I've ommitted all the obvious stuff like passport, clothes, etc. Here are the most useful items in my pack.
Rubber bands – compacts everything and holds similiar stuff together
Ziplock bags – keeps small items together and keeps everything watertight
Superglue – I’ve even repaired clothing with this.
Sunblock – You are out in the sun more than you think
Water – You never know when you will find clean water. You run out quicker than you think. Also keeps your stomach working right.
First aide kit – Even tiny cuts can be deadly.
Medicine kit - Cipro, aspirin, bandages, hydrogen peroxide, petobismol, valerian (natural sleep aide for jetlag and difficult sleep situations) etc
Multitool – For everything!
Earplugs – New environments can disturb sleep patterns and sleep is critical to good travel. If you’re tired, you make mistakes.
Headlamp – Keeps your hands free to do other things
Book – For those long boring waits for bus, train etc
Snacks – Food is more scarce than you think during long waits.
Vitamins – You eat terribly on the road.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
The Dilemma of Change
The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it. Remember that to change thy mind and to follow him that sets thee right, is to be none the less the free agent that thou wast before. Observe always that everything is the result of a change, and get used to thinking that there is nothing Nature loves so well as to change existing forms and to make new ones like them.
-Marcus Aurelius “Meditations”
Change is not a function of time but of movement. In the absence of movement, there is no measurement of time. From where does change originate? My experience with the NGO’s in Africa is consumed with the issue of change. All of the good intentions for change mean nothing if change is not the result.
I do not have answers. Only questions.
Several times already, I have been faced with the dilemma of temporary change versus permanent change. Giving someone food merely makes them dependent on you for food. The real goal is a populace that makes its own food.
My friend in Nairobi works with an NGO that provides support to the Kenya Network of Women with Aids. Many of the children as a result have aids. This week they completely ran out of food. Most of this food came as donations from businesses. The drought last year eliminated the surplus that created these donations. Giving money may not help because the money can "disappear". I've thought about hiring a truck full of food but the truck would also "disappear" in the slums. Even if enacted successfully, neither of these solutions is sustainable. In Kenya, you need street savvy as much as you need altruism. Africa is the graveyard of good intention.
There are those who would say that good intention in itself is a worthy goal whether change is the result or not. I find instead that naïve good intention leaves behind ruin and dissatisfaction. Catastrophic social change is a boil requiring the pain of the lance unless change is considered with savvy and forethought. Gradual and effective social change is incremental and works within what is sometimes the troubled system itself. Gradual and effective social change will factor into the equation the inefficiencies of the present system with a view toward the gradual standing down of that ineffectual system i.e. sometimes you have to add the bribe to the cost of effective change until accountable systems come online.
What happens when the cost of affecting change means enriching the pockets of the very people causing the problem? Are you creating an unsustainable system by encouraging the very thing that you are trying to alleviate? Should the simple act of providing food and water be adulterated with politics, graft and corruption? Is it inevitable? Should every aid budget have a line item saying “corruption fee”. It’s like drinking fetid water on a lifeboat. You really need the water but at what cost. Should we even think twice about paying these fees when you know 35 children who are less than 3 miles from you going to bed hungry? Immediate gratification or long term pain for the sake of permanent change?
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Sing in me oh Muse!
“Sing in me oh Muse!
And through me tell that story” – Homer “The Odyssey”
In his Pulitzer Prize-winning book “Guns, Germs and Steel” , Author Jared Diamond writes that the animals in Africa are different from the rest of the animals on planet earth. Why? The animals in Africa evolved over millions of years alongside man and his distant ancestors. He goes on to write that the animals in Africa have learned to give man a wide berth. Very wise since every plaque that I saw at Nairobi Nation Gane Reserve spoke of how man has hunted many of these animals to near extinction. Take for example this gentle giant pictured below. There are only a few hundred Rothschild giraffes left in the wild. They have been hunted for meat beyond the ability of their species to replace.
There is not much more to add to this saga that countless travelogs, journals and biology texts have not already stated. I give here only my impressions and thoughts.
Only 2% of Kenya’s is covered in forest. While parts of Kenya are not naturally forested, this figure still remains appallingly low. With the disappearance of the forests come the disappearance of the animals that depend on the forests. From my observation, most of the wood is burned for cooking but I do not know this for certain. I'm sure that lumber companies have taken their fair share.
The Nairobi National Game Preserve does an excellent job trying to maintain very pleasant habitants for its inhabitants. Attached are a few scenes that I was able to capture. The animal are understandably elusive and I do not expect to be invited to join the National Geographic Wildlife photography team anytime soon!
