we_volume_/ AFRICA

Emergent Africa Mark Kaigwa  Things You Didn’t Know About Africa Tolu Ogunlesi
Ask China! Sofia Fernandes/Kinfu Adisu/Thomas Sharkey Africa’s Global Community Kasandra
Housley Africa Is Not A Country! Hans Rosling Technology For Transparency Lova Rakotomalala
Talking About A Revolution Lina Ben Mhenni SLUMCODE Albert Nashon Odhoji Spaces Of
Freedom Hisham Almiraat Stop Terrorism! Start Transformation! Arslan Chikhaoui Kenya
Matters Erik Hersman/Ethan Zuckerman A Techie In Love With The Arts Jepchumba Radio
As A Force For Peace Jocelyne Sambira You Beg, Borrow, Steal ;-) Wanuri Kahiu Our Culture
Emmanuel Charlse Richardson For Men Only? Mary Githinji I Want To Be A Computer Genius
William Dwayne-Tyga Junior Memoirs Of A Slum Boy Mark Kamau
Most people outside the continent
imagine Africa as being about the
size of a France or two.
In reality it’s the size of the USA,
China, Japan and most of Europe.
IMPRINT FOTOCREDITS

Bea Gschwend: Art Director Frontpage: Ompeh / Unity Drum

Ulrike Reinhard: Editor in Chief
Dominik Wind: Web
www.we_magazine.net

Translation Editorial:
Paul Morland, Berlin
morland@snafu.de

Contact:
Ulrike Reinhard
Faehrweg 
D- Neckarhausen
phone: +    
mail: we@we_magazine.net

http://africa.we_magazine.net
Africa
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editorial

we

Welcome to the latest edition of we_magazine:
we_africa.
During Ulrike’s last trip to Africa (August &
September 2010) the idea of working on a new issue of
we_magazine dedicated to Africa took shape.
And now here it is: we_africa! “
WE have tried to go beyond the stereotype “western-
like“ point of view to zoom in on the continent’s
incredible richness and diversity.
In various very personal reports from Africans all over
the continent WE have sought to draw up an
authentic picture of Africa – an Africa that is no
longer dark but innovative, inspiring and full of hope.
This is our contribution to a new worldview.
As usual we focus on the transformation processes new
technologies are bringing about in our understanding
of WE. WE as “Westerners”, as industries, as societies,
as nations, as farmers, as schools … 20 years ago none
other than Bill Gates said: “What can we do with tech-
nology when people are starving? The world’s poorest
two billion people desperately need healthcare right now,
not laptops.” Maybe he was right. It is extremely
difficult to fashion a technology agenda for the poorest
nations in the world. Or at least it was difficult back
then.
Today we have entered the age of creativity and innova-
tion. The thinking is different. With the creative and
innovative use of the tools of this new age, African na-
tions – like all other nations – can get ahead.
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Examples of what is happening are encouraging.
Now, according the Economist Magazine, “developing
countries (editor’s remark: ‘developing countries’ is an
expression WE don’t like) are competing on creativity
‘in all matter of things’ as well as cost.” That will
change business everywhere – the rich world is losing
its leadership in the sort of breakthrough ideas that
transform industries.
we_africa doesn’t touch too much on business and
industry but WE still think and can see that these
transformations are not only happening in business.
They’re happening everywhere! In the arts, in mobile
communications, in society, education and politics.
And this is what you’ll  find here …
we_africa is a platform for those who personally
drive the change they want to see. It would be great if
many of you continue to contribute. WE view
we_africa as an ongoing process which DOES NOT
end with the release date … So please do feel free to add
on! You’re more than welcome!
And please have a look at our special video collection
(http://africa-videos.we_magazine.net/) where you’ll
find other stories which WE think come across better
as video than as text.
Enjoy!
Bea, Domink & Ulrike
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Content ALL AFRICAN

Emergent Africa Mark Kaigwa 

 Things You Didn’t Know About Africa Tolu Ogunlesi 

If You Want To Know About Africa’s Future – Ask China!

