Six Weeks in Rwanda

[Six Weeks in Rwanda] Truman Award Update

2008-01-30T21:30:00.001-08:00

I was able to finish the application for the Truman Award with plenty of time to spare. Jutta offered to nominate me, and Colleen and Dr. Pedrow were kind enough to write my reference letters. I sent all of the materials to Jutta on Monday, and she received them today. Now it's up to the judges...

[Six Weeks in Rwanda] A Linux Distro for Rwanda? Part II

2008-01-25T08:06:00.001-08:00

A while back, I made the case for a custom Linux distribution designed specifically for Rwanda. As it turns out, this is much easier than you might expect. When I have some time, I'd really like to take a shot at doing it. Lifehacker recently linked to this Information Week article , and this prompted me to look into the prospect of rolling a distro all by myself. I could make a number of different flavors of the operating system, tailoring specific packages and applications for the governments, the schools, or the telecenters. A more generalized version could even be targeted for Swahili-speaking countries or even Africa as a whole. The first step will be to choose an initial target audience and select a suite of applications appropriate for their needs. Stay tuned.

[Six Weeks in Rwanda] WSU Rwanda Commercial

2008-01-24T10:55:00.003-08:00

In 2006, I went to Rwanda on an internship with Washington State University's Center to Bridge the Digital Divide. My team helped establish an Internet telecenter in a rural village, and WSU decided to make a television commercial about it. Now they show it on television during breaks of Cougar football and basketball games.

I found some discussion of this commercial on the Spokesman Review's website. Check it out, it's kind of fun.

[Six Weeks in Rwanda] Paul Rusesabagina

2008-01-24T10:55:00.001-08:00

These are some notes I took at a lecture by Paul Rusesabagina, the man who inspired the Academy Award nominated film Hotel Rwanda. He visited Washington State University on February 7, 2006.

"You can always find a solution."
"You can always get what you want." (when talking about cramming 32 people into a car and a van)
he called the Mille Colline "a small island of fear in a sea for fighting"
the phone lines were cut, but the fax machine still worked
the UN's 2500 person peacekeeping force was reduced to 260
he tried "calling the White House to shame them into helping"
April 23
1. woken up at 6AM after going to bed at 4AM
2. at gunpoint, told to get all refugees out of the hotel
3. negotiated for 30 minutes to get dressed
4. used that time to call Rwandan generals
5. was able to avoid any deaths
the refugees at the hotel were forced to drink the water in the pool and eat only corn and beans
the dead bodies on the side of the road were all people that Paul knew, lived with
the hotel used generator for a while, but they all broke down, they lived without any electricity
his wife was injured in the first evacuation attempt, was bedridden for weeks
the people at the hotel established a "blood brotherhood"
1. if the parents were killed, the eldest child was in charge
Paul told a military officer "one day this will all end and you and I will have to face history"
he went to ask Gen. Bizimungu for protection
1. militia men entered the Mille Colline
2. Bizimungu and Rusesabagina went to Mille Colline
3. Bizimungu stopped the militia men just as the refugees were about to be killed
4. they had been dragged out of their rooms and been made to kneel at the edge of the pool
after the genocide, dogs were fighting over human flesh, flies were everywhere
Paul returned to Kigali after evacuating to the RPF side
1. reopened the two hotels in July
"the best fight is to fight with words" "the best fight is to win because you are stronger"
"with a gun, you can win for a day"
he was almost assasinated in September, fled to Belgium
there is genocide happening right now in Burundi, Uganda, Darfur, and the Congo
"never again are the two most abused words" "they have become again and again"
What we can do
1. raise awareness
2. freeze Darfur oil money
3. "one day they will have to face history"
4. "they are calling fro the darkness, somewhere from a forgotten continent"

[Six Weeks in Rwanda] Truman Award Application

2008-01-23T09:10:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I was talking to Jutta online and she pointed me toward The Truman Award of Leadership and Innovation by Young Professionals in International Development , sponsored by the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the Society for International Development. It's a $500 cash award for young individuals who are focused on international development, and includes an award ceremony in Washington, D.C. The application looks relatively simple, but I need to ask two people for letters of reference. This would be a very prestigious award to receive.

