tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39120067577961998352024-02-06T19:48:07.221-08:00Southern BlogosphereInteresting blogs from the developing worldUlla Kärkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09499296461281354419noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912006757796199835.post-73536617954982104982012-08-16T01:52:00.001-07:002012-08-16T02:18:03.461-07:00Utterly me<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtX1EHV-MgXg_V3hvYscnoTzr6UiK8gt9-aT_FhMmfA9KdlsBbdHc3u2Dqo2T1gbvmiw5PjDqhnT_vpZpcYYgeWnfrPVc_hpnFKH7H6rn5gouKAshUsDIEOG0WiiCbPWQqtixeYW-vt0A/s1600/utterly+me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtX1EHV-MgXg_V3hvYscnoTzr6UiK8gt9-aT_FhMmfA9KdlsBbdHc3u2Dqo2T1gbvmiw5PjDqhnT_vpZpcYYgeWnfrPVc_hpnFKH7H6rn5gouKAshUsDIEOG0WiiCbPWQqtixeYW-vt0A/s400/utterly+me.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-GB">I'm
an ordinary Cambodian girl, but I can be anything. I read books, I write
novels, I paint pictures, I compose poems, I take photographs, I make comics,
I'm a part-time vegetarian . So this place is all about me. I hope you enjoy it
(",)</span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Sovathary Bon is a 23-year-old student who
lives in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. In her <a href="http://www.duckorino.blogspot.fi/">Utterly me</a> blog, she writes about her friends, her
daily doings, and presents her excellent comics. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">She shows us her room – or her studio as
she playfully calls it. She and her friends love to take photos and the blog
fills with sunny pictures of girls smiling at cafes and parks. In August a group of young bloggers got to visit a </span>USNS Mercy ship, which resulted in a lot of photos from there.</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">This is a warm and friendly blog community
with lots of comments to blog posts from the bloggers’ friends, and with some very
skilful use of new technology. (Also notice the Asian smileys - (“,) - <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>they are different from those that us Finns are
used to using.)</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: FI;"> </span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">I'm the kind of person who believes a person should have only one best
friend, but I realize it does me a lot of good to have so many friends as I do
now. My friends are either normal, ridiculous, or even semi-crazy like I am,
and I feel lucky that I have known them all. </span></i></div>
</blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1yIvfoD04THSp21Jmlmy96wzHgqa_bHywUeDnIsE9QLgoSzsbggn0zLpPZlKI1DshitlWuP8qCRXlVAyJTXKHMG9RUE-Ezi2GlTqDZTKOdMk_fzujSNEx812ZQoaZqc6xs_49B5Mb11E/s1600/thary-and-endear6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1yIvfoD04THSp21Jmlmy96wzHgqa_bHywUeDnIsE9QLgoSzsbggn0zLpPZlKI1DshitlWuP8qCRXlVAyJTXKHMG9RUE-Ezi2GlTqDZTKOdMk_fzujSNEx812ZQoaZqc6xs_49B5Mb11E/s400/thary-and-endear6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: FI;"></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.duckorino.blogspot.fi/2012/07/my-dear-friendship.html">Friendships</a>
are important for Sovathary. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So is creativity.
She draws her own comic strip </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Ginger The Kindergartener</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">, which is inspired by her mother’s childhood.
She also has (self) published a fantasy novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Half Blood</i> about a </span><span lang="EN-GB">gifted teenage girl
who finds out that she is a hybrid between human and vampire!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Sovathary’s
life seems happy and pretty carefree. Phnom Penh looks like any modern city,
only more beautiful with the Royal Palace and the pagodas.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">When I read
blogs like this one, I feel I can’t wait for the next generation to take over.
When these educated and energetic <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>young
people such as Sovathary will take the over in a country like Cambodia, I’m
sure things will start changing.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">When I
started to write Southern Blogosphere, my idea was to write about ordinary
people’s lives and thoughts. However, I have noticed that instead of presenting
people – bloggers – I have more than once presented a problem or a topic that
has interested or annoyed me at the time. But I promise I will not forget my
original idea – because people and their everyday life are so fascinating. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Ulla</span></div>
Ulla Kärkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09499296461281354419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912006757796199835.post-15189421055430863022012-06-04T00:16:00.004-07:002012-06-04T01:05:19.313-07:00Is finding oil ever a good thing?<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">I am going
to write about an absurdity. Wouldn’t you think that when oil is found in a
country, that country will become rich and the future of its citizens will be
secured forever?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Well, that
is what you would think. But Africans are <i>afraid</i>
of oil.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Following
the news that oil had been found in northwestern Kenya, in the Turkana area, <a href="http://diasporadical.com/">Diasporadical.com</a>
(a very recommendable blog by a group of Kenyan writers) expressed serious concern
about it: </span><a href="http://diasporadical.com/2012/03/26/turkanaoil-is-finding-oil-ever-a-good-thing/"><span lang="EN-US">http://diasporadical.com/2012/03/26/turkanaoil-is-finding-oil-ever-a-good-thing/</span></a><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">"Out of sheer curiosity, when has finding oil in an African country EVER
been a good thing?" </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Diasporadical suspects that although the
oil will boost economy, it will also leave Kenya at prey for Western influence.
And corruption will reap the economic benefits:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">"Ignoring the obvious western influence – you
know, how certain countries may decide that it’s the right time to attack
certain terrorist groups as they drill and pump our mother Kenya shamelessly –
there’s a more…local threat. Our government is a lot more shameless than those
aforementioned warmongers. If we found 3 billion barrels worth for example,
it’s safe to assume we’d only report 2 and only sell one, and 70% of that money
would get lost through some nimble accounting.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">I’m not proclaiming to be some sort of expert.
Far from it. All I do is read books and occasionally watch the news. And from
that cursory stance, the history of abuse of natural resources and the violence
that follows the discovery of such seems like great cause for concern."</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwEhoMzDO0u3ygiXmii7dotMXPLxKhmDdcz2eyDj3dAWU1vGCH73eBYH8zaT0KMJf_37mm81Ih1Vv9xYgm3mYgh9FKVy4SNavPq_L92VC5SfMLfUOZchSax8adLY8umhPUAXaNadTYTas/s1600/oile460.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwEhoMzDO0u3ygiXmii7dotMXPLxKhmDdcz2eyDj3dAWU1vGCH73eBYH8zaT0KMJf_37mm81Ih1Vv9xYgm3mYgh9FKVy4SNavPq_L92VC5SfMLfUOZchSax8adLY8umhPUAXaNadTYTas/s320/oile460.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The comments for Diasporadical’s blog are
worth reading, for example this one:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">"I wish (fervently) that we will not end up like our brothers and sisters
in Nigeria and Angola. I don’t know how Ghana is fairing, it may take a few
years to see the effects of oil there but preliminary reports: not so good.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I get the trepidation, after all western multi-nationals and China
(check Sudan) swoop in knowing we have weak checks and balances in our
governments and very corrupt officials, much to the detriment of African
citizens. BUT, let us not be defeatist. Kenya is a country with a reasonably
well educated population, it is our raia duty to look out for our brothers and
sisters in Turkana and make sure they are not taken advantage of, our
environment is not degraded and the money is well spent.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Is this not what we have been screaming about during this whole
#kony2012 scenario? Give us a chance to change ourselves before you pretty
white boys come and “save” us? Well here is our chance."<span lang="EN-US"> (by </span></span>Chepng'eno)<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Too often,
oil has meant violence and destruction of nature. We all love nature. But for
subsistence farmers in developing countries, the destruction of natural
environment will literally mean that there will be no food or water.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">For example,
Angola and Nigeria have oil – are they rich and peaceful countries? No, they
are poor. In Angola, civil war lasted for 27 years, and Nigeria… I could write pages about it, but this satirical video <b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYWiYnqGZ1Q&feature=youtu.be">Live with it! iPhone app</a></b> by Friends of the Earth
Netherlands says it all in just 2 minutes.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Let us hope
this will not happen in Kenya.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">I am sorry
I am writing about such a sad topic at the beginning of the beautiful Finnish
summer. To lighten up this blog, I’ve decided to include a playlist. The idea
is stolen from a blog that presented earlier on, <a href="http://www.southern-blogosphere.blogspot.fi/2011/04/toli.html">Koranteng’s Toli</a>.</span></span></div>
<ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpKDKKoCMMc">We found love (OIL) in a hopeless place spoof</a> (Turkana dedicated, also found in the Disporadical
blog) </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttnBPq92sAg">Salif Keita: Folon</a> </span><span lang="EN-US">(Such a beautiful song, please read
the English translation, too. You can find it by scrolling down a bit.) </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOiWk-FxTt8">Jukka Poika: Kiitollisuutta</a> /Gratitude (if someone has not heard of Finnish
reggae yet, now is a good time to start. Non-Finnish readers, you will miss the
great lyrics but can enjoy the rhythm and the voice) </span><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reXfFefe9zo&feature=related">Suvivirsi</a> / Summer Hymn </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reXfFefe9zo&feature=related"><span lang="EN-US"></span></a><span lang="EN-US"> (a modern version of probably the
