HIV. This not only drives the virus underground, where it can spread in the dark; as important, it is an affront to our common humanity... I call for a change in laws that uphold stigma and discrimination – including restrictions on travel for people living with HIV (emphasis added)."
-Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations Secretary-General, at the United Nations High Level Meeting on AIDS, June 2008

Alluta continua (the struggle continues)...

And as a final note, I thought I would share these statistics with you (taken from: Global Database on HIV-related Travel Restrictions):

Countries/territories/areas that appear to have a complete ban on the entry of all HIV positive people: Brunei, China, Oman, Qatar, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Sudan, United Arab Emirates, United States of America (until recently) and Yemen.

Countries/territories/areas that deny applications for entry by HIV positive people for stays beginning as short as ten days up to 90 days: Egypt, Iraq, Singapore, Tunisia, Turks and Caicos Islands.

Countries/territories/areas that deport foreigners once they are discovered to be HIV positive: Armenia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), Jordan, Bahrain, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Bangladesh, Kuwait, Sudan, Brunei, Malaysia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, China, Taiwan, Egypt, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Qatar, United States of America (until recently), Iraq, Russian Federation, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.

? is the Love @

2008-08-07T13:58:00.003+02:00

It's been an interesting couple of weeks that I've had. I wanna mention my gratitude to everyone that's been a part of the joy and fulfilment during each of the past 14 days. Thank you. Life is certainly such a story - of course you miss the beauty of it when you are so caught up in your own little world trying to make it better and consequently miss out on the details in the bigger world picture! We are not the most important thing in the world - you are! Sometime ago I was discussing this with one of my dear friends; who is more important? you or the other person. I guess you're in a better position to answer that question when you die to self. Then can you begin to realise the meaning behind such words as -LOVE, FRIEND and NEIGHBOUR. Archbishop Desmond Tutu captures it best in his definition of the African humanist philosophy, Ubuntu: I AM BECAUSE YOU ARE!

"A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed." -Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Shall we all say that together again: U-B-U-N-T-U -the African concept of loving your neighbour. Who knows, that could be all the difference we need in this world! Someone said you begin to get wiser when you realise you actually didn't know very much. If we knew any better, we would be advocating for our children to learn the simple notions of Ubuntu even while at school. Why do we have to throw every good thing away to the dogs and settle for the bones -without meat!

***

Last week I saw an animal back home that I'd never before seen in my life -he looked a little like a raccoon except his snout was much rounder and his tail longer. He moved with extreme caution and calculated dexterity. When I saw him, we both froze -him possibly because he wasn't expecting a stranger in his path; and me because I had never seen the little thing in my life. I had heard stories of stubborn little creatures that could bite through the girth of a 5-tonne truck because it obstructed their way. Matter-of-factly I once saw an angry colourful salamander chase a fully-grown man down a tree and pursue him to a cabin house on an Indian ocean island. Getting back to my raccoon-like-looking friend, I was in his way because I was trying to get a nice shot of a rare species of butterfly (I take nature photographs for a hobby) that I had followed into an overgrowth. The little animal shook its head and made some sounds with its teeth then disappeared back from where it had come. I thought it was over until a few moments later, still transfixed in my spot, because I was awaiting another of the rare butterflies this time; the little animal returned with a whole army of similar looking creatures in line behind him and they all marched past me -each one stopping only just a metre from me for what seemed like a fraction of a second to make the same sounds with their teeth that the first had made on our prior encounter- until they all disappeared into another thicket. As the last one went by, I thought I'd return the gesture and make a few sounds with my own teeth, but I only managed a poor imitation of whatever it was that they had uttered. What fascinated me the most was how social the little things seemed... and what I considered their stopping to acknowledge mankind with their (however annoying) sounds. We (mankind) never do that often even for ourselves. It's every (wo)man for themselves most of the time. Today I thought of that episode again and wondered whether the little animal upon our previous encounter had respectfully gone back to bring with him his whole family to say hello! Of course he could have just been scouting the territory too before he called "all clear" so his colleagues could pass but I'd love to go with the former guess. Which then begs the question, are we really the most social beings on this earth? And if we aren't, what are we doing about it?

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The XVIIth International HIV/AIDS Conference is on now here in Mexico city. The sessions are more than just interesting! Incidentally this is also the biggest global gathering of HIV experts from all walks of life: doctors, researchers, advocates, development workers and people living with HIV. What are you doing to fight HIV/AIDS in your community? A group of fellow bloggers and I are doing our bit here as we wear our red ribbons proudly. Check it out and see how you can add some value to what's being done already. See you guys later.

Sweet sound

2008-07-20T21:02:00.000+02:00

There's probably no sound as sweet as that of many voices praying -even silently- to God. Lately, I have had chance to sit down and listen even to the wind talk; I know that might probably sound a little crazy but that's how close I can get to writing about my "listening" experience. Getting back to the praying voices, it is as though the sound of a great waterfall. Today I had about four little children -the eldest could have been 6 or 7- gather around and pray for me. There was nothing as beautiful as the sounds that emanated from the four pairs of lips. It is oft said that little children, when they put their trust in someone, it is usually for the long haul. Perhaps you've already heard the one about the little girl who believed her Dad was the strongest man in the world or of the little boy who believed his father was the fastest driver on the road. As my four little friends did their laying-on-of-hands, eyes closed, and each one muttering their own words, I couldn't help to wonder at how awesome God is, that even these little ones could attest to His greatness.

Two nights ago I was at this house and one of the little girls there who should be only 2 and a half years old I'm told was being bade goodnight when her mother said to her, "God loves you". I guess it should have been such a recurring experience for the little girl, her mother speaking to her that way each night, so this time she asked back, "Where is God?". "God is everywhere", her mother replied. "O.k. so you can go now since God is everywhere", she told her mother back. We all had a laugh when the mother recounted their experience to us as she joined us again in the parlour. And then I got thinking again, the little girl simply believed what her mother told her. She trusted her mother. How come that is quite difficult for us when we get older, believing?

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On another note I would like to say my piece about peacekeeper predators. A recent report from Save the Children -U.K. shows that U.N. peacekeepers and aid workers from more than a dozen organisations have sexually abused refugee children -even as young as 6- in the Sudan, Cote-d'Ivoire and Haiti. Many of these incidents had gone unreported or the culprits unpunished. Which begs the question, what does one do when the very organs vested with the authority and power to guard them from human rights abuse instead turn back on them and exploit them... perhaps even more than what they were supposed to protect them from. Should the hunter now become the hunted? I'm sure it's only a case of a few bad apples but surely Secretary General, Ban ki Moon should see to cleaning up this mess. God help us all.

DO UNTO OTHERS...

2008-07-09T23:33:00.003+02:00

I had my feet washed by someone last Monday -it is a very humbling experience- in an archetypical representation of the Bibilical creed, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and servant of all". It reminded me of another similar portion of scripture, "whatever you do unto the least of my brothers, you do unto me". Before that symbolic gesture, we had had a dinner and later communion, together. There was something enchanting about that whole experience.