Speaking with locals about the animals and the forests brings a whole new side of the subject to light. It is true that the Kenyan government is setting aside vast areas of game reserve land for the preservation of endangered species. Being a cynic of human nature, I of course smelled a rat in all of this national good will. As it turns out, my apparently psychic abilities regarding human nature were indeed true. Its seems that not only is the Kenyan government seizing by a sort of “imminent domain” native tribal lands but they are also doing it for the profit of foreign tourist dollars.
At the grassroots level, the Kenyan on the street has a very positive attitude about westerners in Kenya. They believe that the Kenyan government serves only itself. They believe that the ubiquitous Indian businessmen are insular and disrespectful of Kenyans and that the Chinese don’t want to get their hands dirty. I’ve had one even ask me why Indians smell funny.
Most of the Kenyan experience with Westerners has been with nongovernment agencies. Tourist are rarely seen mixing with the populace as they are picked up from the airport and quickly whisked away to game reserves. Kenyans see NGO groups as people who could make better money at home or are volunteering in order to make a better life for Kenyans. I’m not one of these but I don’t tell them that. The average Kenyan seems proud of the natural world that Kenya offers and is proud to talk about it and show it to westerners. It goes without saying that there are profit motives with Westerners also but profit with respect is far better than profit with derision and I can accept that with good grace.
And through me tell that story” – Homer “The Odyssey”
In his Pulitzer Prize-winning book “Guns, Germs and Steel” , Author Jared Diamond writes that the animals in Africa are different from the rest of the animals on planet earth. Why? The animals in Africa evolved over millions of years alongside man and his distant ancestors. He goes on to write that the animals in Africa have learned to give man a wide berth. Very wise since every plaque that I saw at Nairobi Nation Gane Reserve spoke of how man has hunted many of these animals to near extinction. Take for example this gentle giant pictured below. There are only a few hundred Rothschild giraffes left in the wild. They have been hunted for meat beyond the ability of their species to replace.
There is not much more to add to this saga that countless travelogs, journals and biology texts have not already stated. I give here only my impressions and thoughts.
Only 2% of Kenya’s is covered in forest. While parts of Kenya are not naturally forested, this figure still remains appallingly low. With the disappearance of the forests come the disappearance of the animals that depend on the forests. From my observation, most of the wood is burned for cooking but I do not know this for certain. I'm sure that lumber companies have taken their fair share.
The Nairobi National Game Preserve does an excellent job trying to maintain very pleasant habitants for its inhabitants. Attached are a few scenes that I was able to capture. The animal are understandably elusive and I do not expect to be invited to join the National Geographic Wildlife photography team anytime soon!
Speaking with locals about the animals and the forests brings a whole new side of the subject to light. It is true that the Kenyan government is setting aside vast areas of game reserve land for the preservation of endangered species. Being a cynic of human nature, I of course smelled a rat in all of this national good will. As it turns out, my apparently psychic abilities regarding human nature were indeed true. Its seems that not only is the Kenyan government seizing by a sort of “imminent domain” native tribal lands but they are also doing it for the profit of foreign tourist dollars.
At the grassroots level, the Kenyan on the street has a very positive attitude about westerners in Kenya. They believe that the Kenyan government serves only itself. They believe that the ubiquitous Indian businessmen are insular and disrespectful of Kenyans and that the Chinese don’t want to get their hands dirty. I’ve had one even ask me why Indians smell funny.
Most of the Kenyan experience with Westerners has been with nongovernment agencies. Tourist are rarely seen mixing with the populace as they are picked up from the airport and quickly whisked away to game reserves. Kenyans see NGO groups as people who could make better money at home or are volunteering in order to make a better life for Kenyans. I’m not one of these but I don’t tell them that. The average Kenyan seems proud of the natural world that Kenya offers and is proud to talk about it and show it to westerners. It goes without saying that there are profit motives with Westerners also but profit with respect is far better than profit with derision and I can accept that with good grace.
Friday, February 12, 2010
The Anvil of God
Life from the fifth floor of the Holiday Inn is no way to see a culture. I draw a clear distinction between the various sorts of travel. Each of these types of travel serves a purpose and I have done them all at one time or another. There is the recreational traveler who observes the sanitized stage production of the local culture. There is the backpacker who wanders seeking new experiences and perspective, flitting from one interaction to another but never invested in what is around. Then there is the expat who lives and works with the locals for a myriad number of reasons. I have been all of these people but this is the first time I’ve done so to this level.