Sofia Fernandes/Kinfu Adisu/Thomas Sharkey 

Africa’s Global Community Kasandra Housley 

Africa Is Not A Country! Hans Rosling 

COUNTRIES

Technology for Transparency – Text Messages To Help

To Protect Children Against Violence Lova Rakotomalala 

Talking About A Revolution Lina Ben Mhenni 

SLUMCODE – Empowering Slum Communities Albert Nashon Odhoji 

Spaces Of Freedom – Web . in Marocco Hisham Almiraat 

Stop Terrorism! Start Transformation Arslan Chikhaoui 

Kenya Matters Erik Hersman/Ethan Zuckerman 

 we_volume_/ 

DISCIPLINES

A Techie In Love With The Arts Jepchumba 

Radio As A Force For Peace Jocelyne Sambira 

You Beg, Borrow, Steal ;-) You Do Almost Anything

To Get Funding Wanuri Kahiu 

Change Has A Name: Mobile Steve Song 

PEOPLE

Our Culture – A Source Of Life Affirming Joy

Emmanuel Charlse Richardson 

For Men Only? Mary Githinji 

I Want To Be A Computer Genius William Dwayne-Tyga Junior 

Memoirs Of A Slum Boy Mark Kamau 

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All African
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tags: internet, mobile,

m-commerce,
mobile money,
ushahidi, iHub,
collaboraid
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Emergent Africa

Mark Kaigwa

... is a storyteller working with leading African

brands, communications agencies and non-profits to
improve communication and collaboration using
mobile and the social web. He is currently Creative
Director for strategic consultancy PlugIn Africa.

http://www.mark.co.ke
http://www.twitter.com/mkaigwa
http://afrinnovator.com
http://africandigitalart.com
 we_volume_/

It is both a great pleasure and an honour for

me to be contributing to WE_magazine in its
focus on Africa. I appreciate the spotlight and
hope that the words I write will do more than
arouse your interest, but spark an unquenchable
flame to ignite Africa in your eyes. That this
ember as it glows will enlighten a new state
of mind, far from that of Africa being the
so-called “Dark Continent”.