most-loved Finnish hymn about summer) </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlFWRuGK_Kg">Suvivirsi</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">/ Summer Hymn (traditional version)</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Have a beautiful summer,<br />Ulla</span></span></div>Ulla Kärkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09499296461281354419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912006757796199835.post-31791365512443333962012-04-02T05:09:00.005-07:002012-04-03T01:22:48.554-07:00Can aid worker swim in a pool?<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">I found a poignantly funny blog in which an aid worker asked his readers’ opinion on whether an NGO could run a swimming pool in Africa.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLgK17cGSgLd0dKi1otT3jIkqTUZ1-5AKS_rjtsgnSNE6x0OzHGPKyk2jmRxSTDbpDfCeFLh6ZtLTn33OL3xW11E0sSD7ZTNsYq-Hxwl81PP-KxY1fkg6BzaeAmJ4FCl7K5wGyF-KcxhI/s1600/pool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLgK17cGSgLd0dKi1otT3jIkqTUZ1-5AKS_rjtsgnSNE6x0OzHGPKyk2jmRxSTDbpDfCeFLh6ZtLTn33OL3xW11E0sSD7ZTNsYq-Hxwl81PP-KxY1fkg6BzaeAmJ4FCl7K5wGyF-KcxhI/s1600/pool.jpg" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">The Head of Research for the British NGO Oxfam, Duncan Green, told in his (very recommendable) blog <a href="http://www.oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/?p=8258">From Poverty to Power</a> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;">that </span><span lang="EN-US">Oxfam’s regional office in Nairobi, Kenya, had realized some years ago that they could save money by running their own guesthouse, rather than parking the numerous visitors in hotels. </span></span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">“As a large converted house in a nice part of town, and like most such houses in Nairobi, it has a swimming pool. But the swimming pool is covered over and closed, even though it would be cheap to keep it open. Why? Reputational risk – back in the UK, where swimming pools are luxury items, Oxfam’s big cheeses saw a tabloid scandal in the making and closed it." </span></span></div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">This was the most popular poll ever on Green’s blog and<i> “</i>Open the pool, provided it operates at zero cost to Oxfam<i>” </i><i><span style="font-style: normal;">got 59 per cent and </span></i>‘Open the pool right away got 26<i> </i></span>in <a href="http://www.oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/?p=8535">Wrapping up the great Nairobi guesthouse pool debate</a><i>.</i><i> </i><span lang="EN-US">(Some of the comments are pretty witty such as "Use the pool but don’t enjoy it.") </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">The arguments included the fact that swimming is good exercise and exercise is difficult to get in a big city like Nairobi or out on the field. Good argument, but hey, I am in the aid business so declare an interest here.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">The pool blog sparked a discussion on aid workers and luxury, and the discussion extended to the current state of the development and emergency work. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">By googling “swimming pool” and “Oxfam”, I found Spectator magazine’s very good and extremely critical story on aid industry and media. The main point of the “<a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/essays/7652098/big-charity.thtml">Big charity</a>” story is that media is not critical enough when dealing with charitable organizations. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal;">Perhaps it isn’t. And several of the grievances in the story are exactly the same things that go round my tired head when I wonder about the state of aid. E.g. that some countries receiving a lot of aid become poorer. </span></i></span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">"As Gaetan Drossart, the searingly honest head of mission for Médicins Sans Frontières, told … there is a failure in the development model — we do not know why it is not working.’</span></span></div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Many say that development aid makes recipients passive and helpless. But what if development cooperation is not working because of the stupid arrangement of this world of ours? Aidwork alone can not save the world; fair politics, just trade and good laws are needed as well.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Inequality is wasteful</span></b></div><b> </b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">But back to the pool. Although it really is no longer just about the pool. The pool was simply a telling example of not only the state of the aid industry and its public image, but also about the state of inequality in this world.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Some of us have access to a pool, some don’t.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">You can substitute the word “pool” by e.g. “school” or "clean water", or “job with sufficient income to support the family”. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">All men (and women) are created equal and blaah blaah blaah – but in reality we are shockingly unequal. Out of all the things that I find are wrong in this world, inequality is the thing that angers me the most. Angers, sickens and saddens. The gulf between rich and poor is enormous.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">During work visits I have conducted interviews at people’s homes, aware of the fact that I had more stuff in my suitcase than there was in the whole house. And these were no refugee shelters but real homes where people had lived for years.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">According to Green, the current level of inequality and injustice is wasteful. If women are not involved in the workforce, half of the potential of the workforce is wasted. As poor people lack not only money or food but <b>power</b>, they cannot change anything about their lives. Green has also written a book called From Poverty to Power – I watched his fine video introduction to the book here: </span><a href="http://www.oxfam.org/en/policy/from_poverty_to_power"><span lang="EN-US">http://www.oxfam.org/en/policy/from_poverty_to_power</span></a><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Development cooperation also develops, as it should. For me, the most motivational aspects in the work of Finn Church Aid are found in advocacy work and in the empowerment of people to defend their own rights. This kind of work can start to change the world towards a more equal direction.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Ulla</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">P.S. I swam in a pool on my last work trip. Bye-bye credibility?</span></span></div>Ulla Kärkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09499296461281354419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912006757796199835.post-71158333361153486752012-02-20T05:05:00.004-08:002012-02-20T23:21:36.150-08:00Mama Says So<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Greetings from India – real greetings, not virtual. We were there on vacation, enjoying the relaxed athmosphere of Goa, riding the tuk-tuks in the bustle of Delhi, and admiring the magnificent Amber Fort in Jaipur. Visiting India fulfilled a long term dream of mine. I really liked it there. India is a fascinating country. And my little daughters traveled so well.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">However, this blog is not about me, but about much more interesting people writing from the southern hemisphere, so let us move on.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizAYA45VFISMk9IPHw8qgPM70vQLwORBqkKV7Wvh_dBUE0AtbPn5yxtX49TBeq5uHITfWR7hqyRmbiBSOuBJoea3rPupHPHj4pAf_ahHChqmgV5P8J8VCGDzKAyzCzimXahhV9_jVQTSQ/s1600/mama+t-shirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizAYA45VFISMk9IPHw8qgPM70vQLwORBqkKV7Wvh_dBUE0AtbPn5yxtX49TBeq5uHITfWR7hqyRmbiBSOuBJoea3rPupHPHj4pAf_ahHChqmgV5P8J8VCGDzKAyzCzimXahhV9_jVQTSQ/s1600/mama+t-shirt.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">After the trip, I am of course even more interested in blogs from India. And there are so many of them! I chose to present a real pearl: <a href="http://mamasaysso.blogspot.com/">Mama Says So</a>. Mama is Rohini, the mother of the schoolboy Ayaan and the toddler Tarana. In her own words, she is “flirting with stay at home motherhood after 11 years as a corporate slave”.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">I really like the name of this blog, it is really nice and descriptive of the tone of the blog. The subtitle is "Not just motherhood statements". Despite being a </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">SAHM (stay at home mother)</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">, Rohini is well able to think beyond the house walls – which at times is not easy, I can tell you.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqU4bcrD4zwJ5DpnAfriuqBi_oIazWtALTlHk2WVqSrzJPZv9m0YScTJUpfExNbs7w7uXjpnR6xDRvDhPc_jrVP6pS7OAo8Lt_XAjnC_Eni1R88NxO2ykf6J16lvajysegMidLnhyXXrU/s1600/mama1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqU4bcrD4zwJ5DpnAfriuqBi_oIazWtALTlHk2WVqSrzJPZv9m0YScTJUpfExNbs7w7uXjpnR6xDRvDhPc_jrVP6pS7OAo8Lt_XAjnC_Eni1R88NxO2ykf6J16lvajysegMidLnhyXXrU/s1600/mama1.JPG" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">This blog also conveys some differences of being a stay at home mother in India and in Finland. For example, in India, middle class families have a maid or two, unlike in Finland. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">However, many feelings such as the <a href="http://mamasaysso.blogspot.com/2011/05/fish-out-of-water.html">intensity of being at home</a>, the insecurity, even the guilt of the mother are very similar to my own experiences from the years I stayed home with my children.</span><i><span lang="EN-US"> </span></i></span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">On most days, everything just seems almost unbearably intense. Ayaan has always been a demanding child, trying to soak up every bit of the time and attention that I had to give and even that I didn't. I never minded all that much before because I was spending a fair amount of time away from him so I thought it was only normal that he would want his pound of flesh when I was around. I really expected a big change on this front once I quit my job. I thought he would become more secure and independent, but that has not happened. Add Tarana and her acute separation anxiety to the mix and it's mama-time all the freaking time! Despite the fact that there are two maids in the house at any given point of time, they both seem to want to hang out mostly with me.</span></span></div></blockquote><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Following the husband’s new job, the family moved from Mumbai to <span id="goog_97889531"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Hyderabad<span id="goog_97889532"></span></a>. There, language became a problem. </span></span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">The language barrier is also quite substantial. Before I got here, I was labouring under the misconception that most people here spoke at least a passable degree of Hindi but that is far from the case. Most of the employees at the chain supermarkets can communicate in Hindi and/ or English but dealing with the smaller shopkeepers can be quite frustrating. One of the two receptionists at our paediatrician's office also can't speak a word of Hindi so I have to pray like hell every time I call that the other lady will attend to the phone.</span></span></blockquote><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">To me, coming from the tiny Finland with about 5 million inhabitants, India seems like a country that has a lot of just about everything: so many people, so much beauty, wealth, poverty, carbage, ancient cultures, stray dogs. And sorry about this clich</span><span lang="EN-US">é, but abundance and poverty truly exist side by side in India. Indians surely are used to it, I found it surprising.