Exactly a month ago now, I think I reached the peak of a rage I never even knew existed before in my life. The phrase, 'boiling with anger' could have never been more true with me at that point. What surprised me the most was that I had always considered myself rather cool-headed even when provoked. I wasn't this time. Perhaps it could have been to do with the fact that he had exposed himself as a sheep -although a viscuous wolf beneath- and I had fallen for the trick(s). Because it is now forgiven, I shan't dwell on the subject of that anger again. But therein lay some great lessons for me, 1) that mankind is such a fallible creature for one to place all of their trust in. And I say that with a great authority having learnt the hard way -experience. And 2), that we might too, just be the same as the wolves masquerading as sheep in the eyes of God whenever we turn around and commit the same sins that we repeatedly ask for His forgiveness. Surely, God's love is such a gift!

A few weeks after that episode, I got some good news and chose to celebrate it with a choice dinner at an exclusive place. Because it would be such short notice if I sent invites, I chose to surprise everyone that I asked along, by simply bundling them into my car and asking them to 'please make this easy and don't ask questions so we can all be there in a few minutes'. Kampala city compared to other capitals offers very little in terms of choice spots so the moment we hit one road with very little traffic and a number of empty flagpoles, it was pretty evident where we were headed. At the end of the dinner, everybody present said something small. All were pretty interesting but the one that I will always remember and even moved me to tears was... let's call him Jimmy. Jimmy first looked me in the eye and then quickly moved his gaze to the floor as he fidgeted with a glass in one hand and his keys in the other before he said... "I had never dreamed of ever being a guest in this place... I have passed by on several occasions and even tried to wish it out of my head as a landmark because I had determined it wouldn't be for my lifetime... and now here I am too, being attended to, every beckon and call... Now I am sure there is a God that loves me and hasn't forgotten I exist." Jimmy then went on to say to me, "Zack, this may be a simple celebration for you but for me, it's marked the beginning of a new hope for more in my life. I feel very humbled. Thank you." It wasn't a simple celebration for me because I am not usually as extravagant but it certainly marked a new resolve for Jimmy at that place -and who knows, maybe that was the core reason that God had me choose that place and ask Jimmy to join the party when I found him at his workstation -manning the gate. Once again, there was something echanting about that experience. "Whatever you do unto the least of my brothers, you do unto me".

It's only been four days now since my own feet were washed by someone. It is a humbling experience.

Do unto others, as you would to thyself.

Not here anymore

2008-06-29T16:40:00.007+02:00

I had to get out of the pretty comfortable covers and walk across the room to switch the loud thing off. It would get louder the longer I held it off for that's how it worked. And already it was more than enough decibels loud to interrupt my sleep -usually I get up earlier but I had attended a late night dinner the previous night and so got back home quite late and it being a weekend the next day, I had thought that I would sleep a little longer through the morning- I got this piece of technology from one of the shops outside the Hyatt Regency Dubai famed for their fair prices. But even there, it had cost me an arm and a leg. I had given in to that because Esmail, the shopkeeper had promised that it would be 'an almost magical' device while he showed me its demonstration. Of course, as a salesman, that was his job. And when he added, "with this device sir, you have no worries beginning 10 years (sic)", he had succeeded with me. I bought the 'magical' PDA/phone and received a complimentary gift as well from Esmail's shop. I have had the same phone for almost three years now. Since then there's been one newer model in its bracket but I feel pretty comfortable with mine -it's all I could ever want in a gizmo (I think)! Once I took the liberty of synchronising my online birthday calendar with my phone. The result was brilliant. I surprised friends and kin alike with 'my good memory' of the most important days to them when I either called or texted just to say, 'happy birthday'!

Today was a little different. That 'loud thing' was actually my phone playing a birthday ringtune reminding me of another friend's birthday today. When I finally got my drowsy self across the room to where my phone was, it said, "...'s birthday today". And when I got the alarm off, it prompted me with, "what do you want to do: call/text/mms/email/send e-card". For a little while I seemed shocked that I was seeing that and in that moment, I re-lived the feeling of such emptiness that comes with losing a friend so dear. She would have been a year older today and perhaps I would have teased her again about how exactly a year ago she had run a personal ad on Facebook, and then in turn she would perhaps threaten to kick my insides out. And then we would all have a hearty laugh again. Not any more. That's the reality of the situation. They say 'time heals wounds', but perhaps they should also say, some wounds take a pretty long time to heal. It seems like only yesterday when we had that 'Facebook' joke and today, well... it's just so empty. As I stared down at that PDA this morning, my eyes becoming cloudy with fluid, all I could do was make with a long sigh and tap 'cancel' as I turned it over and placed it once again on my dressing cabinet -silent. Nitah wasn't here any more. There would be no call to make.

Rest in peace old friend. Happy Birthday.

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See related story: Fare thee well Anita Gatare.

Selfish Altruism

2008-06-26T01:38:00.008+02:00

I care passionately about humanitarian issues -sometimes I can't help it so it shows even in my writing- and this is one of the reasons that must have prompted me to continue with my work in the field of both local and international development, over the past few years. Because of the nature of my work, I am wont to travel quite often, both within and without. Therefore it is from some personal experiences that I speak about certain matters in this blog post.

Many-a-time I have found myself the youngest member of every team, panel, action group, etc... that I am participating in to pursue and realise a common goal through our work. In some instances, a few people have taken offence to that but have been quickly turned over the moment I had proven myself. So in a way, proving myself as a person capable of rationally discussing and working with people considered "elders" in a community to collectively address inequalities as we bring about social change and justice through our work, has been a normal routine for me. So much so that I'd even devised various strategies of going about it among the different communities that I deal with constantly in my work -from African to Caucasian. The plus side of proving yourself this way is that the same respect that you accord your target group is usually reciprocated on your part by the same people. Usually I give more hours of my time towards connecting with people whenever I am new in a community -it is very important for me to do that- as then I can perhaps be seen as less of a stranger, an intruder into their normal way of life. To some other people in my line of work, that would be a wastage of an important resource -time- as it would deviate from the stereotypical approach of "engage & leave" that most are used to. My work involves analysing issues that affect people's lives, setting goals for improvement and taking action, by means of empowering and/or encouraging participative processes. However, in some cases, we may be met by highly demanding situations that necessitate the intervention of "relief workers". A relief worker is someone who works for a short period of time, in a high-risk area. Being a relief worker also requires an ability to adapt to intensely challenging situations and being able to withstand emotional strain. In return, relief workers compared to development workers, usually have such model neat and short working contracts, and are also compensated for their services much more highly than the latter group who spend more time working in an area or working on a specific issue. Because of the intensive nature of the work there usually exists a rapid turnover of staff and consequently, frequent breaks for rest and recuperation are required so that workers are kept in such a mood as to keep their eyes focused on the work they are mandated to do all the while. As a result, people are usually constantly flying in and out of the conflict/disaster zone.