[Six Weeks in Rwanda] Free Rice

2007-12-20T12:25:00.001-08:00

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has come out with a new website called Free Rice. By playing a vocabulary game, you can help purchase rice for hungry people in the Third World. For every question you get right, the WFP will buy 20 grains of rice. The best part is that you don't have to sign up or anything, just get online and play. It gives you the chance to build your vocabulary, and it feeds people in poor countries. The rice purchases are funded by advertisers, whose ads are tastefully placed at the bottom of the screen. Try it today, and play for a meal for someone who needs it.

[Six Weeks in Rwanda] Introducing Six Weeks in Rwanda

2007-12-18T15:50:00.001-08:00

During the summer of 2006, I did an internship in Rwanda and helped establish a rural telecenter in a small community. The got me interested in the Third World and development work, and this interest continues today. I will use this blog whenever I want to share my thoughts on developing countries and related subjects.

A Linux Distro for Rwanda?

2007-08-03T19:05:00.000-07:00

Part of Rwanda's Vision 2020 Plan is an initiative to establish a paperless government. They are setting up telecenters in every district that government employees can use to do their business.

How will these people be trained? Since many of these people have little or no prior computer experience, they have no bad habits. This means that they have a great chance to learn the right thing the first time. What an opportunity! Here in the US, most people learn to use computers through a process of trial-and-error. This means that they often learn the long way to perform tasks. They rely on menus because they don't know the keyboard shortcuts, or they develop carpal tunnel syndrome because they weren't taught how to type correctly. Rwandans are ready to learn, so the government should make sure they are taught, and taught the correct way.

A similar argument can be made about the platform they will be trained on. Most of us in America are stuck in a Microsoft rut. We use Windows and Office, and feel violently uncomfortable when Mac OS X or (gasp!) Linux. Microsoft makes great products and has earned its reputation, but I think that Linux would be the best option for Rwandan telecenters.

Why?

First of all, it's open source. This means that the government won't be locked into a proprietary cycle of upgrades. Companies in the US are resisting the switch to Windows Vista because it is so expensive. Of course, they'll have to make the change sooner or later if they want to keep current with new versions of Office, Visio, Project, etc. Upgrading Linux, on the other hand, is painless. For example, a new version of Ubuntu comes out every six months or so, and the update process is seamless.

The second reason the Rwandan government should focus on Linux is its flexibility. Windows is developed for the Western world. This means that it is appropriate for Western countries. It solves Western problems. Rwanda is unique and different from that world. It faces its own set of challenges and requirements, and deserves an operating system that it tailored to its needs. A distribution of Linux that is geared specifically to the Rwandan government would not be difficult, costly, or time consuming to develop, and could be customized to serve government officials better than any possible alternative.

Because all open source code is freely available to the public, developers can modify any Linux program to support Kinyarwanda. There are already versions of Firefox, an Internet browser, and OpenOffice, a Microsoft Office alternative, available in the Rwandan local language. Code accessibility might encourage more Rwandan students to pursue careers as programmers or engineers. Linux is known for its strong community of developers. As Rwandans work more and more with Linux, they will become an integral part of this community and develop relationships with professionals from all over the world. Choosing Linux could be a huge boost to the Rwandan economy, creating jobs and connecting the country to the global economy.

Moving toward Linux would encourage Rwandans to embrace technology because it would be openly available, totally customizable, and a jump-start for the Rwandan tech sector.

Prosecution Dissatisfied With 'France Evidence'

2006-11-06T14:19:00.000-08:00

It is widely accepted that France played a huge part in allowing (if not blatantly assisting) the genocide to happen in Rwanda in '94. I think that the French government will never disclose the true nature of its involvement, because that would be too embarassing and implicate them in terrible crimes against humanity.