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://mamasaysso.blogspot.com/2011/07/class-concerns.html">Class</a> became a concern for Rohini when her son started to prefer playing with the kids of the servants living in the housing complex’s servant’s quarters. Firstly Rohini found Ayaan's ignorance of class boundaries utterly charming. But as “word got around about the stash of toys and the unlimited snacks”, the situation developed to a chaos.</span><i><span lang="EN-US"> </span></i></span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">With a very dodgy maid situation and another baby (if I can still get away with calling Tarana that) in the house, it all got a bit too much. So I cut off the snacks and lo and behold, most of them disappeared.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"></span><i><span lang="EN-US"></span></i></span></div></blockquote><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the end, the bossiness of her own son was what bothered Rohini the most, as it often is with us mothers, I guess. </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Then there are the behavioural implications. While Ayaan might be blissfully unaware of class boundaries and hierarchies, these kids clearly are not. So that automatically makes it an unequal relationship and when they are playing together, Ayaan has no trouble donning his Alpha male avatar and giving free rein to his bossiness. Kids from a similar background are more likely to put him in his place and that's why Ayaan has stopped hanging out with the kids from the other flats.</span></span></div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">The discussion which followed this post was also very interesting. Many readers had firsthand experience from their own childhoods about playing with servants’ children. Most advised Rohini to take it easy. After all, you cannot choose your child’s friends. What you can do is e.g. arrange play dates with school firends after the school year has started, and hope that new friendships start to form.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">I recommend reading the posts on the choices in a family with two religions </span><a href="http://mamasaysso.blogspot.com/2007/12/tis-season.html"><span lang="EN-US">http://mamasaysso.blogspot.com/2007/12/tis-season.html</span></a> <span lang="EN-US">and ”sins against gender stereotype”. <a href="http://mamasaysso.blogspot.com/2010/07/my-sins-against-gender-stereotype.html">http://mamasaysso.blogspot.com/2010/07/my-sins-against-gender-stereotype.html</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Rohini is not the traditional saree clad Indian lady. She simply is herself. </span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">And finally, as many of us know, dealing with children, it is good to have yours <a href="http://mamasaysso.blogspot.com/2011/04/mommy-comebacks.html">answers</a><a href="http://mamasaysso.blogspot.com/2011/04/mommy-comebacks.html%20"> </a> ready: </span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Brat</b>: <i>I don't like you.</i><br />
<b>Me</b></span> <span style="font-size: small;">: <i>You don't have to like me. I just need you to listen to me.</i><br />
<br />
<b> Brat</b></span> <span style="font-size: small;">: <i>You are not my friend.</i><br />
<b>Me</b></span> <span style="font-size: small;">: <i>Yes, I know. I am your mother.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Brat</b></span> <span style="font-size: small;">: <i>I know everything.</i><br />
<b>Me</b></span> <span style="font-size: small;">: <i>Name all of Jupiter's moons.</i><br />
<b>Brat</b></span> <span style="font-size: small;">: <i>I don't know them all.</i><br />
<b>Me</b></span> <span style="font-size: small;">: <i>See! You don't know everything.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Brat</b></span> <span style="font-size: small;">: <i>Why does he get to bring chips in his tiffin?</i><br />
<b>Me</b></span> <span style="font-size: small;">: <i>Because I am not his mother.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Brat</b></span> <span style="font-size: small;">: <i>I am not talking to you.</i><br />
<b>Me</b></span> <span style="font-size: small;">: <i>Don't talk. Just listen.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Brat</b></span> <span style="font-size: small;">: <i>I want to win this game.</i><br />
<b>Me</b></span> <span style="font-size: small;">: <i>So do I.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Brat:</b></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> <i>When can I choose the hotel to stay in?</i><br />
<b>Me</b></span> <span style="font-size: small;">: <i>When you are paying for it.</i></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Special greetings for all stay at home mothers, as well as for those who once have been one and those who sometimes want to become one,</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ulla</span></span>Ulla Kärkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09499296461281354419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912006757796199835.post-24375983351658611022011-10-21T04:47:00.000-07:002011-10-21T05:07:01.778-07:00A window to the beauty of Africa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7tTd_ddYTTpZhnsFLQ_4NnFdZlo2iEEeQWt3zIfpzKRucqdZzlT9V23oS22RBj6enB1wvorlEpgSXBZsZewse9e2v1wjRVV17wB-NWgnFr7zsmStXm9Oe5kW2Qfxc-nhisH2ezVn-ZeI/s1600/5946011429_cb4ef8bf12_b+night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7tTd_ddYTTpZhnsFLQ_4NnFdZlo2iEEeQWt3zIfpzKRucqdZzlT9V23oS22RBj6enB1wvorlEpgSXBZsZewse9e2v1wjRVV17wB-NWgnFr7zsmStXm9Oe5kW2Qfxc-nhisH2ezVn-ZeI/s400/5946011429_cb4ef8bf12_b+night.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">We all crave for beauty, don’t we? Amidst all the sad news of famine and floods that I look at every day on my computer screen, I need to look at something beautiful, too. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">When you think about photos and Africa, what is the first thing you see in your mind’s eye? Right now what I see, is starving people, <b>but I don’t want that</b>. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">I fight against that by looking at the stunning photographs by Ghanaian photographer Nana Kofi Acquah: </span><a href="http://nanakofiacquah.blogspot.com/"><span lang="EN-US">nanakofiacquah.blogspot.com</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF13C779dGcAXlGmKNE-nK0iPubs2RVAZwLy2ly7fc78jwf5KY5YieIVzCXSxLHufRC5jQwcPCja12Gpd-CcrVGh6riPKiPzhD05QdRWe1RU-R9VSxHiNIoYRZlaJzrvaMxOply7V2dzc/s1600/6162138766_b604aba5e2_b+snake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF13C779dGcAXlGmKNE-nK0iPubs2RVAZwLy2ly7fc78jwf5KY5YieIVzCXSxLHufRC5jQwcPCja12Gpd-CcrVGh6riPKiPzhD05QdRWe1RU-R9VSxHiNIoYRZlaJzrvaMxOply7V2dzc/s400/6162138766_b604aba5e2_b+snake.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">One of my favorites is this one about the woman with the snake around her neck. Wow! And there are many other wonderful, colorful portraits, as well as the most beautiful street scenes.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Acquah writes that his blog is “where he rants”. He writes poems – the most recent of which is about Steve Jobs – and talks about e.g. photography in Africa</span><i><span lang="EN-US"> </span></i></span></div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Photographs, just for the sake of photographs is a totally new concept currently being embraced by a relatively younger generation, most of whom have never owned or used an analogue camera. </span></i><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://nanakofiacquah.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-neighbours-african-photographer-and.html">nanakofiacquah.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-neighbours-african-photographer-and.html</a> </span></span></div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">and passion and success </span></span></div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>The only thing that beats passion is wisdom. And by wisdom, I mean knowing exactly what is worth being passionate about and what isn’t ... </i><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span lang="EN-US">What we need to succeed is not OUT there. It is IN us. You need to block out all the noise and passionately follow where your heart leads you. <br />
</span></i></span><a href="http://nanakofiacquah.blogspot.com/2011/09/potion-of-passion.html%20">nanakofiacquah.blogspot.com/2011/09/potion-of-passion.html </a></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjucWgN4UcIpClNZU6H3Y4kIBbbmrWFVcBsArummrKPxMVp3NmSuqzD9aa0LyGCr75x4bJsjlHcMiS6iEZ2e-2f7Ntx4nGydTUb3psmsC7L7dpMW-5_fDYV-vZDLfeaHgh1cnHgcjI6fn4/s1600/6161604149_6825883130_b_beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjucWgN4UcIpClNZU6H3Y4kIBbbmrWFVcBsArummrKPxMVp3NmSuqzD9aa0LyGCr75x4bJsjlHcMiS6iEZ2e-2f7Ntx4nGydTUb3psmsC7L7dpMW-5_fDYV-vZDLfeaHgh1cnHgcjI6fn4/s400/6161604149_6825883130_b_beach.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Acquah “rants” about bad quality education: </span></span></div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span lang="EN-US">It’s heart breaking to watch very brilliant minds go to waste due to the horrible foundation they received.</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> <i>The saddest part is, most of these kids were as useful as a half-baked bread. You can’t eat it… and yet you’ve wasted your flour, butter and time. Quality Education is the single, most important gift any government can give its populace. </i></span></span><a href="http://nanakofiacquah.blogspot.com/2011/08/remember-children.html"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">nanakofiacquah.blogspot.com/2011/08/remember-children.html</span></span></a></div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">and shares his realization about how hard Ghanaian people are working:</span></span></div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Sometime last year, I was supposed to make portraits of two successful Ghanaians for the Financial Times. Their office is very close to this market. I wanted to use the early morning light so I told them I will arrive at 6am. Now, please understand that I’m rather slow in the mornings so for me, 6am was an amazing feat. I was shocked to get stuck in traffic at that time and if that was not surprising enough, I saw people hopping out of “trotros” and taxis and rushing towards the market. A few of them nearly knocked me over. On that day, it dawned on me how hard working Ghanaians are.</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span lang="EN-US">The average Ghanaian wakes up at 4am. Yes, 4:00 AM to sweep the house, clean, cook bath and feed the children before going to work. Now, the question is, if they’re that hardworking, why are they poor?</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> <i><a href="http://nanakofiacquah.blogspot.com/2011/07/bone-breakers.html">nanakofiacquah.blogspot.com/2011/07/bone-breakers.html</a></i></span></span></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge09w9IojnfJPHWSHMGrO5_XnDO0vWcHvH9l_JicTymFk_zYVyodvb_ROxdBq9mLWoH-ulZ5bzh8KTPdx_792DtJDQzqVn3w5yP04_NRE-SLd1ypV_fWqYMUHpCCbYWIsi-DRqBpDKtCs/s1600/5963244791_e41fb12f4b_b+Market.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge09w9IojnfJPHWSHMGrO5_XnDO0vWcHvH9l_JicTymFk_zYVyodvb_ROxdBq9mLWoH-ulZ5bzh8KTPdx_792DtJDQzqVn3w5yP04_NRE-SLd1ypV_fWqYMUHpCCbYWIsi-DRqBpDKtCs/s400/5963244791_e41fb12f4b_b+Market.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;">If you have even one minute, do check out this energizing blog. In these photos, you get a glimpse of how beautiful life could and should be all around Africa.