From my experience, the sudden increase of foreign currency in the local area as a result of an influx of development and relief workers is usually a formidable disruption to the local economy making life even harder for most of the indigenous population as the economics of demand and supply takes over. I am not arguing the case that relief work is not good. Far be it from me to say that. Relief efforts have actually saved hundreds of thousands of lives and most of those working for the United Nations and other non-governmental organisations as relief workers have done such a good job. It is however the paradoxical contrast between relief and development work that I would like us to focus on:

A day ago now, I was meeting with a continent representative of another international charity organisation in our location. A few minutes into our meeting, I felt belittled and insulted by some of her comments about what we (my team & I) were doing. For (her) good measure, she had mentioned to us how she had just been meeting with the steering committee of the charity she works for only the previous day in Toronto, Canada. She also said she would be in this location for about another week and then move on to another country the week after that and another the week after that... For all I know, I didn't care if she went to Mars the next month. My issue of contention with her came about when we talked about what strategies really work in typical African communities. As a relief worker, her mind was set on the strategies laid out in the manual(s) that she had perhaps been given and she had gone through before she made her trip. Needless to say, she too, would be very well compensated for her "relief efforts" while she was on this trip. As a development worker, my mindset is geared at considering the best strategies that empower the intended beneficiaries of a program to become active participants in the community development process that directly affects their lives, rather than become passive recipients of relief interventions conceived and implemented by the relief agency. Getting back to my mate and I there, because we come from two divergent schools of thought, we failed to understand each other and then it soon became about how 'still young' I was and therefore 'not experienced enough' to pass judgement on a matter like that. I couldn't answer her back because at that point I felt that perhaps I would give her more than my mind and possibly then, lend actual credence to her accusation there. And for a moment I tried to remember all of those times that I've met with community leaders from both high and low echelons of power in various developing countries (and you know what power they can yield!) and how a few minutes into our conversations, I have usually been called "a brother". Then it hit me that surely, for some people, disaster should be big business. And when it comes to (some) relief workers, they actually inhabit a rather odd international hinterland which is not really within the confines of any one location/country that they maybe working in. To them, one disaster may as well be the same as another, although the details and geographical location may differ. And that my friend up there possibly lived in this other world too, miles apart from mine.

But it's this absurdity that niggled me. Why is it that acute disasters have such a high profile and such generous budgets while chronic disasters grumble on, ignored and getting worse and worse every year in most if not all of the so-called 'developing countries? I am not saying that this money should not be spent but surely its logic should be questioned. Isn't there an alternative? The very way in which we fail to avert these disasters by failing to commit to managing them in their nascent stages and then dramatically or even extravagantly, dealing with them when they finally occur as "emergencies" is most certainly illogical and very uneconomic! Why should the resources and motivation for real development be consumed by our heroic 'relief efforts'? Because this makes us as a society feel good?

Tonight I go to bed with tears in my eyes. Alluta continua!

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{Photo in post is of a bird's nest with a cuckoo egg, among a nest of songbird eggs. Bio: When the Cuckoo egg hatches, the tiny hatchling Cuckoo pushes all of the other eggs out of the nest. These unfortunate eggs drop to the ground and perish. The adult songbirds then feed and care for the Cuckoo chick, not realising what has happened.}

New beginnings

2008-06-21T22:39:00.004+02:00

It's official. I have been away for too long. I'm not gonna go into the myriad reasons for my disappearance here for nearly half a year now so I guess I'm going to have to accept to take the rap for that solely. That's one other thing that I've been trying to have developed lately -the art of 'THE BUCK STOPS HERE'- Let's see how far I can get...

And it certainly feels good to be back home. It's interesting to note however, how the chickens will always return home to roost, because even while I was away from Living (my) Utopia, I kept web-logs of at least two different initiatives that I was involved in over different months this year at separate blogs. And while I did that, I would occasionally visit here myself and wonder too when indeed this blog author would be putting up a new post! Many times I've been asked by folk what it is I mean by Living (my) Utopia, and I've always given them the same response. For documentation's sake I shall repeat it here. I usually tend to borrow on the understanding that sir Thomas Moore (1478 - 1535) had when he coined the term - Utopia - in reference to his imaginary perfect island. Therefore Living (my) Utopia is only my way of espousing the ideals of living in a place in which all conditions are ideal although mindful of the reality that we can never achieve perfection, but we can work towards it. Living (my) Utopia is also about speaking against injustice as well as heralding those acts of courage with which humankind continues to live.

Ubuntu - I am because you (we) are.

Here's to new beginnings at this blog! Thank you to everyone that's persistently dragged me back here. Although I still maintain, I never left, I only disappeared for a short while.

Man bites dog -it's really a genocide in Kenya!!!

2008-01-01T23:08:00.001+01:00

Photo credit: BBC News / AFP

Down becomes up and up becomes down in this East African nation after the announcement of the December 2007 election results when suddenly there are increased cases of (civil) unrest in Kenya, widespread reports of acts of genocide, and a thick cloud of uncertainty continues to loom over the country's future as more people remain holed up in their homes unable to venture further than a kilometre away without running into a road-block of some sort; and as they remain prisoners of their own homes, they also continue to be fed on government-controlled news and simpleton TV shows -in an attempt to draw their attention away from the country's current problems- from the only running media; state controlled and influenced television! The only news media (international) that have so far reported about the crisis in Kenya have all fallen short of using the 'g' word, merely settling for the weak-willed phrase, "ethnic cleansing".

The term 'ethnic cleansing' signals the lack of will to stop genocide. It also usually results in escalating deaths, and the whole while undermining international legal obligations of acknowledging and reacting to a genocide. As I type this out, the BBC reports that at least 30 people, a vast majority of them being children have been torched to their deaths as they took sanctuary in a church in Eldoret, eastern Kenya. Using the term ‘ethnic cleansing’ also corrupts public observation and ethical judgement, thereby bleaching the atrocities of genocide, and ultimately leading to widespread inaction -internationally- in preventing the current and (perhaps) future genocides.

Once again, it's a GENOCIDE in Kenya! Please blow the horn people. And will all the international community NOT just sit back and watch -at least this once!!!

As the Kenyan government under president Mwai Kibaki clamps down on both government influenced and free media with their media blackout, these impassioned men and women around the world continue unabated in their resolve to bring you live commentary from the epicentre itself:

www.kenyanpundit.com

www.wendwa.yakuti.org

www.mentalacrobatics.com

www.geraldbaraza.blogspot.com

www.mzalendo.com

www.blog.thinkersroom.com

www.whiteafrican.com

www.jessemakai.com

www.kumekucha.blogspot.com

www.chrisblattman.blogspot.com

www.josephkaroki.wordpress.com ***(new picture blog)

Telling the story as it is might well be the next best hope for action that this blog suggests for this Kenyan political quandary. The better hope always being PRAYER. Please refer to my sidebar for more on the crisis. Mungu saidia watu wa Kenya. God save Kenya!