France ill-placed to try genocide suspects

2006-10-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

"Although France denies the allegations, a former French soldier last year alleged that French troops had trained the militia responsible for the killings in the two years leading up to the genocide."

Interesting article, explores the French role in the genocide.

Telecentre Times

2006-09-23T16:55:00.000-07:00

The telecenter times is using some of the pictures we sent them as stock photos for other stories. As Jutta said in an email she sent me, "our pics are starting to be used as stock photos for the telecentre movement."

Skimpily Dressed Woman Escapes Lynching

2006-09-07T11:20:00.000-07:00

This is a strange article, but very typical of Rwandan newspapers.

EU funds road rehabilitation in Rwanda

2006-09-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

We rode this road twice while in Rwanda, and it is definitely in need of repair. Apparently, the Chineese built the roads in Rwanda while it was still a Belgian colony. Federal funding has largely ignored the roads since then, so there are many potholes and rough patches.

Rwanda Death Penalty

2006-09-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

"'Those who carried out the genocide should be executed in order to forever eradicate the culture of impunity that has always marred Rwanda. The only solution: sentencing them to a grave punishment, which their past actions merit,' said Francois Ngarambe, president of a genocide survivors group, Ibuka (Remember in Kinyarwanda, the national language)."

Rwanda just abolished its death penalty. This is a big step, one that will allow the country to receive many more genocide suspects from abroad. However, this is quite a sacrifice, and many of the citizens disagree with the change. Anyone who orchestrated such a terrible genocide deserves death, not life in prison.

Celebration

2006-09-03T14:25:00.000-07:00

On Thursday we gave a presentation of our trip/project to the Dean. It was fun to see everyone again, and I was surprised to find out how much I miss Rwanda. Sometimes I get nervous when I talk in front of people, but I wasn't at all nervous for this presentation because I knew the material so well and was very excited to tell others about our trip.

In the evening, we meet everyone for dinner at Sakura. Virgil couldn't make it, but Ashley, Jutta, Colleen, Frank, and Jerman were all there. We had fun telling stories and reminiscing together. We gave Frank his shoes and Jerman his funky thermometer. Colleen got some wine from Germany and a small peace basket.

Dilemma Over ICT Convergence

2006-08-02T15:24:00.000-07:00

This made me chuckle a little:
"Without a secure and reliable Internet, Rwandans will continue to be reluctant to provide confidential information online, such as credit card numbers."
The thing is that practically no one in Rwanda has a credit card. These people have nothing that an identity theif would want.

This article talks about the importance of Internet privacy in Rwanda. This is interesting to me because I think that most Rwandans don't have a concept of online privacy. I didn't meet any people while I was there that would complain about the current system. Most of the time, they feel fortunate to have any Internet connection at all.

Simbi Residents Urged On Co-Ops

2006-08-01T14:34:00.000-07:00

The Simbi sector is very close to Maraba. We visited the Simbi sector office to give a demonstration during our project.

WSU Today - Faculty & Staff News

2006-08-01T14:29:00.000-07:00

Here's a brief article about our project that was printed in WSU Today.

Maraba Coffee Growers Get US$15,000 Tele-Center

2006-08-01T14:26:00.000-07:00

Here's an article about our opening day that appeared in the New Times and on AllAfrica.com.