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></span></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Ulla</span></span>Ulla Kärkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09499296461281354419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912006757796199835.post-31856128207988554992011-09-16T05:23:00.000-07:002011-09-18T23:25:27.392-07:00Ushahidi – technology that saves lives<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Sometimes I feel technology is just making my life more complicated. It is tiresome learning how to use a new mobile phone. The digibox is again acting irregularly. And the work phone wakes me up from my sweetest dreams at 6 a.m. Sunday morning reminding me of the planning day on Monday. (The person who invented that function must hate humankind.)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">But then there is new technology that saves lives, puts the above mentioned grievances in perspective and reminds us that technology exists for the purpose of <b>helping</b> us.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Imagine a way for people all over the world to tell the story of what was happening to them or around them during a disaster or emergency situation. It would have to be easy to use, accessible to anyone and deployable worldwide. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">The way already exists: <a href="http://www.ushahidi.com/">Ushahidi</a>.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwQravgvir6JTttrobIN9lbineFNgc-4RWX4gvIO2hVl517qxdrzc6fZ7u53VcO-i3q7J8S0JQuFXFXp-5h6228zlCQP3grW4XfGVZpqjV8sao7UYnB2dMbuIgarUazEEYL3xa2FlvvCg/s1600/ushahidi_feature_graphic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwQravgvir6JTttrobIN9lbineFNgc-4RWX4gvIO2hVl517qxdrzc6fZ7u53VcO-i3q7J8S0JQuFXFXp-5h6228zlCQP3grW4XfGVZpqjV8sao7UYnB2dMbuIgarUazEEYL3xa2FlvvCg/s320/ushahidi_feature_graphic.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ushahidi, which means "testimony" in Swahili, is a platform that was initially developed to map reports of violence in Kenya after the post-election fallout at the beginning of 2008. Its roots are in the collaboration of Kenyan citizen journalists during a time of crisis. The original website was used to map incidents of violence and peace efforts throughout the country based on reports submitted via the web and mobile phones. </span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Anybody can contribute information, a simple text message from a mobile phone, a photo or a video from a smart phone, or a report submitted online. Twitter works, too. Ushahidi can gather information from any device with a digital data connection. After information is submitted, it is posted in near real time to an interactive map that can be viewed on any computer or smart phone. Ushahidi is open source and anyone can improve it or use the service.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Ushahidi has been used in humanitarian response situations such as the earthquake in Haiti and the floods in Pakistan. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://pakreport.org/ushahidi/">http://pakreport.org/ushahidi/</a></span><span lang="EN-US"> In Haiti, Ushahidi helped to save lives of people trapped under collapsed buildings by quickly delivering the information about their locations to the rescuers. See the video! </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huQpn0D0eK4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huQpn0D0eK4</a></span><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">During the first phase of a humanitarian situation, it is vital to get exact information of what has happened, what kinds of assistance people need and where are the people who need assistance. And here lies the beauty of Ushahidi. If people on the location of the emergency can send information to the aid agencies, and that information can be accessed by all, a lot of time is saved and help can reach people much faster. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">It was used to gather information of what was happening during </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">the Arab spring. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">It was used to gather reports globally </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">about the swine flu, too. Ushahidi has been utilized in several elections, and it is going to be utilized e.g. during Liberian elections this year. </span></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://blog.ushahidi.com/index.php/2011/09/14/sms-and-liberia-a-love-story/">http://blog.ushahidi.com/index.php/2011/09/14/sms-and-liberia-a-love-story/</a><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Often people seem to think that with computers, internet and web communications, things just magically happen. However, that is certainly not the case. A lot of tapping the keyboard, time and thinking is needed there! Therefore, let us not forget the people behind Ushahidi. <a href="http://www.ushahidi.com/about-us">http://www.ushahidi.com/about-us</a> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">The non-profit organization is comprised of individuals with a wide span of experience ranging from human rights work to software development, with a strong team of volunteer developers primarily in Africa, and also in Europe, South America and the U.S.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">This was the third technology-blog of my series (here are <a href="http://southern-blogosphere.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html">first</a> and <a href="http://southern-blogosphere.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html">second</a>). </span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Have a sunny autumn!</span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Ulla</span></span></div>Ulla Kärkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09499296461281354419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912006757796199835.post-41951615853963852302011-08-04T06:32:00.000-07:002011-08-10T01:01:59.728-07:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">What the real story should be</span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">It’s been a while… Since my last blog, I’ve been on my (happy and relaxing, thanks for asking) summer vacation. And after returning to work, I have spent all my time on the <a href="http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/special-coverage-horn-of-africa-hunger-crisis/">East Africa drought</a> crisis. The third technology-blog I promised can wait, I want to write about East Africa.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Exept, I have very little to say. I feel sad. We are not equal. Some of us have too much, some of us have nothing. I have also been thinking about this a lot: the life or death of an African person is not as interesting in the media as that of a person from Europe or USA.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">But I present two bloggers who <i>have</i> something interesting to say.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1FDiqMXw7-NRutjjMKsQBgG0gDS9KfgJAmCVYhF_poEBevfttPEqL1KYgGeJpXl4urJ11cPdbAQBTeuw7GAwR7U9QwnvvnuJYAkDrNgESquE4nmfsJxKFQaLb1cjnpyGe4HxGtLp5juk/s1600/east+africa+katy+migiro.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1FDiqMXw7-NRutjjMKsQBgG0gDS9KfgJAmCVYhF_poEBevfttPEqL1KYgGeJpXl4urJ11cPdbAQBTeuw7GAwR7U9QwnvvnuJYAkDrNgESquE4nmfsJxKFQaLb1cjnpyGe4HxGtLp5juk/s320/east+africa+katy+migiro.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This crisis has finally become a story, but not as big – huge – as it should be. And it’s largely been simplified into the pictures of starving children (as seen above...). In her brilliant post <a href="http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/starvation-pornography-how-many-skinny-babies-can-you-show-me/">Starvation pornography: How many skinny babies can you show me?</a> AlertNet’s Nairobi correspondent Katy Migiro writes about journalists' behaviour and about what the real story should be. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Migiro describes the horrid way a group of journalists are "racing around" the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya. There is no time for sensitivity there:</span></div><blockquote style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">It was excruciating watching two TV journalists shouting at an exhausted woman who had just arrived at the camp.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">“Tell her to look at me, not you,” the producer barked at the translator.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">“Get her to say what the arm tag means to her.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">The poor woman – who had probably walked across the desert with her children for days to reach the camp – clearly had no idea what the piece of paper around her wrist meant.</span></blockquote><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">Katy Migiro has been writing about the worsening situation since the beginning of this year.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><blockquote style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I’m happy that the drought has finally become a story. <br />
But it’s also frustrating, knowing that this is their five minutes of fame on the global news agenda.<br />
“I want to visit a hospital next Wednesday and see lots of skinny babies. Can you set that up for me?” a television producer in London told a British aid worker who has been working here for years.<br />
The real untold story is that the skinny babies are always there. It’s just that there are a few less of them.<br />
In Wajir Hospital, 32 malnourished children were admitted in May, the highest number so far this year.<br />
Yet a chart on the wall shows that 40 children were admitted for malnutrition in December 2008.<br />
No wonder people look bewildered when we constantly ask: “Is this the worst drought in 60 years?”<br />
“Last year, the average was 15. But it never drops below 10,” said the nutritionist.<br />