WHATEVER IT TAKES

2007-12-29T12:12:00.000+01:00

The year was 1994 at a prayer breakfast in a hotel in Washington when one of the several hundred participants, Mother Teresa (RIP) made her famous speech, “You did unto me”. And it was that speech that I vividly recall Mother Teresa quoting from John the Apostle when she said something to the effect of it not being enough for us to say that we love God and leaving out our ‘neighbour’. St. John actually writes that you are a liar if you say you love God and don’t love your neighbour. How can one love God whom they cannot see and yet hate one’s neighbour whom they can see? Somebody killed Benazir Bhutto last Thursday. Or perhaps many people killed Benazir Bhutto last Thursday as in the late Bhutto’s words to her husband before she returned to Pakistan, “what matters (in the case of my assassination) is not so much the hand that pulls the trigger, but the hand behind the hand that pulls the trigger”. It’s such a shame what has happened but also such a cripple to a precarious democracy such as is the republic of Pakistan. Bhutto’s assassination has largely been linked to the work of extremists –after bearing their hallmarks: a suicide attack- and once again we are brought to re-examine this, just what amount of faith (or the lack of it) would tolerate the cold blooded killing of another human being in hope of living a better after-life? Only a madman’s perhaps! Madmen teaching their beliefs to even madder men (and women) and the latter carrying out the murderous intentions of their fearful tutors! When will this come to an end? At this point, I am reminded of a line in the famous movie, Star Wars:

“Who is more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows him?” –Star Wars (Obi Wan)

Bhutto’s death, and certainly at this point in the time of Pakistan, is regrettable. It shall not be enough to find her killers, but to stop this whole madness sucking in generations of young men and women in the (false) hope of a better after-life. Whatever it takes!

“I, therefore, wrote to the United Nations Secretary General, highlighting the human rights abuses. I was castigated by the regime for doing so. I was criticised for washing Pakistan’s dirty linen in public. They weren’t concerned that they were dirtying the linens; they were only concerned that I was washing it in public.” –Benazir Bhutto, in a November 7, 1997 speech at the J. F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

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There’s a new Uganda-centred site up: www.citizenuganda.com It’s probably still undergoing a little construction now and again but I’ve been impressed by it so far and I realise it has a good prospect for advancing Uganda online in the foreseeable future. Pay attention.

I just got a text message on my phone now. It reads (in part): “…sme tension buildn up, cz of delay of announcn presidential results, I jst pray they be out tday cz…its gna be crazy”. Kenya went to the polls yesterday. It’s still a little close to call but this sizeable East African nation could be having a new president by the end of the day today. News just in is one side have already declared themselves winners of the presidential election –in spite of the delay in official results announcement. I just called up Reena to make sure she was alright after she sent me that. Well, when I see or even hear about something as this; millions of people queuing up to exercise their democratic right to vote in (and out) their leaders, I thank God for this picture, especially in third world countries. To me, it really means a lot. Three cheers for democracy. And once again, whatever it takes!

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And oh! We are still very much in the season. Happy Holidays yet again!

The one memorable thing about Christmas and the entire Season really is taking the time with those whom we love and perhaps didn't get to spend as much time with over the year -getting the chance to slow down, reflect, and have the opportunities for moments with those who matter.

Sometimes they say, “It's often hardest to love those in your own home” Well, I hope that each of you got the chance to make each moment count for your loved ones this Christmas.

And as we draw to the close of the year 2007, we certainly don't know what the future may hold for us, each one, but we know Who is holding us securely there. It is finally my prayer this year and in my last 2007 blog entry that that same One, who holds us all securely in that future, may bless you and all your loved ones with the peace of knowing that whatever is going on in your life right now has reason, and that even though you may have experienced some tough times this month, December might signal for you, the coming of a new year, one with greater lessons learned, and victories from seeming defeat. The world only seems to get more messed up, as we know...but peace of mind is something that will keep you through all of that.

Have a prosperous 2008 lads and lasses!

What goes around...

2007-12-25T17:36:00.000+01:00

In a final moment of defiance, he refused a hood to cover his eyes. Hours after Saddam faced the same fate he was accused of inflicting on countless thousands during a quarter-century of ruthless power, Iraqi state television showed grainy video of what it said was his body, the head uncovered and the neck twisted at a sharp angle. A man whose testimony helped lead to Saddam's conviction and execution before sunrise said he was shown the body because "everybody wanted to make sure that he was really executed." "Now, he is in the garbage of history," said Jawad Abdul-Aziz, who lost his father, three brothers and 22 cousins in the reprisal killings that followed a botched 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam in the Shiite town of Dujail. The post-execution footage showed the man identified as Saddam lying on a stretcher, covered in a white shroud. His neck and part of the shroud have what appear to be bloodstains… In Baghdad's Shiite enclave of Sadr City, hundreds of people danced in the streets while others fired guns in the air to celebrate…. It was a grim end for the 69-year-old leader who had vexed three U.S. presidents… The execution took place during the year's deadliest month for U.S. troops, with the toll reaching 108… Within hours of his death, at least 56 people died and scores wounded in three bombings — two nearly simultaneous explosions in one Baghdad neighbourhood, and one south of the capital. Ali Hamza, a 30-year-old university professor, said he went outside to shoot his gun into the air after he learned of Saddam's death. "Now all the victims' families will be happy because Saddam got his just sentence," said Hamza, who lives in Diwaniyah, a Shiite town 80 miles south of Baghdad. But people in the Sunni-dominated city of Tikrit, once a power base of Saddam, lamented his death. "The president, the leader Saddam Hussein is a martyr and God will put him along with other martyrs. Do not be sad nor complain because he has died the death of a holy warrior," said Sheik Yahya al-Attawi, a cleric at the Saddam Big Mosque… A couple hundred people also protested the execution just outside the Anbar capital of Ramadi, and more than 2,000 people demonstrated in Adwar, the village south of Tikrit where Saddam was captured by U.S. troops hiding in an underground bunker. In a statement, Saddam's lawyers said that in the aftermath of his death, "the world will know that Saddam Hussein lived honestly, died honestly, and maintained his principles."… Saddam's half-brother (Barzan Ibrahim) and the former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court (Awad Hamed al-Bandar), were not hanged along with their former leader as originally planned… "We wanted him (Saddam) to be executed on a special day," National Security adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie told state-run al-Iraqiya television. Sami al-Askari, the political adviser of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, told The Associated Press that Saddam initially resisted when he was taken by Iraqi guards but was composed in his final moments. He said Saddam was clad in a black suit, hat and shoes, rather than prison garb. His hat was removed and his hands tied shortly before the noose was slipped around his neck. Saddam repeated a prayer after a Sunni Muslim cleric who was present. "Saddam later was taken to the gallows and refused to have his head covered with a hood," al-Askari said. "Before the rope was put around his neck, Saddam shouted: 'God is great. The nation will be victorious and Palestine is Arab.'" Iraqi state television showed footage of guards in ski masks placing a noose around Saddam's neck. Saddam appeared calm as he stood on the metal framework of the gallows. The footage cuts off just before the execution. Saddam was executed at a former military intelligence headquarters in Baghdad's Shiite neighbourhood of Kazimiyah, al-Askari said. During his regime, Saddam had numerous dissidents executed in the facility, located in a neighbourhood that is home to the Iraqi capital's most important Shiite shrine — the Imam Kazim shrine. Al-Askari said the government had not decided what to do with Saddam's body.