WE are Africa.
WE are
Making History.
Africa’s writing history, for all the right reasons now.
The amount of innovation going on across the con-
tinent has leaders, thinkers and innovators curious
about the possibilities of this market. A challenge
when talking about the continent is its sheer size.
Lest we forget, Africa is not a country, but a complex
continent of  countries and regions. To put this in
context, Africa is over , languages; that’s over
, local cultures to address.
To take a birds-eye view of the continent, we must
continue to frame the conversation in context. Let’s
look at some numbers about Africa:
•  billion people
• + million mobile phones
• + million connected to the Internet
• + million on Facebook
• Internet penetration across the continent
is pegged at %
The internet and mobile phones are transforming the
way Africans communicate and transact. We’ll look at
them from three perspectives focusing on the mobile,
and bringing it back into the context of the internet.
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Commerce
This has to be the single biggest innovation success
that’s been bringing worldwide recognition, awards
and acclaim. The rise of mobile commerce or m-com-
merce has seen Africa positioned as the market leader
and thought leader when it comes to providing solu-
tions for people without bank accounts and those at
the bottom of the pyramid.
Kenyan mobile phone service provider, Safaricom’s
product M-Pesa (M for mobile, Pesa Swahili for money)
being the worldwide leader and the greatest success
so far. Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt recently declared
that Google’s next phone, the Nexus S would be the
mobile wallet and could eventually replace the credit
card. This has been a reality in Africa for the past 
years thanks to mobile phone technology and innova-
tive payment systems such as M-Pesa.
M-Pesa’s got a network of over , agents across
Kenya. Whether small one-man kiosks, to Customer
Care Centres or even tills at supermarkets, the ubiquity
of mobile money has meant that Kenyans have defined
and owned the mobile wallet circa . To put it into
context, when I take a cab, I pay my cab driver with
M-Pesa, I buy my groceries with M-Pesa mobile.
Whether it’s school fees or collecting salaries some
people prefer M-Pesa.
This has meant that banks have had to innovate to
retain and engage new customers. Partnerships with
M-Pesa have seen the birth of M-Kesho (Kesho being
Tomorrow in Swahili) a partnership between Equity
Bank and Safaricom which sees people able to save
as little as  Kenya Shillings at a time. These inno-
vative applications of what could be referred to as
nano-finance are what’s led Africa as a leader in target-
ing and profiting from what C.K. Prahalad defined as
The Bottom of The Pyramid. To date, M-Pesa’s cumulati-
vely transacted over . Billion Kenya Shillings –
$. Billion (US Dollars) in person-to-person trans-
fers and transacts an estimated $ Million a month,
again in person-to-person money transfers. The maxi-
mum you can transact per person is less than $ a day.
The outcome of this all is mobile money is a standard.
Now all service providers in Kenya each have a mobile
money platform, each with its nuanced approach.
The success may not scale the same way in other African
markets, but Kenya has proven the case for the mo-
bile wallet and proven it doesn’t need a smart-phone
to be a smart innovation.
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Community
If we’re to look at how the mobile’s shaping com-
munity, we would look no further than South Africa,
where the instant messaging network MXit’s revolu-
tionised youth culture and social networking across
the globe. What started out as an SMS-based game
has evolved into a global mobile social network of
over  million users with a bulk of those users in
South Africa and over  other countries including
. million users in Indonesia. As far as growth goes,
they’re adding over , new users a day from
across the world.
One phenomenal example would be Yoza, a series of
short cellphone stories that were seeded and spread
through MXit. The outcome in  months was ,
readers leading to over , comments. % of
whom left comments after they’d read the content.
Steve Vosloo Fellow for st Centurey Learning at
The Shuttleworth Foundation and Project Leader on
Yoza, describes the mobile phone as “the Kindle of
Africa”. A sentiment that rings true from what we’ve
seen with Yoza and other examples on MXit.
Through an initiative called MXit cares, the MXit plat-
form has gone way beyond just sharing messages to
delivering education in engaging and participatory
ways to this large audience. Examples include stu-
dents studying for their final exams in South Africa
accessing a maths tutor on MXit and HIV/AIDS infor-
mation and drug & substance abuse counselling. To
put this in context, Europeans spend little more than
% of their average monthly income on mobile com-
munication, Africans spend .%.
Culture
From South Africa, we take a trip to Ghana, where
like many other countries in Africa, counterfeit drugs
are a serious problem. For example, according to
Bright Simons, an estimated % drugs in Nigeria are
fake. The World Trade Organisation estimated that
fake malaria drugs accounted for , African de-
aths a year. The estimated annual global losses to the
pharmaceutical industry exceed $ billion, and the