Shouldn't that story be told too?</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Yes, Absolutely!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">However, I do not envy the journalists covering this crisis (and there are also those who do that in a decent way), it can't be easy. The situation is complex. The drought certainly is not the only reason for the famine.</span><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>"Vultures and Fat cats wont help. Will you?"</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Kenya is one of the countries hard hit by the drought. But Kenya is also one of the African countries with a middle class population, and the wealthier Kenyans have now started to help the starving. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I went to read if <a href="http://www.savvykenya.com/">SavvyKenya</a>, who I wrote about in my <a href="http://southern-blogosphere.blogspot.com/2011/01/first-post-diary-of-kenyan-campus-girl.html">first Southern Blogosphere</a> blog, would have something to say about the situation and indeed, I found a reblogged post about the Kenyans’ response by a blogger called <a href="http://crazynairobian.com/v.php?id=788">Crazy Nairobian</a>.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Crazy Nairobian is VERY critical of the government: <span lang="EN-US"> </span><i><span lang="EN-US"> </span></i></span></div><blockquote style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Kenya is such a beautiful country. We have amazing wildlife in our national parks like the Big Five <span style="font-size: x-small;">(</span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">the most <span lang="EN-US">famous Kenya animals are known as 'The Big 5': Lions, Leopards, Elephants, Buffalos and Rhinos)</span></span><span lang="EN-US"></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> and an even better offering of beasts in parliament which include vultures, fat cats </span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">(fat cat, term. </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">a wealthy person, originally one who contributes to a political campaign)</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> and snakes. And what makes parliament even more interesting is the presence of clowns in the midst of all the animals I mentioned above...</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">My grandmother (who passed on earlier this year) told me the most challenging words some time back regarding food and sharing. She told me that if you have something in your plate, then you have something to share...She said the beauty of giving away food to the hungry is, while you will be filling their stomach with food, they will be filling your heart with joy and your life with blessings.</span> <span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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And so today, I send out a passionate appeal to each and everyone of you. It does not matter who you are or what you do. If you have food in your plate, you have something to give. Lets share the little we have with the hungry children whose smiles and laughter has been masked by the hunger pangs they feel. Lets share with the desperate mothers and fathers who have no idea where the next meal to feed their families will come from. Let no Kenyan die when you and I can help. </span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
</span></span></div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Soon after reading this, my colleague told us during a meeting about East Africa that Kenyans have started to raise funds. It is the same fundraiser! I checked; they have raised about four million euros. Isn't that great news?<br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Ulla</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">(Photo: </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Katy Migiro/AlertNet)</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div>Ulla Kärkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09499296461281354419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912006757796199835.post-50710114120512357742011-06-08T05:35:00.000-07:002011-06-09T05:01:53.624-07:00WhiteAfrican – where Africa and technology collide<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglXyaSqEe0yKFutea6VdNYWv99WDvuCQ4tqFcwZmFglT7vSRsP0uSzJUPTQmjNMaVOPGX8WIy4sB9FwqZ7qZyuIg4vztlVyWEFDkqV99OBtmmQiw3JAwr3fS3751eo-swW8nYdKsIOHpc/s1600/EHersman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglXyaSqEe0yKFutea6VdNYWv99WDvuCQ4tqFcwZmFglT7vSRsP0uSzJUPTQmjNMaVOPGX8WIy4sB9FwqZ7qZyuIg4vztlVyWEFDkqV99OBtmmQiw3JAwr3fS3751eo-swW8nYdKsIOHpc/s400/EHersman.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">I have been wanting to write about the <a href="http://whiteafrican.com/">WhiteAfrican</a> ever since I started this blog in the beginning of this year. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Only I am so much in awe about this blog that I find it very difficult to present it… It will be hard to do justice to a technology blog which is so well written, so deep in knowledge and so beautifully set up that I got hooked at once – despite the fact that I do not understand anything about technology!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">The author of WhiteAfrican is Erik Hersman, a technologist and blogger who lives in Nairobi, Kenya. He writes two blogs. WhiteAfrican is his personal blog where he writes about high-tech mobile and web technology change in Africa. The second is the lovely </span><a href="http://www.afrigadget.com/"><span lang="EN-US">AfriGadget</span></a><span lang="EN-US">, which I presented in my previous blog. (a team blog about low-tech ingenuity and microentrepreneurs in Africa.)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Hersman is an advocate of change brought about through the smart use of technology. He is also an advocate of Africa, the continents real possibilities, beautiful ingenuity and brilliant ideas. Hersman is a <a href="http://www.ted.com/speakers/erik_hersman.html">Ted Senior fellow</a> and a wanted speaker in various high-level conferences around the globe. He was in Helsinki just last month. <a href="http://whiteafrican.com/2011/05/31/local-innovation-and-entrepreneurs/">http://whiteafrican.com/2011/05/31/local-innovation-and-entrepreneurs/</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">TED names him ”a key member of the African blog revolution”. And though Hersman could surely choose to live anywhere in the world, he feels most at home in Africa. (and I do not imply that this is a bad choice at all </span>:-)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It is difficult to SEE</span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Did you know that a mobile phone can be the first and the only (technologically and financially) feasible connection to the world for a remote African village? And by the way, these phones are not the cutting edge technology but the low-priced old realiable Nokias. Very basic mobile phones change the world much more than the new models that we get so excited about.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Knowledge is power. If you are a farmer living in a remote village where a buyer comes once a year to buy your crop, he can tell you the price he wants. But if there is a mobile phone in your village and you have subscribed to get the information about market prices, you have the power to negotiate a better price!</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"></span>Simple solutions can be really helpful and can really bring about change.<br />
Information about business, weather warnings and forecasts as well as important personal information can start to flow. Look at e.g. this: <a href="http://mfarm.co.ke/">http://mfarm.co.ke/</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwdbDvJdNwlGADWlNSImFTymyEfGH8Mg9BlzFXP_NFeeJVjMGWq5TwT94ZHfc-cC24jVGyp9iJ6AQEalvAeaw-0A2iyKHiNy7tbYn8Vwc7VezbrSiYZve4h_aeYH7LC_-8KZUgAiJHQhw/s1600/EHersman-mfarm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwdbDvJdNwlGADWlNSImFTymyEfGH8Mg9BlzFXP_NFeeJVjMGWq5TwT94ZHfc-cC24jVGyp9iJ6AQEalvAeaw-0A2iyKHiNy7tbYn8Vwc7VezbrSiYZve4h_aeYH7LC_-8KZUgAiJHQhw/s320/EHersman-mfarm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">And watch this great and very informative video: </span><a href="http://whiteafrican.com/2011/02/21/phone-and-internet-mesh-for-african-villages/"><span lang="EN-US"></span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z3BgVknO9c8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">(</span><a href="http://whiteafrican.com/2011/02/21/phone-and-internet-mesh-for-african-villages/"><span lang="EN-US">http://whiteafrican.com/2011/02/21/phone-and-internet-mesh-for-african-villages/)</span></a></span></div><blockquote><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> “What’s difficult for people to do is see. It’s hard to look through another set of lenses and appreciate the inventiveness that got something so far. It’s a challenge to understand the needs of a culture that you don’t share and then create a product for it. This is why so many of the platforms and products designed in the West fail in Africa. It’s not that they’re not well designed, they’re just not designed by people who truly understand the needs of the customers in Africa.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It’s why rugged and efficient <a href="http://www.afrigadget.com/2009/08/16/agriculture-and-metal-fabrication-meet-in-n-ghana/"><span lang="EN-US">seed planting</span></a> devices will be created in rural Ghana. It’s why <a href="http://www.ushahidi.com/%20">Ushahidi</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa">Mpesa</a> had to come from a place like Kenya. It’s why South Africa’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MXit">Mxit</a> has 35m users.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Finally, it’s why we should continue to invest in local inventors and entrepreneurs – instead of importing foreign solutions, let’s grow our own. “</span></div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">Hawala</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">I would like to share one more WhiteAfrican blog post which is a post about the <a href="http://whiteafrican.com/2010/10/03/hawala-tech-and-banks-in-somalia/"><i>hawala</i> form of money transfer in Somalia</a>. Fascinating. Reading the post made me think, once again, that the world we live in is just so diverse and there are so so many things that I do not know about… The discussion that followed the post is also interesting. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Hersman writes that his interest in Somalia is twofold </span></span></div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"></span><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"First, I’m interested in watching how the international community tries to force central government on a society that clearly abhors it and functions without it. Second, Somalia is a fascinating study for anyone watching the African tech and business scene. Out of one of Africa’s harshest environments, entrepreneur’s thrive.</span>"</blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Somalia, per capita, has one of the largest diaspora populations in the world. One in eight Somali’s live abroad. Therefore, it’s not surprising that the remittances they send make up approximately 40% of urban household income ..."</span></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The money moves via the </span><i style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">havala</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My next blog will tell how technology can help in a catastrophy.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Though I love writing this blog, it has been so hard to find the time. My job wants my time, my kids want my time, and my back is killing me for sitting in front of the computer. So now I head off to do some yoga. Summer is finally in Finland, the office is quieter and, as my boss is on a work trip, I am acting as her substitute. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Greetings from Ulla, head of communications </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://whiteafrican.com/2010/10/03/hawala-tech-and-banks-in-somalia/"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