It’s Christmas day and I was going through the news archives on my computer when I came across this. Then, I had just culled it (the news item) from the Associated Press. This week, it shall be a year since the demise of the subject of that news item. It’s almost implausible that the world did not end through the year 2007 without the presence of some people. This morning I looked out my window and lo! a butterfly spread his wings to fly but alas, the morning dew still had its hold on him. It would only be a few seconds until he’d dried and was off to start his day as well. But what fascinated me was my knowledge of the little flying friend’s lifespan. In only a few more days, perhaps 10, perhaps 14, he would be decomposing somewhere and another one taking his place. The continuity of life! Charles Darwin, in his “origin of Species” wrote, “…the structure of every organic being is related…to that of all other organic beings, with which it comes into competition for food or residence, or from which it has to escape, or on which it preys.” Personally, I do not subscribe to the theory of evolution but I do, to natural selection. What fascinate me even more are the hard hitting facts about this afore-mentioned competition; “…the struggle almost invariably will be most severe between individuals of the same species, for they frequent the same districts, require the same food, and are exposed to the same dangers.” In other words, no competing organism has such similar requirements for survival as another of the same species. Can we say the same of mankind?

“Here, you see, it takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place.” –The Red Queen (to Alice) in Through the Looking Glass.

One and one makes a December bundle

2007-12-23T22:23:00.001+01:00

It rains every December. It snows every December. It's cold every December. It's hot every December. Depending on where you might be on this globe, there's a extreme of weather every December. This 'December rite of custom' brings us closer together as family, even as a human race at this time of year. I particularly love the way even the hardest of hearts are somewhat softened every December; if not by the story of Christmas, then by the hope of making amends and getting into a New Year at peace with most people, if not everyone. Thank God for December. I have a fetish for pens and I just got myself two new ones this morning, that really struck my sight but which I am sure I shall not have need of now; the little man at the duty-free shop took too much trouble explaining how the mercury enabled the pen to write better, et al. I forgot to tell him I had more than enough mercury pens already since I was more fascinated by his thick rimmed glasses. So I didn’t hear much of what he said until he was done. For all his trouble, however, I said I would take two. Typical salesman that he was, he showed me an even better one (with a higher price tag too) while I was counting the money that I still owed for the two pens that I’d taken. In the spirit if Christmas, I said I would take that too! The little man was delighted. It was probably only one of a handful of such pens (the last one) that he’d sold all year. I could tell because of his mixed reaction of surprise and awe when I said I would take that too. When you’ve been collecting pens for over 10 years, you somehow begin to take notice of even such little specifics. “Merry Christmas my friend,” the little Asian man finally said to me as he handed me a courtesy chocolate bar, I believe as a Season freebie. “It will be merry indeed!” I replied, "Have a merry Christmas yourself".

It was also my birthday a couple of weeks ago. One of the other reasons that I love the month of December so I guess. In one part of her message to me that morning she had said, “…because in our lives, if there’s someone that’s treasured, it is you…” That sweet lady has always remembered that day since she gave birth to me many years ago. Come to think of it now, I think birthdays should really be about our mothers –they bore all the pain after all, while we only wobbled out! I love you mother! Several phone calls, messages and a day later, I received one particular phone call on my mobile as I was just rising to give a speech in a breakfast meeting. I promised I would call her back later and when I did, Judy said she’d only wanted to apologise for not having called the previous day to wish me a happy birthday. Out of all of the myriad calls and text messages that I’d received until then, I think at that point, my heart actually did melt. Thanking God for great family and friends. I shared out the last of the birthday cake two nights later with (let’s call him) Tom, a home-guard. The latter had been away from duty for sometime. When I saw him, I thought he looked a little haggard as he held his gun in his right hand and overcoat in the left. The weight of those things was beginning to bear on him I imagined. Together we sat out on the front lawn gazing up into the dark African December sky lighted by a few shining stars as the lake breeze blew in, carrying with it sounds of soft music, perhaps from the new resorts dotting the beaches now. Tom pointed at a moving light up in the sky. I hadn’t seen it at first so I had a little trouble locating it. And then he asked, “There… is it true those aeroplanes drop their waste over the desert whenever they fly over one?” Before I could reply, he was giving me his account of how the hyacinth plant (water weed) was dropped over the river Nile from one of “those” and thus started one of Africa’s biggest problems. You never win easily when you argue with Tom so I let him give me an education this one time. It was December after all! We talked about his days in the army and slowly progressed to our variant opinions over George Bush and American policies in the MiddleEast and then to his (Tom) family. And then we had this one very long silence. After a while Tom said, “You know you are my brother. Thank you”. It could have been a whole minute later until I replied, “I know, I know Tom.” Sometimes silences can be the real conversation between friends.

My family and I are taking some time out over this holiday –as FAMILY. So I shall largely be unavailable to blog. Season’s greetings to all of you out there this Holiday! Have a merry Christmas and a joyous Holiday Season! And may the peace of God that surpasses all human understanding be with you all. Amen.

Friend of Hope

2007-11-27T23:50:00.000+01:00

“Men apt to promise are apt to forget”goes a US proverb.

So we need to constantly remind them of those promises because even in our African culture, “a promise is a debt”. When I first met Aisha (not real name, altered for privacy’s sake) four years ago in Uganda, she seemed such a jovial slim mother of six boys engaged in a group activity with fellow women like her as she cracked the occasional joke that riled up the whole group every once in awhile. I found out later that Aisha’s lively stories were one of the reasons these ladies kept coming together twice every week in their rather chatty group of about twenty women. Almost all of the women in this group were HIV+ and all of them shared one common denominator –they were all single parents with an average of five children between them together. What I found most touching was the fact that Aisha had to walk 5 miles / 8 Km (to and fro) to an AIDS service centre where she would pick her ARV-drugs from twice every month. I met Aisha again a second time and this was when she was coming from her Friday JUMA-prayers and very happy that the day had coincided with her date to pick her next batch of drugs from the centre. She told me again very cheerfully that she walked 5 miles to and from her home not because she didn’t have the money but because she would then save enough for “at least quarter a kilo of powdered milk”, which the doctors recommended she should take because of the strong combination of drug therapy that she was on and also “enough for my two boys in primary school to take lunch with them at school tomorrow” –a rare treat she added… Three weeks later I visited Aisha at her home; it was only a couple of months towards the end of the year, last year and while we talked, she was in tears. Reason being she had only been given just a half of the combination drugs that made up her usual ARV dosage and asked to pay more than she could afford for the other half because it was in limited supply and only available in the private clinic. That was also about two months into the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s suspension of the Uganda AIDS-fund over allegations of gross embezzlement and the government’s inaction to fight or react to the rampant corruption in the fund’s management. Of course no one up there knew of Aisha’s or other people like her’s plight. Not many people cared that Aisha had to sacrifice even the little that she would save from her 5 mile walk to compensate for the completion of the combination of drugs she was on –even more saddening was the fact that her top-up would not get her a complete dosage nor would she be able to buy any more powdered milk or send her children to school the next day with some lunch anymore! But isn’t it the responsibility of the government to treat its citizens? Or just maybe the country’s national budget didn’t cater enough for healthcare? Well fast track forward and the government of Uganda became a signatory to the Abuja declaration in whose development it was also a key participant –the leaders, in that declaration, committed to allocating at least 15% of their national budgets each, towards health care. Currently, i.e. 2007/08, the GoU’s projected spending on healthcare as a percentage of the national budget is a measly 8.3%, even much lower than 2004/05’s 9.7%. Oh, how our leaders forget! I think our HOPE now for the future should lie in taking the lead to remind our leaders of these promises for better healthcare. Who knows for every living Aisha, there could be 9 dead ones now –those who couldn’t perhaps match her determination and perseverance to walk 5 miles a day and give up all her earnings for just a morsel of healthcare. On this year’s World AIDS Day my message to you all is that you are not alone. We are standing with you to take the lead in asking our leaders to show better leadership by committing to their promises. After all wasn’t it one of them, the leaders I mean (Tony Blair, former UK prime minister), that said at the end of the G8 summit in 2005,