This experience has led me to view the developing world and the people in it not as a place of shortage but as a place of potential. This week, I saw a man using, only a hammer and chisel, cut a straight line in a piece of sheet metal. Despite this skill, I was faced with making the difficult decision to take this one man operation’s work away due to quality issues and farm it out to a large firm in Nairobi who could cut a straighter cleaner line. I have struggled enough in my life to know the affect that this would have on someone using every ounce of their resourcefulness and creativity. The bitterness that this denial of opportunity engenders is palpable. The origin of this bitterness is the knowledge that if you had the same access to tools and resources, you too could get this contract instead of that guy who inherited all of his money from his father who got it from opium trafficking.
So I rethought my dilemma. How can I improve quality and save the work of a poverty level laborer with obvious skill? What do I need to do to give this guy an edge over the large firm in Nairobi? Then it hit me. All I need is a $100 saw. The problem is that a $100 saw is a fortune for a small businessman in Busia. It is pocket change for the foundation for which I work. A $100 saw would save a struggling yet skilled businessman AND save the foundation thousands of dollars outsourcing to Nairobi. This is what I call a “leveraging” factor. Small inputs into a system that have create exponential outputs.
I am convinced that this laborer whose skills have been forged under hardship will become a brilliant asset to the foundation for a miniscule investment. What is the score?
The little businessman – 1
Heroin Trafficker – 0
I feel good about this.
This experience has led me to view the developing world and the people in it not as a place of shortage but as a place of potential. This week, I saw a man using, only a hammer and chisel, cut a straight line in a piece of sheet metal. Despite this skill, I was faced with making the difficult decision to take this one man operation’s work away due to quality issues and farm it out to a large firm in Nairobi who could cut a straighter cleaner line. I have struggled enough in my life to know the affect that this would have on someone using every ounce of their resourcefulness and creativity. The bitterness that this denial of opportunity engenders is palpable. The origin of this bitterness is the knowledge that if you had the same access to tools and resources, you too could get this contract instead of that guy who inherited all of his money from his father who got it from opium trafficking.
So I rethought my dilemma. How can I improve quality and save the work of a poverty level laborer with obvious skill? What do I need to do to give this guy an edge over the large firm in Nairobi? Then it hit me. All I need is a $100 saw. The problem is that a $100 saw is a fortune for a small businessman in Busia. It is pocket change for the foundation for which I work. A $100 saw would save a struggling yet skilled businessman AND save the foundation thousands of dollars outsourcing to Nairobi. This is what I call a “leveraging” factor. Small inputs into a system that have create exponential outputs.
I am convinced that this laborer whose skills have been forged under hardship will become a brilliant asset to the foundation for a miniscule investment. What is the score?
The little businessman – 1
Heroin Trafficker – 0
I feel good about this.
Monday, February 8, 2010
The Mighty Jungle
....is no more. Kakamega National forest is a pale shadow of its former might. Due to population pressure and climate change the forest that once spanned west Africa and Uganda has shrunken to a mere 240 Sq. Kms. Not all of this climate change is due to man’s influence but man’s insatiable desire for resources has shrunk the forests considerably. Even now 57 villages surround the forests and use resources coming from the forest. The good news is that the Kenyan government has sealed the park to everyone except those small communities and has actually manages to regrow much of what is within the confines of the forest boundary. A view from the Buyanga Hill is phenomenal and reveals the new groth in stark contrast to the virgin forest. The walk to the falls (pictured above)via Isiukhu Trail is cool, damp and lovely. The falls are refreshing and worth a long stop to enjoy.
The steadily increasing population in Africa is fueled by the efforts of well meaning organizations who wish to alleviate suffering in the developing world. Social and religious factors contribute to reinforce this reproductive advantage. The average Kenyan cannot be blamed for the destruction of the forest or environment. Wood is still a common way of cooking and getting things done. Trash is burned instead of sent to a dump thus the streets are scattered with garbage. The roads are dusty and potholed, smog from vehicles is everywhere. The pressure to simply survive makes the preservation of the ecology a distant priority.
The bright spot in this story is education. Despite the poverty, schools of all levels are everywhere. There seem to be as many religiously sponsored schools as secular schools and even the poor get an education. It is a shining achievement for Kenyan culture that this is so but the clock is racing and one wonders if affluence and education will partner in a beneficial way to solve Kenya’s environmental issues.
Several highlights of the forest include a sprawling ancestral tree (pictured above)that was used for ages for religious rituals. Even though the Kenyan government does not allow the use of the tree for rituals, it does allw the park to give seedling to anyone who asks so that they may grow their own tree. Also in the park are 400 species of butterflies, 350 species of birds, 8 differant antelope and 40 differant snakes.
This was well worth the trip!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Top 10 Travel Tips For surviving a developing country
1)Trust your instincts. What works for someone else may not work for you.
2)take rubber bands and ziplock bags
3)immediately clean and disinfect the smallest scratch. What is nothing in the U.S. can kill you elsewhere.