</span></a></span></div>Ulla Kärkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09499296461281354419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912006757796199835.post-89009406225693056722011-04-21T00:45:00.000-07:002011-04-21T00:52:28.185-07:00AfriGadget – African ingenuity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFew28lO4delhBLgnOttklwnsHbwUCwGbSf4WzCJsGOPdtezZh6TxaRTH3aQQBk-be3BAI-455rBKaKPqifa7uCxXTxeGKResdD0I1mClDRjR7x4OoVLqnIzB8js4wVL2k7fIHr-KBj_k/s1600/billboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFew28lO4delhBLgnOttklwnsHbwUCwGbSf4WzCJsGOPdtezZh6TxaRTH3aQQBk-be3BAI-455rBKaKPqifa7uCxXTxeGKResdD0I1mClDRjR7x4OoVLqnIzB8js4wVL2k7fIHr-KBj_k/s400/billboard.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Last time I told about my misfortunes as blogger. But today I ventured to the site where I think I got the virus to my computer - and indeed, there was this text: "We’re currently fighting a bug that has affected our server, hence the long delay in updating this wonderful blog." </span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Good! I had been wondering why this very site had had a virus, because the people behind the site are clearly professionals. Anyway, the situation seems to be in control now. But if you get any pop-ups that look like security warnings, get out!</span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.afrigadget.com/">AfriGadget</a> </span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US">is a website dedicated to showcasing African ingenuity. A team of bloggers and readers contribute their pictures, videos and stories from around the continent. The stories of innovation are inspiring. It is a testament to Africans bending the little they have to their will, using creativity to overcome life’s challenges.</span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Newest invention presented in AfriGadget is a billboard poster re-used as a roof cover - waterproof.(in the photo above)</span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">There is also an absolutely heart-breaking series of photos showing how boys from a children’s home in Kenya make a football using old plastic bags and sisal string. Here is one of the photos: </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhprBWEe4V-DBTvSKdeqntymcqFL2QRyvE_LDUWMxszxr8ndPCc1p0YcgTYhkjfLt2kVO-Pe30bdVmNOiZXxnrlutGHrIvgR2b63n8QhIjvRVR5rzbJLJlE2OqtvJGUMXsi_jh_GX_uxb0/s1600/football.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhprBWEe4V-DBTvSKdeqntymcqFL2QRyvE_LDUWMxszxr8ndPCc1p0YcgTYhkjfLt2kVO-Pe30bdVmNOiZXxnrlutGHrIvgR2b63n8QhIjvRVR5rzbJLJlE2OqtvJGUMXsi_jh_GX_uxb0/s320/football.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Even more heartbreaking is the video of <a href="http://www.afrigadget.com/2011/01/18/remote-controlled-toy-atv/">remote controlled toy car</a>. Definitely worth watching – and it makes you think. My children's rooms are full of beautiful toys, but in our world many - most? - little boys and girls have to construct their own toys.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLCQsz2zg4tN4m0PsboamaDSaFCJlFiByYpXdiE2BAGwfEXFw-zpxIbNWA2NYlAfhYhekkxk45zzcGWeSdX9HDLclKFIZxkYKaRycj8QYxtMhDOj05nYoHoQFxJ0YvIu90LFnFuq6v1eI/s1600/remote+controlled+toy+car.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLCQsz2zg4tN4m0PsboamaDSaFCJlFiByYpXdiE2BAGwfEXFw-zpxIbNWA2NYlAfhYhekkxk45zzcGWeSdX9HDLclKFIZxkYKaRycj8QYxtMhDOj05nYoHoQFxJ0YvIu90LFnFuq6v1eI/s1600/remote+controlled+toy+car.jpg" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Other good ones are, for example:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.afrigadget.com/2010/08/27/maker-faire-africa-2010-begins/">A customized bicycle, with an accessory that lets you charge your phone via dynamo</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2oB38awkk1Q13FN7ylFOSODl4KwbxbxmvKcp7_g3KVafL-dwYYMVaWFH4B1-toZ32SccR45L12zq34dJTekCAEmr2Qn7oIKuBni565NV8jIAcUFDgdsMqxxrR5sHJ1zMgqfh96SivS9k/s1600/phone+charger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2oB38awkk1Q13FN7ylFOSODl4KwbxbxmvKcp7_g3KVafL-dwYYMVaWFH4B1-toZ32SccR45L12zq34dJTekCAEmr2Qn7oIKuBni565NV8jIAcUFDgdsMqxxrR5sHJ1zMgqfh96SivS9k/s320/phone+charger.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.afrigadget.com/2010/07/06/poop-piki-piki-for-my-biogas-system/"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">Poop piki piki for a biogas system</span></a> (<i>Piki piki means motorbike in Kiswahili) </i></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijVIhCT6EQB-qRNHnRPhtpIVxkuxF_or4XuH5NYIG3EAyv-ot5kL88r6l1e0nT4NsZo1_Fau7vXdPseWO7XVv-DUNcNbXAf60u8wZT0KkKsT9SjZrCRJlwfgJfGktdkNWaRjXZ6B-yjLo/s1600/poop-piki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijVIhCT6EQB-qRNHnRPhtpIVxkuxF_or4XuH5NYIG3EAyv-ot5kL88r6l1e0nT4NsZo1_Fau7vXdPseWO7XVv-DUNcNbXAf60u8wZT0KkKsT9SjZrCRJlwfgJfGktdkNWaRjXZ6B-yjLo/s320/poop-piki.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br />
</i><i> </i><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.afrigadget.com/2010/06/15/house-hold-jua-kali-gadgets/">See through wireradio</a> - and it works! </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqp3g9vRdJXSpNHqAFEgMmVXY3jpoi06ztrPFbvfa6-Vv1dINqLLlnVSX-MlnkRW4GWSy4SC4HYREJUZl3zuFUaxbaU01syjvKaCWVg03-Odp-68EL6b-tyUo-YnYbMb5mnAT_KnXUv5g/s1600/see+through+radio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqp3g9vRdJXSpNHqAFEgMmVXY3jpoi06ztrPFbvfa6-Vv1dINqLLlnVSX-MlnkRW4GWSy4SC4HYREJUZl3zuFUaxbaU01syjvKaCWVg03-Odp-68EL6b-tyUo-YnYbMb5mnAT_KnXUv5g/s320/see+through+radio.jpg" width="214" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">AfriGadget also has its own Facebook group, and it is a community where people share ideas.</span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">OK. Thanks for reading.</span><span lang="EN-US"> This was the first of three part of my "technology" series. The next blog will present technology that is a little more advanced. But not any less innovative!</span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Happy Easter!</span></span></div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoPlainText" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Ulla </span></span></div>Ulla Kärkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09499296461281354419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912006757796199835.post-40125449041562939072011-04-08T02:01:00.000-07:002011-04-08T02:45:25.059-07:00Toli<div class="description" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>toli</b>: <i>n.</i> 1. A juicy piece of news. 2. The latest word or gossip. 3. The talk of the town, typically a salacious or risque tale of intrigue, corruption or foolishness. <i>(Ga language, Ghana, West Africa)</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Before going to the point, I have to tell that I have experienced some misfortune as a blogger. First I myself contracted a nasty flu virus, and then, as I had recovered and was writing my next blog entry, I let a virus in my computer. I’m still embarrassed. And the virus apparently sneaked in from a blog site… Therefore I did not dare to return to that site, so my plan of a three blogs’ “technology” series has to wait. But now both me and my computer are again in good health, I have been on a vacation as well, and have sorted out the pile of work that always forms during a vacation week – and it is lovely to be blogging again.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Ghanaian Koranteng Ofosu-Amaah writes a blog called <a href="http://koranteng.blogspot.com/">Koranteng’s Toli</a> . His posts are long but interesting.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">In his blog, he often describes different kinds of phenomena. Koranteng is an intellectual, very knowledgeable in many areas, and when he starts to reflect on something, he can go through it in many interesting detail and aspect. Strickly speaking, Korantengs’ Toli is not a blog “from the developing world” since Koranteng currently lives in US. However, this blog gives you perspective on Africa, her cultures, politics and life! And in a nicely tongue-in-cheek manner.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Koranteng has been blogging for years. (You will find the beginning here: <a href="http://koranteng.blogspot.com/2004/07/starting-toli.html">Starting theToli</a>) He is the son of an African journalist. (Read <a href="http://koranteng.blogspot.com/2005/04/strange-bedfellows-and-journalistic.html%20">Strange Bedfellows and Journalistic Impulse</a> or at least see the cool picture of his mother)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Koranteng’s writing is not time-bound – I read with great interest for example <a href="http://koranteng.blogspot.com/2007/04/bags-and-stamps.html">Bags andStamps</a> from 2007.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqUPNnN5L4kenrkAk4ajgR6HXPlzsto1ep5MrZUTGOMEXYDYCeocqKxe7fooMkjXwgg23wPAD-a0psAl9znHGaoTqxl_zhRtLb4Fv11RUOYoPF-jEETGeLevuKibv1W1YevlY4MThaZOk/s1600/blog+3+bag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqUPNnN5L4kenrkAk4ajgR6HXPlzsto1ep5MrZUTGOMEXYDYCeocqKxe7fooMkjXwgg23wPAD-a0psAl9znHGaoTqxl_zhRtLb4Fv11RUOYoPF-jEETGeLevuKibv1W1YevlY4MThaZOk/s1600/blog+3+bag.jpg" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<blockquote style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">“In Ghana and most of West Africa we call it the "Ghana must go" bag… humourously, they are called "Efiewura Sua Me", literally "help me carry my bag". Indeed there's always someone at the bus or train station who needs help moving such bags. (And yes, I did help that young lady after taking a surreptitious snap with my dodgy cell phone. Chivalry isn't dead even at midnight at the bus terminal).”</span></span></div></blockquote><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">And this is followed by an analyses of those bags, their use by refugees, in art and even in top fashion (Luis Vuitton).</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPVQYJkx4SRktvF_adchq_05OIJfHBJ0CqukopZZBY09K86Fxt2LO24kREmzAaw6qV517oZ9WF011UeIKKvgeM_IcDUQkDWIEnQjtDbDShzfH3OM4og2IDTbOTQTwucx0gMyC-G1z4gL4/s1600/blog+3+luis+vuitton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPVQYJkx4SRktvF_adchq_05OIJfHBJ0CqukopZZBY09K86Fxt2LO24kREmzAaw6qV517oZ9WF011UeIKKvgeM_IcDUQkDWIEnQjtDbDShzfH3OM4og2IDTbOTQTwucx0gMyC-G1z4gL4/s1600/blog+3+luis+vuitton.jpg" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Koranteng has a point on slum life (<a href="http://koranteng.blogspot.com/2004/07/on-slums-squalor-and-sodom-and.html">On Slums, squalor and Sodom and Gomor</a>) </span></span></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<blockquote style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">“Growing up in Ghana, one was always aware of the poor living conditions. The poverty in the villages was bad enough but the sheer physicality of city slums bring everything to the fore. Poverty often juxtaposed in startling proximity to great wealth and luxury. James Town, where the Ofosu-Amaah family home is, is right next to the Castle, the seat of the government, and is in many ways a very depressing place. But then things change. As a child, Nima occupied a place in my imagination as the worst slum in Accra, a rough and miserable place; the stereotypes of Nima boys was as uncouth, brash, vicious, ill-educated - your garden-variety slum boys. A decade or so on, many of those things are still true but things are changing and it's not just better education. Physically, the shacks are sturdier and perhaps more sanitary - maybe built with tin and the occasional bags of concrete, rather than the asbestos and mud of old. I guess the same is true these days in Soweto, the 'notorious' township of old is now marketed for tourism, rebranded the 'largest urban residential area'. It's a struggle but it is not a static state. Home improvement is not just popular in the US or UK.”</span></span></div></blockquote><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">I greatly enjoyed <a href="http://koranteng.blogspot.com/2007/03/types-and-faces.html">Types and Faces</a>. Have you ever thought about why certain type font is considered “African” – it has not been designed there, it originates in Germany. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQrn9z8tTyhRMfBkEWADKliNdwNQd4amLsd_ZakLMnyHCg2fkc8EDrwqakEi5IgeyKyWl139vmWBis-wbqgkI_GO_CRdtCDjeTgEGO1Dgf4cxTrpdZZMJf3IT1JqqjXtU-kN4Y2xh4_4Q/s1600/blog+3+ubuntu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQrn9z8tTyhRMfBkEWADKliNdwNQd4amLsd_ZakLMnyHCg2fkc8EDrwqakEi5IgeyKyWl139vmWBis-wbqgkI_GO_CRdtCDjeTgEGO1Dgf4cxTrpdZZMJf3IT1JqqjXtU-kN4Y2xh4_4Q/s1600/blog+3+ubuntu.jpg" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">And why does a history book on Africa have to have a safari scene on the cover – most Africans have never been on a safari…</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">At the end of his blogs, Koranteng often has a playlist. Let me copy his idea. Here is my tiny playlist for this blog</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1396862150"> </a><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SavBYLc7Og">ErykahBadu - Bag Lady</a> <u><br />