“...people will hold us to those commitments, they should hold us to those commitments”.

Have a great World AIDS Day everyone!

Are you ready for AFTER-CHOGM?

2007-11-15T09:23:00.000+01:00

It seems I have been gone for quite awhile… and then again it feels as though I never went away at all. Well we’ll go with the former mostly cuz it’s even more evident really… the previous post has a tag-date somewhere about the first days of last month. Before I go on I’d like to do something totally out of my character: give an award. A virtual one. To the blog of the year, or at least my version of what different aspects of a blog qualify for its being voted best blog of the year. In my close to three years on blogger now, I consider this the most consistent, informative, edifying and welcoming blog that I’ve read at. It’s such a pity the blog author has quit active blogging now; but nonetheless the blog remains on the world wide web for all to pick and share from; and from this piece of work, God has continually been glorified, many have learned, others have taught, also many have had their true character revealed. So there we go: Living Zack’s Utopia’s Blog of the year 2006/7 award goes to Aoko’s SHIREL.

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I consider myself strong-willed, also one not given much to display of emotion. Today was different though. I was just getting my stuff packed when I noticed Kye (not real name) seated outside and with a newspaper in his hands. I smiled casually as I gave him a little wave. When I got outside, I heard someone call out my name. “Zack,”, he said, “you know I can read this English (sic) but it’s only translating some of the difficult words into my native language that I find most difficult”. Somehow, that just touched me and I realised this wasn’t just another of the usual simpleton conversations that I usually engage Kye in on my way in or out. He was being deep, he was being real. “You know I tried to enrol in adult school to learn some more English but the timing wasn’t so favourable for me so I opted out after two days…look, what does this word here mean?” Kye is somewhere in his early 30’s for a better picture. Until this point I hadn’t replied a word as I was still spellbound from his earlier statements. Why had he chosen to say that to me I had imagined, and why at that particular time? As all these thoughts coursed through my head, I was staring him in the eyes and suddenly, my tear glands gave way as I felt this warm liquid stroll down both of my cheeks. It was very touching how Kye said it. I’m sure Kye is still wondering what the tears were all about but I haven’t told him it was because the profound honesty in the revelations that he made. I was in a rush to get out of there before but confronted with this, time seemed to cease as I got Kye down and helped him read the rest of his borrowed newspaper, explaining to him, sometimes animatedly, the meaning of some of the ‘difficult’ words. Later I suggested he get himself a dictionary when he asked for advice on how he could help to better his comprehension of the English language. That wasn’t before I told him however, about the Chinese lesson –in short that knowledge of the English language is not an education in itself, but really a prejudice. Kye had been repeatedly blaming himself and his father for failing to go through primary school. This lad however does have a lot of resolve; from his simple knowledge of the alphabet and the vowels, he has been able to read to himself many words in the newspaper everyday, most even without knowing their meaning, but just so that he could move a step further to better comprehension. Very interesting. Why shouldn’t the Queen on her CHOGM-visit meet with such people as Kye?

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And while we muse over events in the CHOGM-infested land, I pray we do not forget the tradition of thanksgiving that this month is most synonymous for. I am sure we all have a life-story that’s worth being thankful for. And even more, in the next 17 days we shall be marking yet another World AIDS Day –December 1st. Let’s all remember to factor HIV/AIDS in everything that we do. Please wear a red ribbon today! According to the most recent annual UNAIDS/WHO AIDS Epidemic Update report (2006), 39.5 million people are now living with HIV. There were 4.3 million new infections in 2006 with 2.8 million (65%) of these occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and important increases in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where there are some indications that infection rates have risen by more than 50% since 2004. In 2006 alone, 2.9 million people died of AIDS-related illnesses. [statistics source: UNAIDS 2006 world report]

The theme for the World AIDS Day this year is LEADERSHIP. This theme shall continue to be promoted with the campaigning slogan of STOP AIDS. KEEP THE PROMISE. Last year I blogged about one State’s disregard of the global theme in favour of another that was less critical of current events at the time. Let’s hope we do not have an encore performance of the same this time.

Let’s fight AIDS.

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While we continue to talk about the urgent need for international intervention in the Darfur genocide (there, I said it!), let’s not forget to mention the plight of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that has seen internal conflict for over 10 years now. The hundreds of thousands of women and girls who have been raped by the military and other armed forces; both old and new wounds that need to heal. And let’s not give in to taking such excuses as sexual violence being an act of war. It springs from social attitudes and gender inequalities as well.

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And then finally, I thought this comment on China by Global Insight’s senior China analyst, William H. Hess absolutely took the biscuit:

“…the real manufacturing crisis facing China today is how to get Chinese consumers to value domestic brands as much as foreign ones (many of which are also made in China)”

. It doesn’t come any better than that now, does it? Until again soon, folks. I’m out.

Give One, Get One

2007-10-07T09:35:00.000+02:00

Seeing as I'm very passionate about this topic, I thought I'd share here, an article published in this October's first issue of Newsweek. The Chinese say, the journey of a thousand miles is began with one step. Have a nice read if you missed this.

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By Stephen Levy

Walter Bender, the software chief of One Laptop Per Child—the much-ballyhooed, as-yet-unproven project to deliver millions of cheap computers to kids in developing countries—recalls a recent conversation he had with a woman at the World Bank. Now that the project is finally rolling out its innovative XO devices (which are manufactured not at the promised $100 price point but $188, a discrepancy I'll get to later), he was trying to entice the bank to support the project. In my country, the woman said, kids learn outdoors and there's little shade. Bender told her that the XO screen is great in bright sunlight. But access to books is central to learning in my region. Bender said that's why the XO easily transforms into an e-book reader. There's little energy in my country. That's why we made it solar-powered, replied Bender. This went on for a few more questions, with Bender parrying every thrust until the woman had no more objections. But the meeting ended with no commitment on her part. "It's like they're looking for reasons to say no," he says.