finally at the computer

2006-07-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

Well, we're now 5 weeks into the project. I'm in love, that's for sure, with this country and with the folks I encounter. Once I was told (beginning of week 2) that rather than helping with training, I was to write the biz plan and project-manage the launch of the coffee cooperative's shiny new telecentre, things got busy. It's a crazy biz environment, craaaaazy slow on the one hand and super-easy-going on the other. I can't explain it. I've spent most of my time setting up a biz team and support structure for our coffee cooperative guys who will be running this new telecentre - most of whom had never sent an email in their lives. And marketing the telecentre idea to the local community whilst trying to find out what types of services would really work here; our telecentre is amongst the first in a really rural area here in Rwanda, with a clientele consisting of 97% of people who only speak Kinyarwanda, and about a sixth who can't read or write. Not really with enough cash in hand to pay for our brand spanking new broadband connection. But they do want and need to use communication and information. The public phone landlines in town (at least a day's salary away) are expensive, and the teachers here get by using 20-30 year old books. The guys working in local administration have courriers go to town on their behalf; everything stops till those get back. Skype will be a huge improvement here. And entertainment and community spaces for chatting and exchanging ideas are needed too. I continue to be amazed at how much enthusiasm I encounter whenever I go to a school or local authority office, with my wee powerpoint presentation. The vision is there, absolutely. Everyone needs training though. On everything. Hope we can keep our student volunteers motivated (and compensated by the project till things take off) to offer computer training to the public, in return for a glow of the glory of having created a new infrastructure for knowledge and wealth creation. That's the theory.

The football (worldcup) has definitely helped in building relationships. After each day's worth of running around and chasing our daily rainbows, we go back to Butare, meeting students and other guys who may help provide the continuity we're craving so badly. The local sorghum beer is great, so no probs here. And Germany did manage to come third.

One more week to go. I can't believe it. So much to do, so much fun to have, so little time. Can I stay forever?

Owl-Faced Monkey

2006-07-09T08:58:00.000-07:00

The monkeys we saw at Nyungwe this weeked were owl-faced monkies. The scientific name is cercopithecus hamlyni.

Soft Launch and Nyungwe

2006-07-09T02:21:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know that you've all been patiently waiting for another blog post. Well, here it is. There are too many things to write about, but I'll just focus on the two main events of last week, the soft launch of our telecenter and a day trip to Nyungwe National Forest.

Things have finally started to come together for our telecenter. (In America, we call telecenters "internet cafes.") The coffee cooperative has assigned a few people to be members of the steering committee, the manager girls are receiving basic computer training in Butare, and the network is up and running. We had to buy a new router a few weeks ago because the old one kept dropping the laptops from the network. Now that we bought a new one, though, we've only lost our connection a few times in a two week period. We ordered a bunch of equipment using the project budget, and it's started to trickle in from Kigali and abroad. We should have furniture at the start of this next week, and we just received a shipment with an external floppy drive, floppies, speakers, a Skype headset, replacement printer cartridges, and office supplies.

On Wednesday of last week, we had our soft launch. We opened our doors to the public and had a day full of open house demonstrations of services. I was in charge of planning the whole day, so I set up each of our six laptops to showcase a different service. Here's what each one did:

Email (signing up people for Yahoo.fr accounts)
General Internet Browsing (how to search the web with Google)
Skype (letting people try out the test call)
Google Earth (a tour of landmarks in Africa, Europe, and America, ending with my house)
Multimedia (Rwandan and American music videos)
Photo Studio

I manned the photo station, and that was by far the most popular service. We decided to give away free portraits to all of the people that visited our telecenter. Everyone loved it! I took over 250 portraits, and we stopped only when the printer ran out of ink. After taking each picture, I marked each person's hand with an X to ensure that each person got one photo. By the end of the day, though, people started washing off the mark and coming back for seconds. I was able to catch some of them by showing them that I already had a picture of them on my computer. I'm sure that a bunch of people were able to sneak by me, but that's okay.

In the evening of the soft launch day, we had a free screening of 2Fast2Furious. We rented the DVD from a place in town, figuring that the people would like to see something with a lot of action and relatively simple dialog. Once it got dark outside, we set up a projector outside and shined the movie up on one of the walls. There were at least 50 people who came to enjoy the show. Some of them had obviously never seen a movie before, asking if the events were taking place live. They really loved the fight scenes and the car crashes, and they were surprised to see so many white people. I think movie screenings will be a popular service for our telecenter.