fake drug industry is closely linked to organised crime.
This is where mPedigree comes in.
Take this example, a patient walks into a pharmacist,
buys drugs and scratches off a panel to reveal a -
digit code. They send that number in an SMS mes-
sage – which is free – using a short dialling code.
Seconds later they get a text back confirming, or other-
wise, the authenticity of those drugs. mPedigree vali-
dates genuine medicines and brings clarity through
one of the most basic of technologies. Started in
Ghana and piloted in both Ghana & Nigeria, the
rapid success of mPedigree has seen it spread to
Kenya and soon to the rest of East Africa.
“African mobile phone users do not have contracts,”
says Mr. Bright Simons, Chief Strategist at mPedigree
“They use top-up scratch cards. So people are very
used to using scratch cards like this.” In addition to
the health benefits and financial rewards, there is also
the benefit of real-time information on drug consump-
tion. The mPedigree data, which is routed to data
centres in Ireland and Germany, provides a continuous
picture of the pharmaceutical needs of the country al-
lowing distribution companies to prevent shortages,
and giving health professionals early warning of epi-
demics or unusual drug consumption patterns.
Each of these examples in their own respective ways
apply culture, commerce and community and are
success stories in their own right. The mobile plat-
form is where Africa is writing the history books.
From businesses building on mobile payment plat-
forms to connect the web and the mobile phone to
those tapping MXit’s API to create games and paid
content, what we’re seeing is ecosystems and eco-
nomies for innovation developing from the develo-
ping world.
The challenge with Africa is to change narratives
internationally about the continent, to showcase
success stories and to ignite that interest and the
new Africa.
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If we have a look at the web and what redefinitions launched and succeeding because of the role such
Africa is promoting, we need not look further than spaces are playing in their localities.
the story behind Ushahidi. An extraordinary story The sum total of this brief journey takes us back to
whose genesis is traced back to a period during where we started this conversation. As we’ve just
Kenya’s / post election violence when blog- traversed the continent from East to South to West
ger Ory Okolloh along with a team of volunteers in- across Sub Saharan Africa we’ve seen just a handful
cluding Erik Herman, David Kobia and Juliana Rotich of stories. There are plenty more to focus on or show-
developed a website to map incidents of violence case, but it starts with your input. This has to be
and peace based on reports submitted via the web a conversation we carry and share between us – a
and mobile phone. This website had , users in conversation that we own.
Kenya, and was the catalyst which made us realize
there was a need for a platform based on it which
could be used by many others around the world. It
was then that Ushahidi was born.
“Ushahidi”, which means “testimony” in Swahili, has
gone on to become one of the world’s best used
crowdsourcing platforms. Ushahidi has always been
free and open-source and is developed, maintained
and driven by a group of passionate volunteers from
across the world, managed by Kenyans; a story in
and of itself. Now, Ushahidi is a global success story
in visualization, interactive mapping and crowdsour-
cing. From monitoring elections in India, Mexico,
Tanzania, Burundi, to the earthquake in Haiti and
more recently the Oil Spill in the United States, Erik
Hersman, Ushahidi cofounder puts it well. “If it’ll It’s time we shaped the African
work in Africa, it’ll work anywhere.”
narrative for the world. Politics
The nexus for all things innovative in Kenya, and
Africa at the moment has to be the innovation hubs. is a reality, so are some of the
It’s hard to point to Kenya right now and not see how development and infrastruc-
the *iHub – is at the forefront of innovation within ture challenges we face, but
the technology space. From hosting events with
leading thought leaders from across the world to
we certainly are in a position
hosting their first set of Green Members –  of to dictate the kind of stories
Nairobi’s most promising developers, creatives and that dominate the African
business technologists. Described as an open space for
brand. And now that we’re in
technologists, investors, tech companies and hackers,
this space is a tech community facility with a focus
a position to lead in emerging
on young entrepreneurs, web and mobile phone markets, WE must collaborate
programmers, designers and researchers. It is part and exchange, share and build
open community workspace (co-working), part vector
on what we have. You can be
for investors and VCs and part incubator.
of service by spreading this
Such hubs, labs and co-working spaces are creating message: carrying it, remixing
the physical structure to create sustainable environ- it, orating it, spreading and
ments for conception and execution across the con-
retelling these success stories.
tinent from Limbe Labs in Cameroon to the Hive
Colab in Uganda and Banta Labs in Senegal just to WE can keep this flame
name a few. We have products being developed, glowing. Will you?
 we_volume_/