This is a season of joy and consternation at the OLPC program. The nonprofit project has nearly completed the three-pound green-and-white plastic XO, and it is a design and tech triumph. You can feel the excitement at the company's Cambridge, Mass., headquarters, where tables are stacked with working prototypes (and other units are cooking in 140-degree ovens to simulate conditions in the Nigerian desert). I've been playing with the laptop for a couple of days, and this is no hand-me-down for poor kids in struggling countries. It's cool enough to impress the most tech-sated American teenager, as well as a genuine advance toward a mean, lean machine to run Web-based applications. The 7.5-inch screen is indeed bright in sunlight, and the software suite is impressive. Unlike my iPhone, it can run Flash video. Its Wi-Fi connectivity finds more hotspots than your average Windows laptop can hope to locate. And OLPC's drop tests show that the device can absorb a fall more gracefully than a Panasonic Toughbook. On the other hand, big goals have not been met. I'm not talking about the price—rolling out laptops for under $200 is pretty impressive, and costs will only come down with scale. The problem is getting someone to pay for them. When I spoke to OLPC's chairman, Nicholas Negroponte, last January, he estimated that there would be a million laptops in the field by October. Now that's the month when assembly lines begin churning out XOs, and Negroponte is hoping to ship 260,000 by the end of the year. Even that number is contingent on someone's actually buying the laptops, an achievement proving more difficult than debugging the software system. Still, he's optimistic. "It's like triggering an avalanche," he says. "We just need a few pieces of snow to get it started."

Negroponte admits to naiveté in pursuing his plan to have developing countries themselves buy the ultra-low-cost laptops. "I had a handshake agreement with the leaders of three countries—Thailand, Nigeria and Brazil—all agreeing to buy a million laptops," he says. "That got it going. But between a handshake and a closed deal is a world of difference. Everybody has a pit in their stomach when it comes to going first." To get the snow tumbling, Negroponte is making "a very major change" to the business plan. Beginning this week, the Web site xogiving.org is accepting $200 donations to buy a laptop for a child. (Negroponte says the first ones will probably go to Peru.) And for two weeks beginning Nov. 12, benefactors can get one of the little devils for themselves. This "Give 1 Get 1" option allows you to purchase a laptop for $399, a price that includes a second XO to be delivered to a kid who may use it to do something great. (You also get a tax deduction for the donation.) "Almost every day someone asks, 'How can I get one?'" says Bender. "This gives people that opportunity, as well as a chance to get involved." The fact that this thing actually exists could make a big difference. Eventually the XO may even reach that long-promised price point. "I still call it the $100 laptop," Negroponte says. "We're committed that this is the price it's going to be in 18 months, maybe 20." He'd better check first with his colleagues. OLPC's chief technology officer, Mary Lou Jepson, told me, "I want to go for a $50 laptop for 2009!" Maybe that would start the avalanche.

© 2007 Newsweek, Inc.

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Let's keep our fingers crossed for this one. Who knows? The future of the new world could depend on this very project! Have a nice day everyone.

Dogs bark but the caravan moves on

2007-09-22T04:06:00.000+02:00

“Dogs bark but the caravan moves on.” -Arab Proverb

Now, this one is an all over the place one!

I have just noticed how a lot of the blogs on my blogroll are either on a hiatus or their authors have simply moved house; which also goes to show the little attention I’ve been giving this blog too lately. Just the other day I was having lunch with a Rastafari and although at some point his Patois had almost become unbearable for me, we had a very interesting conversation at the end of which he called me his family. I made mention of the fact that until he put his faith in a real God, he just might go it alone to his ‘kingdom-come’ without the rest of his ‘family’, and he said back, “Ah, Haille Selassie. Jah bless. No one cyan test”, or simply that no one could compete with his Haille. I love the Rasta man/woman. But I just don’t ascribe to such poor (my opinion) actuality that one can put their trust and faith in a man or emperor, fallible to error just as any other man, and call them a 'god'. And no offense to the Rastafari but however much peace and love one might preach, there just is something very wrong (for me) about that whole picture! Else, if God translates for Jah in Patois, then Jah bless the Rastafari nonetheless!. Getting back to the story there, so “mi new bredda” and I were talking about the new breed of Information Technology (IT) executives and its implication upon especially the business-side of things in sub-Saharan Africa. There’s this one report that was issued by Gartner last September that predicts that by 2010, six out of 10 people affiliated with IT will assume business-facing roles. Read entire report here. Gartner says "technical aptitude alone will no longer be enough" as IT execs will need to "possess expertise in multiple domains." CIOs want IT pros with breadth and depth of skills and diverse experiences, rather than deep and narrow specialization, the report goes on to say. It is really imperative that the new wave of African IT students gain as much business knowledge as they possibly can in the very likely event that business shall now require IT professionals who understand how IT relates to the basics of the business that the business does. Leveraging technology to get into a functional position, which means understanding the supply chain and applying the technology to the business, for the new IT professional, should be the ultimate goal! Somewhere in our conversation, the subject changed to the recent humiliation of Uganda’s largest public university by a government-cum-private owned power company. Read entire story here. Taking matters into their own hands, the Varsity administration went on to sanction the use of power-consuming items by students in their halls of residence. That would be understandable to some extent, but then among the blacklisted items were computers. Reaallllly! Firstly, my Rastafari “bredda” wondered why the government couldn’t just loan the Varsity the money to pay the outstanding bill as it (the government) has so done to “choice investors” over the time who have failed to pay thier own bills. And after all this amount which is just about $100,000.00, would only be peanuts really compared to the other "loans" that the GoU has lately been known to dish out to the same "choice investors". And then I was reminded of a one passionate exchange I was involved in at the Communist Socks and Boots blog about low power and low cost laptops for developing world students. With the situation at hand continuing at this rate, I guess the government of Uganda just might need to get the OLPC project started already with the computer-deprived students at the university first. Who said the chickens don’t come back to roost now?

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I didn’t quite get the meat and bones of his story. But from the little that I picked up reading at his blog, this one Ugandan blogger was forced to flee from his country sometime last week over a few remarks he made on a radio talk show or on one of his blogs (not quite sure which of the two). Personally, I think that’s despicable, the fact that one can be harangued for what they write/say and moreover in a nation that is a member state of the UN general assembly, and by default, a subscriber to the universal freedom laid down in article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

Interestingly, there is an organised community (UBHH) of bloggers for Uganda (not necessarily all Ugandan I gather) and if the facts about the said blogger above are correct, I guess this would be an apt cause for “the blogren” to champion –freedom of expression. Curtailing freedoms, it usually starts out like this and before you know it, we could have us another Tibet situation on our hands. I’m sure UBHH architect Rebekah would be keen to see how things play out on this one while she too is away.