This weekend we took a trip to Nyungwe National Forest. We went with a PhD student from Cal Berkely named Mike Demmer. He's been working with us all during the past week on a related project, and we've hung out a lot. We left early in the morning, drove two hours to the park, and bought our permits. We were assigned a guide, and we took off on a four hour hike. It was great! Nyungwe is the largest rainforest in the Great Lakes Region, and it is known for its diverse plant life. Our guide's name was Vedaste, and he explained to us how each plant has medicinal uses. He also talked about how poaching has caused many problems for the health of the forest. Keeping poachers out is the main goal of the park staff. Our trek was about 7 miles long, and we pretty much climbed down one small mountain and up another. Along the way, we were able to see four waterfalls. The park used to have elephants (until they were all poached), but now the only significant wildlife are birds and monkeys. We were able to see a bunch of the birds and hear even more. We only saw one monkey during our hike, but we spotted a bunch on our drives into and out of the park. It was a wonderful trip, and we were all very tired by the end of the day. Even the drive between Butare and Nyungwe was very beautiful. I hope to post pictures later today or early tomorrow.

Last time I wrote quite a bit about our problems with obtaining GPRS cards. Well, we still haven't found an acceptable solution. We received three different shipments of hardware, but there's always a different type of problem with prevents us from being able to get them connected to the Internet. This week we sent Jean-Claude Habimana to Kigali twice to try to get the MTN USB GPRS cards to work, but they were unable to do anything more than we had already accomplished. Next we went to Terracom to try out an EZCall EVDO solution. They were reluctant to give us an EZCall phone to play with, but we pretty much demanded that they give it to us. After fiddling with the installation for a while (with a huge amount of help from Mike Demmer), we were able to use the EZCall like a modem to call a phone number. Now we're waiting for a Terracom technician to visit us and tell us the phone number, user name, and password we'll need to access the network.

Since we've had so many problems with hardware and logistics, we've decided to put the whole remote site portion of our mission on the back burner. This was the main goal for Ashley and I, so we're pretty disappointed that we weren't able to accomplish much. If we can get something to work in the next couple of days, we will still try to write an operation manual and cirriculum so someone else can go to the villages and get the cooperatives connected to the Net. In the mean time, we've been doing a lot of work to support Jutta with starting the telecenter. She is very busy every day, so Ashley's taken charge of training our manager ladies while I've been working on network troubleshooting guides and getting the computers ready for opening day. Our telecenter (which the cooperative has chosen to call the "Maraba Vision Telecenter," by the way) was open with reduced hours on Thursday and Friday of last week, an I was in charge of monitoring the computers and taking money, as well.

For the coming week, our last week, we have so much to do. I'm in charge of planning the opening day festivities, which include schedules, invitiations, press releases, etc. Should be pretty fun. I also have to get DeepFreeze installed on these computers, which has been a story in itself. Jutta is in charge of meeting with the stakeholder groups and writing the business plan. Ashley is working on the operational manual and overseeing the training of our manager ladies.

Okay, my hour of Internet is almost up. (I'm in a cybercafe in Butare as I write this.) Hopefully, I can write again soon.

More Pictures from Rwanda

2006-06-30T04:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some more of my pictures from Rwanda. This set includes our trip to Goma and our visits to some rural areas to present the services of our new business.

Rwanda1

The First Picasa Album

2006-06-30T03:32:00.000-07:00

I finally got a moment (and some time with a good Internet connection) to post a few of my pictures. You must realize, though, that these pictures are all about two weeks old. I have a lot more coming, but who knows when I'll be able to post them. Click here to see the first batch of pictures from Rwanda.

A Few Pictures from Jutta

2006-06-30T03:27:00.000-07:00

Jutta had a chance to upload a few of her pictures. Click here to see them.