tags: aid industry,

tourism, i-frica,
western
stereotype,
future, literature
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 Things
You Didn’t
Know About
Africa
This article was first published in the 3 Quarks Daily, July 26. 2010
http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2010/07/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-africa.html

Tolu Ogunlesi

... was born in 1982. He is the author of a collection

of poetry, Listen to the geckos singing from a balcony
(Bewrite Books, 2004) and a novella, Conquest &
Conviviality (Hodder Murray, 2008). In 2007 he
was awarded a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg poetry
prize, in 2008 the Nordic Africa Institute Guest
Writer Fellowship, and in 2009 a Cadbury Visiting
Fellowship by the University of Birmingham. His fic-
tion and poetry have been published in The London
Magazine, Wasafiri, Farafina, PEN Anthology of New
Nigerian Writing, Litro, Brand, Orbis, Nano2ales,
Stimulus Respond, Sable, Magma, Stanford’s Black
Arts Quarterly and World Literature Today, among
others. He lives in Lagos, Nigeria.
 we_volume_/

When Western tourists talk about

Africa somehow it seems to me that
what they really mean is East and
Southern Africa, places like Namibia,
Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana and
parts of Uganda where you will find
safaris and zebras and elephants and
lakes in abundance.

Serengeti, Tanzania

Africa their Africa
When I think of Tourists’ Africa I almost never think of

Nigeria. Tourists stay away from a country like Nigeria
– those masses of foreigners to be seen at the arrival
terminal of the Lagos International Airport (MMIA) are
diplomats and NGO-types and oil workers and jour-
nalists and researchers, and maybe spies. (And of
course the occasional ‘Nigerian letter’ victim despe-
rately hoping to recover a lost fortune). For most of
them there will be the lure of money to be made / ear-
ned – as hardship allowance or crazy business profit.
Nigeria is one country where foreigners come to make
money, not to fritter it away on guided tours and
lakeside resorts.
In the Congo they will be aid workers and diamond-
seeking businessmen and gorilla savers; ditto the
Sudan (minus the gorilla-savers and businessmen). In
Liberia and Sierra Leone they will be IMF and World
Bank officials. In Guinea Bissau they will mostly be
cocaine merchants and US drug enforcement agents.
i-frica
If Africa didn’t exist, the world – the West, actually –
would have to invent it. If they failed, then China
would have succeeded. Indeed the anthropologist

and Africa specialist John Ryle wrote , in his review of
Richard Dowden’s Africa: Altered States, Ordinary
Miracles, in the London Guardian: “In an important
sense, “Africa” is a western invention. Despite attempts
by visionaries to promote unity among the states that
inherited dominion from Europe’s retreating empires,
African politicians have never paid anything more
than lip-service to the pan-African ideal.”
But we could even take that concept of invention to
the extreme; beyond the invention of African “unity”
to the invention of Africa itself.
Think of a planet without Africa, without what British
journalist and author of  important books about
the continent, Michela Wrong described (speaking on
behalf of all foreign journalists) as “Africa’s various
trouble spots, our professional bread and butter.”  everything that the child victim is not: educated, pri-
I repeat this: If Africa didn’t exist the West would have
had to invent it. If Africa didn’t exist, where would all

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:mUOrh_htwJ:travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_.html+nigeria+travel+alert
&cd=&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world//mar//drugstrade

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books//nov//africa
we_volume_/ 
that aid money go? Saving Europe’s poor? Or bailing
out Greece and Iceland? Certainly not; it would have
gone instead towards providing grants for publishers
and novels churning out books about an ‘imaginary
continent of Africa’, where the only thing that worked
would be the dysfunction. If Africa didn’t exist, what
we today know as Sci-fi would be set on a continent
known as ‘Africa’.
What would the slave plantations of the New World
have done in the absence of Africa? What would
Mungo Park have done? David Livingstone? Lord Lugard?
Lord Palmerston? Ryszard Kapuscinski? Bob Geldof?
What would the World Bank and IMF be without
Africa?
If Africa didn’t exist, Steve Jobs would have come to
the rescue with the i-frica.
The epidemic of the angry African
Ever since the arrival of television Africa has been
greatly defined by its children. Kwarshiorkoed Biafran
kids – with bloated bellies and flies in the eyes – shocked
the world in the final years of the s, and galvani-
zed a massive humanitarian operation, the modern
beginnings of the billion-dollar charity industry. A
decade and half later the theatre of pity moved to
Ethiopia. Bono and Bob Geldof (as we know them
today) were born. The hungry African child motif took
its place as the unifying metaphor for a continent of
grossly disparate parts.
And then in the s the helpless African child got
tough competition, in the form of the child soldier. In
place of the begging bowl, the African child now held
a Kalashnikov. There’s an entire genre of literature
built around these children; books like Chris Abani’s
Song for Night, Ahmadou Kourouma’s Allah Is Not
Obliged, Uzodimma Iweala’s Beasts of No Nation;
Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone, China Keitetsi’s
Child Soldier: Fighting For My Life.
Today, decades later, another image is emerging, that
will both reflect and define the image of the continent
in the years to come. It is the angry African. She is
vileged, in many cases domiciled in the west. She is
angry at the portrayals of Africa by Western media.
 we_volume_/
She foams at the mouth when she sees the TIME Ma-

gazine essay on maternal mortality in Sierra Leone,
has a JPEG file of the Economist’s famous “The Hope-
less Continent” cover on her memory stick; can quote
Binyavanga Wainana’s essay “How to write about