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Juma (not real name) and I have been friends for about three years now I think. Juma’s a bit of a jack-of-all-trades really so I can’t tie him down to one thing. But whenever I am home, Juma fills the slot of catering for my printing needs; he supplies my ink cartridges, cleans out the printer, et al. He is also a salesman representing I-forget-which Health Products Company, and usually when he comes by; he brings with him a few products that he talks people around into buying. Sometimes on his visits, when I have the time, I spare a few minutes to just chit-chat with Juma. He has got such an ebullient personality really and is always eager to learn something new. Once before I travelled, I had been working at my computer all night and in the morning had Juma over to replace an old catridge so I could make some prints that I needed with me for my destination and while he was at it, he noticed my eyes had reddened and said how I was ‘such a sight’ and that he had just the thing for me. He promised its effects were so long-lasting they would get me feeling spirited even after the flight. I didn’t really need his “supplement” but he made sure I took it there and then, and of course after taking a tab, I had to buy the whole 60-capsule thing. He said he didn’t have the smaller one’s with him. To be honest, I don’t remember ever taking them (the capsules) again or even whether I felt spirited or not after the flight. But well, that’s Juma for you, always the salesman! Well yesterday I thought I’d surprise Juma and give him a call. I asked about his family and all that goes with it and as is characteristic with our chats, they get very animated if Juma is the other end of the line. But one thing that struck at a chord with me was when he told me he was now involved in some work to build a Korean-supported orphanage home for AIDS orphans in his village in Uganda. And then I got thinking…what really is the best way to support orphaned children? Institutionalised care as with orphanages or care accorded to them within their communities. I have always argued that extending support to communities raising orphans is by far a better option since it’s not only less costly but also enables the children develop better social skills and adjust better psychologically to the death of their parents. Nais Mason is a senior advisor on HIV/AIDS to UNICEF in East Africa and she and I met last year at a workshop in Nairobi -Kenya, at the end of which I engaged her on the same topic and she told me about UNICEF’s changing attitude towards the same school of thought, basing on past experiences where they had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on orphan care and support in institutionalised settings and ended up with very little done (especially psychologically) in the lives of those little ones. Most had still felt alienated even after emerging from the same homes. Matter-of-factly she told me, UNICEF is even going a step further now and working at prevention strategies by helping the children’s parents (in cases of paternal/maternal orphans) live longer, for those who are living with HIV/AIDS, by supporting expanding access to treatment with anti-retro viral drugs. The rationale being that if parents can maintain their health, then they are better able to support their children –reduced rate of (double) orphans. Recalling all of this, I mentioned it to my friend Juma and he said it was quite some ‘food for thought’. That wasn’t before he mentioned he would be leaving for me a ‘gift’, a packet of Ganoderma Chocolate until I got back. I was thankful. Of course the inference there was that I would have to buy a box of the same stuff from him soon. Quite a salesman, Juma! Well so since we were on phone, I had him spell it so I could google it later and look what I found! I’ll be back to share once I’ve gotten a hold of my ‘gift’. So a hot cuppa Ganoderma Chocolate anyone?

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A sweet friend of mine was “teaching” me yesterday how to work the laundry at a Laundromat and when she said you need change and not paper money to work it, I just couldn’t hold it anymore so I burst out laughing. She was actually “teaching” me. It was so funny when she got the joke and started to laugh, she actually laughed our connection off there! I had to call her back and actually clarify that the “lesson” was unnecessary. I thank God for those small things with sweet friend. Bless her heart. And I guess this one is one of those memories that are indelibly printed on my mind now. See, I’m laughing all over again. At the moment I have to share my nights out reading four different books. Excluding the Bible, I think Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counter insurgency lessons from Malaya and Vietnam by John A. Nagl is getting me very interested; I’d recommend it particularly if you’re into what I would call “high-level” war analysis. My protégé and also my ‘son’ moved here. He has me saved under the pen-name Thomas Moore. I am yet to confer the meaning of that and also which of the two Moore’s it really is he has me referred to. It wasn’t always that bad son! Recently I’ve been repeatedly moved to reading Proverbs 31 by this blog. I think it’s a good thing there that Pea has going –a lot of female (and male too) folk here could pick a lesson or two (I have!).

Once again, congratulations if you’ve made it to the end (almost)! It was one very long one!!! I’m gonna be up and about some more now especially over the next month but that’s good news for this blog since I can always retire here at the end of a long day and let my keyboard take it. That said, we put up another post too at this blog too. And then there’s this other one too for which we shouldn’t really wait until December 01st to fall ourselves over to do.

And lastly, this is an appeal to everyone and anyone. Please do what you can, each one (pray, give, etc...), to come to the aid of these people in northern and eastern Uganda that have been displaced by floods.

For Marybeth: school excuse notes

2007-09-11T00:30:00.000+02:00

O.k. I haven’t really given much attention to this blog lately but I’ll be back soon to. In the interim, I thought I might share this hilarious piece I came across last night.

Actual School Excuse Notes
These are excuse notes from parents (including original spelling) collected by schools from all over the country (we keep it a secret)....

1) My son is under a doctor's care and should not take P.E.today. Please execute him.
2) Please excuse Lisa for being absent. She was sick and I had her shot.
3) Dear School: Please ekscuse John being absent on Jan. 28, 29,30, 31, 32, and also 33.
4) Please excuse Gloria from Jim today. She is administrating.
5) Please excuse Roland from P.E. for a few days. Yesterday he fell out of a tree and misplaced his hip.
6) John has been absent because he had two teeth taken out of his face.
7) Carlos was absent yesterday because he was playing football. He was hurt in the growing part.
8) Megan could not come to school today because she has been bothered by very close veins.
9) Chris will not be in school cus he has an acre in his side.
10) Please excuse Ray Friday from school. He has very loose vowels.
11) Please excuse Pedro from being absent yesterday. He had (diahre) (dyrea) (direathe) the shits. [words in ()'s were crossed out.]
12) Please excuse Tommy for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his boots leak.
13) Irving was absent yesterday because he missed his bust.
14) Please excuse Jimmy for being. It was his father's fault.
15) I kept Billie home because she had to go Christmas shopping because I don't know what size she wears.
16) Please excuse Jennifer for missing school yesterday. We forgot to get the Sunday paper off the porch, and when we found it Monday, we thought it was Sunday.
17) Sally won't be in school a week from Friday. We have to attend her funeral.
18) My daughter was absent yesterday because she was tired. She spent a weekend with the Marines.
19) Please excuse Jason for being absent yesterday. He had a cold and could not breed well.
20) Please excuse Mary for being absent yesterday. She was in bed with gramps.
21) Gloria was absent yesterday as she was having a gangover.
22) Please excuse Burma, she has been sick and under the doctor.
23) Maryann was absent December 11-16, because she had a fever,sore throat, headache and upset stomach. Her sister was also sick, fever and sore throat, her brother had a low grade fever and ached all over. I wasn't the best either, sore throat and fever. There must be something going around, her father even got hot last night.
24) Please excuse little Jimmy for not being in school yesterday.His father is gone and I could not get him ready because I was in bed with the doctor.

And that wasn’t from Africa or Asia, or even Europe! I laughed my heart out. ‘be back soon again! Out.