4)drink more water than you need. Stress consumes water as well as heat and exertion 5)learning a little local language shows respect and earn great dividends
6)When packing roll and rubber band everything. Ziplock anything that even a drop of water can ruin.
7)Get into the zone when traveling and relax while staying constantly alert. Don’t be naïve. You have a cash value on the street . Always remember that. Stay in a crowd, don’t get drunk and keep your valuables in site.
8) Keep backups of everything including cash in several location like backpack, pockets and hotel.
9) Always show respect but don’t suck up. An appearance of weakness can hurt you while bargaining or target you as a potential victim.
10) Keep medicine, soap and small toiletries with your medkit. You’ll be surprised how often you get cut, scratched or have a queasy stomach. Facilities can be very dicey so be prepared
2)take rubber bands and ziplock bags
3)immediately clean and disinfect the smallest scratch. What is nothing in the U.S. can kill you elsewhere.
4)drink more water than you need. Stress consumes water as well as heat and exertion 5)learning a little local language shows respect and earn great dividends
6)When packing roll and rubber band everything. Ziplock anything that even a drop of water can ruin.
7)Get into the zone when traveling and relax while staying constantly alert. Don’t be naïve. You have a cash value on the street . Always remember that. Stay in a crowd, don’t get drunk and keep your valuables in site.
8) Keep backups of everything including cash in several location like backpack, pockets and hotel.
9) Always show respect but don’t suck up. An appearance of weakness can hurt you while bargaining or target you as a potential victim.
10) Keep medicine, soap and small toiletries with your medkit. You’ll be surprised how often you get cut, scratched or have a queasy stomach. Facilities can be very dicey so be prepared
Was the Good Samaritan a sucker?
I cannot lie. I am not here to help people. I am here because it is a great opportunity to get paid well and travel at the same time. With this in mind, I ask the question, “Why help those in need?”. This is a complex question with many facets. Since I am on the frontline of this discussion now among the poorest people in the world, I feel that I can ask this question without the embarrassment of an armchair viewpoint in elite, rich world.
To discuss this subject, I think that it is best to do so using a specific example and reason from that point. Water. We all need it, rich or poor, it is something we all must have. To provide water to someone is a act without politics, religion, bias or pretense. People need water. As such this is a good example that removes many biases in our discussion that appear in subjects such as birth control in the developing world.
Since I have a boots on the ground perspective now, I can tell you that water is also power. In Nairobi, some sector of the city are provided water by organized crime. One could also say that providing desperate people with water takes away a major reason for these people to overthrow a corrupt and abusive government. Are you really helping to improve things in the long run doing this? As a systems engineer, I like to look at end results. What leveraging factors (small inputs that great exponential change) create the best overall affect in improving people’s lives. What about ecological affects of creating dependency on chlorine solutions in a country that cannot reliably produce it own chlorine? Does this discourage that countries own infrastructure growth? Do these people really want our help? Part of this program involves convincing people to actually use something that will save their children for horrible deaths. Are we delaying the pain that creates change.
I believe that human being only change as a society through the pain of crisis. There are some very well meaning people who care deep in their souls about alleviaring suffering. I honor these noble souls but this does not mean that they are doing the right thing. I do not have the answers to these questions because my viewpoint is limited. I ask these questions because I would like answers and perhaps this is the place to get the data to draw these conclusions.
To discuss this subject, I think that it is best to do so using a specific example and reason from that point. Water. We all need it, rich or poor, it is something we all must have. To provide water to someone is a act without politics, religion, bias or pretense. People need water. As such this is a good example that removes many biases in our discussion that appear in subjects such as birth control in the developing world.
Since I have a boots on the ground perspective now, I can tell you that water is also power. In Nairobi, some sector of the city are provided water by organized crime. One could also say that providing desperate people with water takes away a major reason for these people to overthrow a corrupt and abusive government. Are you really helping to improve things in the long run doing this? As a systems engineer, I like to look at end results. What leveraging factors (small inputs that great exponential change) create the best overall affect in improving people’s lives. What about ecological affects of creating dependency on chlorine solutions in a country that cannot reliably produce it own chlorine? Does this discourage that countries own infrastructure growth? Do these people really want our help? Part of this program involves convincing people to actually use something that will save their children for horrible deaths. Are we delaying the pain that creates change.
I believe that human being only change as a society through the pain of crisis. There are some very well meaning people who care deep in their souls about alleviaring suffering. I honor these noble souls but this does not mean that they are doing the right thing. I do not have the answers to these questions because my viewpoint is limited. I ask these questions because I would like answers and perhaps this is the place to get the data to draw these conclusions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)