Today I send you greetings on behalf of people all over the world who are reading about you on the Walking With TEMBO blog: people in Finland, United Kingdom, Belgium, Turkey, Latvia, Russia, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, Malawi, Kenya, United States, Tanzania, and a lot of people in Canada.
It seems that there are people all over the world who are interested in what is happening to you in northern Tanzania. I am not surprised and you should not be surprised either. Even though you live in a rural area with very limited access to things like water, electricity, locally grown food, and good roads, people are aware of you and the joys and challenges you face every day. This is thanks to the internet that gives me the capacity to share stories and photos about your life with people who have phones or computers almost anywhere on earth. Isn't this amazing?
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| The Maasai also learn about what is happening in the world by using cell phones that can access the internet. |
I believe if others know individuals with names - not just large groups of people with so many needs - they will feel different. After all, your life is not just about difficulties and suffering. It is about courage, resilience, a rich culture, strong families who care about one another, and hope for a better life and dreams for your children that gets you out of bed in the morning. We are the same in many ways and we are also different. This is why I want people to know about you and why I am sharing your stories.
One of the ways we are the same, yet different, is in the area of ICT or Information and Communication Technologies. This week I was reading about the United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Review that took place in South Africa from May 3-4. The article I read was entitled "Skipping Lunch in Order to Afford a Mobile Phone". It said:
"There are only two and a half years to go until African countries are expected to reach the MDGs, and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) will help the continent achieve this. Through the eight MDGs, countries around the world have committed themselves to significantly curb poverty and hunger, improve education and health, and create environmental sustainability by 2015."I was very happy to read this article because it talked about what I know to be true: In Africa mobile phones are at the forefront of development initiatives. Your use of this technology is essentially different than how we use mobile phones in the Western world. Of course it is used for business here, but it is heavily used as a means of social interaction. Most people here have never heard of Mpesa and they do not know how many millions of people in Africa without bank accounts use the mobile phone to perform banking services and share money with family members in need.
The article goes on:
"In the slums of Kenya's capital Nairobi, 80 percent of people prefer to skip a lunch so that they can afford having a mobile phone. They are willing to make that trade-off because a mobile phone helps them to optimise their lives in the long term through better access to information and resources, including food. Access to information has become as vital as water and electricity.
We have also seen how cashew nut farmers in Ivory Coast access international market information and prices through their mobile phones to optimise their sales. It works, even if it's just via text messages."Once, I was visiting Kimokouwa and Paulo was busy using his cell phone while others around him were talking. I learned that he was communicating with someone far away about the burial preparations for someone who had just died. It would not be possible to do the work we do in Longido and Kimokouwa without the use of mobile phones. Often TEMBO staff will call Penina in Kimokouwa to ask her to notify the women about meetings we need to have. And there are other ways that mobile phones are used to improve life:
"Text messaging can, for instance, be used in the health sector to track an epidemic like malaria. There is also the possibility to have free "call me" services or free call numbers. Those are mobile experiences with reduced costs.
There are also examples of training community health workers through text messages ... You can have simple educational quizzes on mobile phones or exchange advice and help with diagnosis between doctors in health centres and community health workers in remote, rural areas. Mobile broadband access will of course bring many more possibilities, such as training of nurses and community health workers on mobile devices, like tablets."The KWGP - Kimokouwa Women's Goat Project - involves women who live in very remote areas. When the goats they are raising get sick, cell phones allow the women to call Oyaya or Sanjoy in Longido to talk about what to do to help the goats. I know that people living in the bomas can notify others when dangerous animals are in the area. TEMBO KWGP Coordinators were able to arrange for goat sales recently when 10 goats were sold from the project.
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| Oyaya has been trained to provide veterinary care to goats. A mobile phone allows him to provide valuable assistance to the women even though they live in very remote areas. |
The ways that so many of you in Tanzania and throughout Africa are utilizing mobile phone technology are well documented on the internet. I want to direct Walking With TEMBO readers to a couple of web sites where they can learn more about how important mobile phones are to Africans: the bank in the phone and the mobile wallet revolution. This second link asks the question, "Can the developing world teach the developed world a think or two about technology?"
You sure can. And about a few other things, too. I hope the world keeps reading about your remarkable lives.
really interesting. i think mobile phones have chaged people's lives a lot, with a many positive benefits. Now it possible to call a relative or friend without having to walk hundreds of kilometers to pass information. when i grew up as young boys our job was to to look after animals, when they go astray and get lost (as can happen when you accidentally fall asleep under a cooling tree shadow in the midst of the fiery noon sun) you have to walk home and report. Delay means more risk of not recovering animals. But now depending of course on coverage you can report loss of animals or attacks by dangerous animals by a phone call. My sister has a phone but she doesnt know how to read or write. she likes it so much. she knows very well the Call function, she recognise her phonebooks names as some kind of different symbols.she makes and sell wood charcoal and it is possible for her to fix some businness issues. With moranis (young warriors) who are the community's most active group, it is even possible to arrange community meetings. before we had to send messengers to spread the word. As you said you can have a savings account with phone company and can transfer or receive cash from someone quickly. As there is no bank in Longido, this phone bank is very helpful. You can also send someone phone credit (load money onto simcard) by "Naomba niongezee salio" service. and there is "please call me" free sms if you are in trouble and without credit..
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