</u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsB1eKQtHZM">Eppu Normaali - Nyt reppu jupiset riimisi rupiset</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf4YyXVoWeA">Paul Simon - Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes</a></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Bye for now,<br />
Ulla</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">p.s. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I would be grateful for comments about this blog, and if someone would like to suggest a blog they are following to be presented here, you can send me email at: <a href="mailto:ulla.karki@kirkonulkomaanapu.fi">ulla.karki@kirkonulkomaanapu.fi</a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> </span>Ulla Kärkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09499296461281354419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912006757796199835.post-81461901719754210852011-02-14T23:42:00.000-08:002011-02-14T23:44:52.702-08:00Beautiful India: Artanlight<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Heartfelt thanks for all the feedback and comments, both written and spoken, to my first blog post. I even received a recommendation to a fascinating-looking blog about young Kenyan writers, which I promise to present at some point.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">But now we are going to India!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHz1Hz-GTPd_N1oKqj-IjQNgb-ng6X_-axaizQ-V1EByDOkf7-T0T6ynhAXThOgPTFuQWBbEncZ7pNurzPmebVM8Epibf2l40u5i98xmzyaL8K0NQXvwkcbq0d6uGG4tf8SMJFa7E6heM/s1600/artnlight_gods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHz1Hz-GTPd_N1oKqj-IjQNgb-ng6X_-axaizQ-V1EByDOkf7-T0T6ynhAXThOgPTFuQWBbEncZ7pNurzPmebVM8Epibf2l40u5i98xmzyaL8K0NQXvwkcbq0d6uGG4tf8SMJFa7E6heM/s320/artnlight_gods.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Vineeta Nair is an ex-advertising art director, who stumbled into the world of design blogging. She is now an independent design consultant with a decor accessories business. Her <a href="http://artnlight.blogspot.com/">Artanlight</a> blog is just SO beautiful. Indian culture, ethnic groups, interior design, beautiful things. All the pictures in this post are from Artnlight.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">It is simply wonderful to pore over this beautiful site. I love it when I find beauty in the Internet, and indeed there should be more. I am always happy when I get to publish for example a beautiful photo gallery on my organization’s web site.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I also like going to flea markets, and therefore I very much enjoyed a posting about <a href="http://artnlight.blogspot.com/2011/01/chor-bazaar-via-voguein.html">Chor bazar</a> in Mumbai. </span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US">"Chor bazaar literally translates to 'Thieves bazaar' is cluster of small streets each jam packed with shops that sell everything from tyres to old electronic spare parts to nails and hammers to gorgeous furniture to antiques to Bollywood posters, phew! And I haven't even mentioned the grandfather clocks, old ceramic plates, chandeliers, gramophones or typewriters."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3LvzcW59sUvVgT-TSC-55LYgpvb-lXqnpmt8yXW30Q-fCdqGFSRP5qbq_x7wT9255rnUX3omV9kcFAipuDTt7_P9K5IbkIURyKYDPQIyZNi8Omf84NwdorZVHPb34iEe1hhxCygpLOM/s1600/artnlight_signboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3LvzcW59sUvVgT-TSC-55LYgpvb-lXqnpmt8yXW30Q-fCdqGFSRP5qbq_x7wT9255rnUX3omV9kcFAipuDTt7_P9K5IbkIURyKYDPQIyZNi8Omf84NwdorZVHPb34iEe1hhxCygpLOM/s320/artnlight_signboard.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">If you are into interior design, check out the Beautiful Homes blogs. This even includes one home from Finland! (I almost feel sick with envy when I look at the photos… Our home does not yet ;-) look quite like that…)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">And if you are a fan of India, see the Indiaah! aha! section, for blogs about all things Indian.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">Trust, take care of yourself, and be gentle</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Just recently I heard that women in their thirties and forties toiling on a series of periodic employments, belong to a <i>burn out generation</i>. And in this age group, there reigns a culture of coping on your own, a culture that in Finland has its roots in the war time, when men were at the front and women had to cope with everything else. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I feel that I do definitely belong to this burn out generation, even though I do have a steady job and enjoy my work. If only I could find the time to sleep enough!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Lately, I have noticed that often when I type, I do not have the time to pressthespacebar… </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">But what is the rush, really?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Artnlight reminds us in a beautiful way, how we all should lead our lives. The blog post <a href="http://artnlight.blogspot.com/2010/12/things-i-learnt-in-2010.html">Things I learned in 2010</a>: </span></div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">"People trust you.</span></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVahuQPioSCC7Q-rPpH-uJ27gpa39FzYXzWpn5H5YsPYpTrepidDrUtdUIa-tCZCyoND1-KkQEc2YZBfySoxw7YrzhiDi1SD_Fdfq5GBR-99t8vm8A0Pfzbvd_pcnCJSAkn4nO6BJovQ0/s1600/artanlight_trust.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVahuQPioSCC7Q-rPpH-uJ27gpa39FzYXzWpn5H5YsPYpTrepidDrUtdUIa-tCZCyoND1-KkQEc2YZBfySoxw7YrzhiDi1SD_Fdfq5GBR-99t8vm8A0Pfzbvd_pcnCJSAkn4nO6BJovQ0/s320/artanlight_trust.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br />
<blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">"Life bails you out. Just when I wanted money an assignment would materialise, or bang in the middle of an important assignment I would have to go out of town, which would in turn cause a much needed shift in perspective.</span></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Lmm9IL0FtiLeWm6dNoUV8lBb3yEqLc7jUV0lnUgD-QPT7j5TC04X9Su4cfZtGNuzmgCEZUYUMhkpgP6tYvD_4Uob12jzu03A_hifodtSTULGDlNf06_yvylb3lVYB7_TB-_hC3csH7E/s1600/artanlight_life+bails+you+out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Lmm9IL0FtiLeWm6dNoUV8lBb3yEqLc7jUV0lnUgD-QPT7j5TC04X9Su4cfZtGNuzmgCEZUYUMhkpgP6tYvD_4Uob12jzu03A_hifodtSTULGDlNf06_yvylb3lVYB7_TB-_hC3csH7E/s320/artanlight_life+bails+you+out.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br />
<blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">"Going with the flow. Some things will happen, some won't. And be ready to jump & go for it when something big comes your way.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Do new things</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">You get many chances</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">But one of the biggest learnings of 2010 for me has to be this. Taking care of yourself pays. You've got one body. Treat it well, sleep. Eat healthy food. Its ok if you do one less in a day (look who is talkingggg!!!) But truly, I've learnt to slow down this year. Its killed me to do it. Even now my instinct is to stay up & do it. But don't. Sleeeeep.</span></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4HHJ_HKpjOH4l0Gdz3ptyu6Kv7l4tRiF0eyJUrH6XcQo9-PhaRmdWZYVzqd2uPqXlmlkHJL_UECUI-VnD6ztkPYIvCZ48l-BjctgVLAl753U7ioHpqhcz5aRpF7x8-T5XiioNbVlhyphenhypheno/s1600/artanlight_take+care.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4HHJ_HKpjOH4l0Gdz3ptyu6Kv7l4tRiF0eyJUrH6XcQo9-PhaRmdWZYVzqd2uPqXlmlkHJL_UECUI-VnD6ztkPYIvCZ48l-BjctgVLAl753U7ioHpqhcz5aRpF7x8-T5XiioNbVlhyphenhypheno/s320/artanlight_take+care.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br />
<blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">"Be gentle. You are your worst critic, people are not thinking half the harsh things you are thinking about yourself :) I wish for all of you like me to be gentle with yourselves & to move on from the things you felt you could have done differently this year. Its over."</span></div></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">So I remind myself, and recommend this to you too: Do one less a day.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I would be grateful for comments about this blog, and if someone would like to suggest a blog they are following to be presented here, you can send me email at: </span><a href="mailto:ulla.karki@kirkonulkomaanapu.fi"><span lang="EN-US">ulla.karki@kirkonulkomaanapu.fi</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Bye for now,</div><div class="MsoNormal">Ulla<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>Ulla Kärkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09499296461281354419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912006757796199835.post-47320892023670031702011-01-21T06:39:00.000-08:002011-02-11T04:41:53.554-08:00First post: The Diary of a Kenyan Campus Girl<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Are you bored with always visiting the same sites? Welcome to the Southern Blogosphere! This blog explores and presents interesting blogs and sites from the developing world. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwqzpbiROJ0qEeu5lZkIeat6Y3Dq19iibh1JJcnVBTwY2-xSlcb6QtnfpC4zYv01UkEiDnTA-8zvjX9Zqq-jJ9Wag6wPPQd9wmoMmcKb2v0AqBeC5_eV1CXxAHlDMDxYoDKZhhryMQBNI/s1600/savvy+computer+IMG_9291.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwqzpbiROJ0qEeu5lZkIeat6Y3Dq19iibh1JJcnVBTwY2-xSlcb6QtnfpC4zYv01UkEiDnTA-8zvjX9Zqq-jJ9Wag6wPPQd9wmoMmcKb2v0AqBeC5_eV1CXxAHlDMDxYoDKZhhryMQBNI/s320/savvy+computer+IMG_9291.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I work at <a href="http://www.kua.fi/">Finn Church Aid</a> as Media and Public Affairs Officer. Because my life now keeps me at one place (Helsinki, Finland), I decided to find out what bloggers from the South are saying. So I decided to start this blog. Here are some reasons why:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Firstly, because by reading blogs from the South you get an idea of what people living in the developing countries consider worthwhile telling about. And blogs make great reading because they are personal and frank.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Secondly, the reason I want to work at Finn Church Aid is not because I want us to have the finest website and the newest applications – I want to tell that we live in a common world. I am interested in how people live and what they think, I want to understand the world around me, and I suspect I am not the only one.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The Southern Blogosphere obviously will not be an all-inclusive description of blogs from the (so-called) South, but an account of <i>my</i> adventures in the blog-world. I’ll try to write my blog in the way that each text will communicate something about the atmosphere of the blog I’m presenting, and can be read as independent texts. Those who want to read on, can then proceed to the blog itself, and from there, drift to other blogs… </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">I can assure you that my adventures in the Southern blogosphere have been enjoyable, fun and eye-opening! