Saturday, November 13, 2004
Good stuff is happening.
I put my computer in the hands of knowledgeable people - the tech manager of a satellite communications company based here in Mwanza of all places. He called me this morning to say that they have had good success in recovering my files, including all the pictures that I have taken here in Africa. Whew. Unfortunately, they are no longer in the folders I had established, so will be totally scrambled. But at least they are back!
They haven't recovered my address book yet, but feel that that will come, too. Lesson No. One in REMEMBER TO BACK UP IMPORTANT DATA ON A REGULAR BASIS!!!!
Allegra and Glenn want to provide the money Samwel needs to get his Teaching Certificate. They said the money could be the Republican loan he requested, or could be a Democratic gift. I thought Republicans only gave tax credits or sometimes refunds. But anyway, I've suggested that we make it 1/3 gift and 2/3 loan. I seriously do not want to support the dependency culture here, looking for handouts. It is good to require sacrifice and creative participation to achieve personal advancement.
And there is more good news. I received 5 copies of the entrepreneurship workbook from Atiba at TechnoServe in Dar es Salaam. So now I am confident of their support, and can give the books to the headmasters I (with a Tanzanian partner)want to contact to present the course. Hoping for 5 schools, 30 kids each. Reaching 150 kids to teach them entrepreneurship! Now THAT is a worthy goal, here in Tanzania.
Ryan reminded me yesterday that we are more than half way through our work here in Tanzania now. Time flies.
That satellite communications company. The manager, Taha, looks maybe Italian. His wife and new daughter live in South Africa. He works 3 months, then gets 3 weeks off to spend with his family. He lives on Capri Point here - an assembly of really posh mansions, estates and compounds on a peninsula with an incredible vista out over Lake Victoria and several islands. Think Marina Del Rey north of Los Angeles, replacing the marina with great rocky promontories.
Anyway, it seems to me that the world is divided into two parallel existances. One is high tech, mega business, high finance. Its practitioners live in isolated luxury, surrounded by walls and security guards, and move among islands of wealth and priviledge. The other existance is primitive... Whoops, I am about out of time. Will have to continue later. But I think this analogy is true even in the US, just less so, and somewhat easier to move from one to the other. Unless present trends continue. Bye for now.
I put my computer in the hands of knowledgeable people - the tech manager of a satellite communications company based here in Mwanza of all places. He called me this morning to say that they have had good success in recovering my files, including all the pictures that I have taken here in Africa. Whew. Unfortunately, they are no longer in the folders I had established, so will be totally scrambled. But at least they are back!
They haven't recovered my address book yet, but feel that that will come, too. Lesson No. One in REMEMBER TO BACK UP IMPORTANT DATA ON A REGULAR BASIS!!!!
Allegra and Glenn want to provide the money Samwel needs to get his Teaching Certificate. They said the money could be the Republican loan he requested, or could be a Democratic gift. I thought Republicans only gave tax credits or sometimes refunds. But anyway, I've suggested that we make it 1/3 gift and 2/3 loan. I seriously do not want to support the dependency culture here, looking for handouts. It is good to require sacrifice and creative participation to achieve personal advancement.
And there is more good news. I received 5 copies of the entrepreneurship workbook from Atiba at TechnoServe in Dar es Salaam. So now I am confident of their support, and can give the books to the headmasters I (with a Tanzanian partner)want to contact to present the course. Hoping for 5 schools, 30 kids each. Reaching 150 kids to teach them entrepreneurship! Now THAT is a worthy goal, here in Tanzania.
Ryan reminded me yesterday that we are more than half way through our work here in Tanzania now. Time flies.
That satellite communications company. The manager, Taha, looks maybe Italian. His wife and new daughter live in South Africa. He works 3 months, then gets 3 weeks off to spend with his family. He lives on Capri Point here - an assembly of really posh mansions, estates and compounds on a peninsula with an incredible vista out over Lake Victoria and several islands. Think Marina Del Rey north of Los Angeles, replacing the marina with great rocky promontories.
Anyway, it seems to me that the world is divided into two parallel existances. One is high tech, mega business, high finance. Its practitioners live in isolated luxury, surrounded by walls and security guards, and move among islands of wealth and priviledge. The other existance is primitive... Whoops, I am about out of time. Will have to continue later. But I think this analogy is true even in the US, just less so, and somewhat easier to move from one to the other. Unless present trends continue. Bye for now.