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The first blog I have the honour of presenting, are actually two blogs from the same blogger. “<a href="http://jkuattalkshop.wordpress.com/">The Diary of a Kenian Campus Gir</a>l” is a narrative of a brave, cheerful student girl. Savvy (the author’s name in the blog) studies at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Kenya. However, the blog is not about her studies but about all other interesting things. And this girl definitely knows how to write! Her style is daring, descriptive, open and full of wonderful self-irony.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">“There are 3 types of people when school opens. Those that say, “How can I stay in campus? It is soo booring…” and then they head for home. I just want to ask, if u can be bored in campo, home ndio hutaboeka? get real…if u are bored in school, u’ll be bored at home coz u are most probably a boring persona anyway.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then there is the type that is actually bored coz they have a more exciting life outside campus, but mark my words, it is not at home where they have fun.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Finally, there is the me type. I don’t claim that campus is boring, and neither is it exciting. But I do have good times, catching up with my pals. With pals like mine, who know everything from the colour of ur underwear to whom u made out with last nite, it is fun to be in campus.” </span></div></blockquote><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have no doubt about that!</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Savvy goes clubbing with friends, observes life and people around her, writes about idlers on street corners, sugar daddys and Chinese copy phones. One of my favorites is a blog from her <a href="http://jkuattalkshop.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/tales-from-kampala-part-one/%20">weekend trip to visit a friend in Uganda</a> – I felt as if I had been there with her!</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Savvy falls in love, but the young man takes too long to make up his mind. When he finally calls her, Savvy shows that she can make <a href="http://jkuattalkshop.wordpress.com/2009/07/30/just-maybe-iv-the-end-14/">decisions</a>:</span></div><blockquote><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-weight: normal;">“Actually…am over you. Am sorry but it’s the truth. Sometimes it’s not what you say but what you don’t say. Silence for that long…” </span></b>Where do these words that sound like lines in a movie come from?” <b> </b></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>“</b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-weight: normal;">You see, am not one of those people who agonize over decisions. If I mean yes, I tell you. If I mean no, I say it. And once my mind is made up, it’s hard to change.” </span></b></span></div></blockquote><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Way to go, Savvy.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I loved the blog <a href="http://jkuattalkshop.wordpress.com/2010/10/11/harambee-stars-vs-ugandan-cranes/">Harambee Stars vs. Ugandan Cranes</a>, in which Savvy sneaks out of church to be in time for an important football game:</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><blockquote><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">“</span>I’d bet heavily on the game: I was going to change my twitter name from Savvy Kenya to Savvy Uganda, and possibly my nationality too if the stars lost to the Cranes.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Having left church around noon, and changed from my dress to jeans and carried a borrowed vuvuzela, I got into a matatu around 1p.m. to town. Now, my small brother was in possession of the tickets and had been at the stadium since noon. He was giving us (my other bro and I) one hour to get to the stadium or he’d sell our tickets. I kept telling him am almost in town even when I was stuck in traffic because the Chinese constructors (contractors?)had decided Saturday was the best time to divert traffic to roadside paths.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">By the time I finally got to the stadium, it was 3.30pm and my brothers were already inside. Somehow, we managed to communicate and they wrapped my ticket around a small flag they’d bought and threw it over the wall of the stadium. Of course, there were few spiderman wannabes who scaled the wall but since I had my ticket no need to resort to desperate measures.”</span></div></blockquote><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Once Savvy <a href="http://jkuattalkshop.wordpress.com/2010/10/16/i-almost-got-arrested/">almost got arrested</a> because she was caught handling fake money (she had not noticed her note was fake). She had already been arrested once before, for a minor traffic offense of not tying a seatbelt. A “fat, obnoxious cop” takes her phone, though only after<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f497d;"> </span>Savvy had managed to tweet about the arrest (!)<span lang="EN-US"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><blockquote><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">“The cell wasn’t so bad. It was dark like all the rest, but the women were friendly, some had complicated cases like fraud, others had been in for days and were dying for a shower, and all I was worried about was my phone so I could tweet away the anxiety (if your case is not heard on a Friday, you have to spend the entire weekend in custody till Monday.) or call my mum.”</span></div></blockquote><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Phew, Savvy walks out the same day.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><blockquote><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">“Buckle up next time. Alternatively, know someone big in the police ranks and you’ll be let go at the police station.”</span></div></blockquote><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">An almost-forty-years-old Finnish Media Officer/mother-of-two certainly does not belong to the target group of this blog. However, I have really enjoyed reading about Savvy and getting to peek into the every-day life of a Kenyan student. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">At the beginning of this year, Savvy graduated from the university. She got her first job in Rwanda and moved there. And she started a new blog: Savvy Kenya (The Adventures of a Former Campus Girl). </span><a href="http://www.savvykenya.com/" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.savvykenya.com/</span></a></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was very relieved! It would have been sad to lose Savvy. She is now working with an organization called Art of Conservation. AoC works in poor rural communities surrounding the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, teaching schoolchildren about the importance of maintaining a healthy environment for both people and animals, especially the mountain gorillas which Rwanda is famous for.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Savvy writes about settling in a new country and compares Rwanda and Kenya. She loves Rwanda. But. </span></div><blockquote><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">“The first thing that disturbs me is people’s reaction to white people. Don’t get me wrong, if a white person goes to a remote village in Kenya, everyone is bound to get curious and a little excited. It’s allowed. But here, it’s a little too much.”</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">When Julie and the rest of the team, I included, drove up to Rushubi Primary School to prepare the classroom for lessons this year, all the kids in the playground stopped what they were doing to run to her. They had surrounded her so much she could hardly take a step. Some of the little kids were falling over and getting stepped on; it was almost a stampede. Whenever she’s driving, kids who know her shout her name, which is great, and she honks at them. Those who don’t know also call out, mzungu, mzungu and ask for something. Most kids almost always wave, at first I also waved back till I realized, oh, I’m not included in the waves. So now I don’t wave back.<br />
There is always an association in people’s minds of white people and an unlimited amount of money, which is common all over the world and more so here.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The second thing that bothers me is the newness of things. When I first came here, I was so excited to see almost everything looks new. The roads, the buildings, the fences… when we drove through the countryside, the farms looked like they hadn’t been around for long, the houses looked like people had just begun to live in them. It’s been only 15 years since the genocide so this should not surprise me, the country is still rebuilding. At first it was exciting to see how new and organized everything looks, but now it just makes me a little sad. I like the way there is a permanence to old things. An assurance that since these buildings have been here for so long, they’ll still be here many years to come. If you go to our home in the village, where my grandmother still lives, there’s a feeling that we’re all totally settled and the place has been and will always be there. With new things, you can only hope that they’ll last, that just maybe this is the last time they’ll have to rebuild.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The third thing that has me sleepless at night (let’s just say it’s not the source of the sleepless but I think about it whenever am awake) is the education system in Rwanda. This is the third week of January and schools have not yet opened officially.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The last thing that bothers me is lack of openness. The fear of the police. The way there are some things you can’t talk about. The way you can’t criticize Kagame. He’s a great man but he’s not perfect. But these things take time.</span></div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I just hope there is some way I can contribute towards Rwanda’s development. It needs the support of the rest of East Africa.”</span></div></blockquote><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Savvy is a middle-class, well educated African, who clearly wants to do something meaningful in her life. What will become of this interesting young woman?</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Unfortunately, I now need to leave the Southern blogosphere for the time being and head home. In Helsinki, there is now 50 cm of snow on the ground and our yard is in serious need of some shoveling. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I would be grateful for comments about this blog, and if someone would like to suggest a blog they are following to be presented here, you can send me email at: <a href="mailto:ulla.karki@kirkonulkomaanapu.fi">ulla.karki@kirkonulkomaanapu.fi</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;">Bye for now,<br />
Ulla<br />
…and next time it will be a very different kind of a blog</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Ulla Kärkihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09499296461281354419noreply@blogger.com7