Africa” line by rib-cracking line; and is an avid reader
and commentator on blogs and websites, her mind an
automated search engine programmed with one
word: “Africa”.
The angry African is as helpless about her anger as the
hungry African child is about her hunger. But unlike
the hunger the angry African’s anger is justified; every
bit of it. She has taken the AK from the child soldier,
emptied it of its lead and filled its cartridges with ink
instead.
True, African anger at Western portrayal is not new.
Long before now there was Achebe (to mention only
one example) and his trenchant critique of Joseph
Conrad. There was the postcolonial anger of the sixties
and seventies. So what’s new? The internet, maybe,
which has succeeded in multiplying access to the in-
stigators of the anger as well as to means of expres-
sing it. If there were only a handful of angry Africans
before now (mostly sequestered in Ivory Towers), today
there are armies of them, let loose on the internet.
Backed up by blogs and Twitter and Facebook, angry
Africans can wield their anger effortlessly. Beware,
all you misinterpreters of the continent. Being well-
intentioned will probably no longer save you. There’s
a lot to learn from what recently happened to TIME
Africa Bureau chief, Alex Perry.
Africa is the past – and the future
Ever heard of the Rift Valley? It’s the place in East
Africa where scientists tell us humans first learned to
walk on two feet, and from where the humans who
today occupy other parts of the world commenced
their wandering. The Economist’s Intelligent Life ma-
gazine  summer issue had as its lead a fascina-
ting piece titled: “We’re all African now.”
In it J.M. Ledgard writes: “According to potassium-
argon dating, hominids lived here for , years.

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/,,,.html

http://www.granta.com/Magazine//How-to-Write-about-Africa/Page-

http://www.fair.org/blog////times-alex-perry-responds-to-fair/

http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/jm-ledgard/exodus

http://www.eurodad.org/uploadedFiles/Whats_New/Reports/China_in_Africa.pdf

http://manypossibilities.net/african-undersea-cables/
They made handaxes which they used to butcher the
hippos, zebras and baboons they hunted and scaven-
ged … The Kenyan anthropologist Louis Leakey un-
covered a Homo erectus skull here in the s; the
brain cavity was disappointingly small. There must
have been grunts, gestures with stones, blood, the sky
blotted with vultures, ape children kept back in the
darkness …”
Ledgard goes on to declare: “We are all Africans. We
originated in Africa. That is proved by the continent’s
rich genetic inheritance. Africans are more diverse
than the rest of humanity put together, because they
are drawn from the pool of humans who did not leave
…”
Africa is indeed the world’s past. In its darkest reces-
ses lies overwhelming shame – the shame of slavery,
of colonialism, of neocolonialism – fuelling the guilt
of the world.
But Africa is also the future. Ask China.
Ask Europe in a few decades, when its streets will
teem with pensioners, beneath whose combined
weight economies will totter; when it’d be easier to
find a mosquito in Germany, than a teenage German.
 percent of the world’s cobalt is in Africa, as are
 percent of the world’s arable land,  percent of
its gold,  percent of its platinum, and a sixth of its
population. Add China and India and Western Europe
together and the resulting landmass would still be
smaller than Africa.
There is an invasion of fibre-optic cabling across huge
swatches of the continent, that is certain to smash
much of the invisible ceiling that has kept Africa
on the ground floor while the world inches towards
the penthouse.
It is a fact that it is now much harder than ever before
to be a dictator on the continent. Vicious wars have
ended in Liberia and Sierra Leone and Angola.
Africa, the scar of yesterday (In  Tony Blair called
the African situation “a scar on the conscience of the
world”) is also the potential star of tomorrow.  It is
where the guilt of the world will be assuaged.
 we_volume_/ 

How to read about Africa

I have written before about the ‘ink-attracting’ nature

of Africa’s many fires. Africa has turned the world
into firefighters; firefighters with cash and ink in their
hoses. What many do not bother to realize is that there
are as many “experts” from within as from without.
In a You-Tube Q & A session with readers, New York
Times columnist Nicholas Kristof was asked why his
“columns about Africa almost always feature black
Africans as victims, and white foreigners as their
saviors.”
His interesting response: “The problem that I face —
my challenge as a writer — in trying to get readers to
care about something like Eastern Congo, is that
frankly, the moment a reader sees that I’m writing
about Central Africa, for an awful lot of them, that’s
the moment to turn the page. It’s very hard to get
people to care about distant crises like that. One way
of getting people to read at least a few grafs in is to
have some kind of a foreign protagonist, some Ame-
rican who they can identify with as a bridge character.”
So there – we meet the lazy American reader who
cannot engage with a piece unless he sees either of
the following: a “Donate” button or a White Character
created by a White Expert.
It is important for Americans interested in learning
about Africa to read not just the Western interpreters
of Africa but also the Africans who daily spill ink about
a continent they care very much about and probably
know more about than many of the foreign experts
ever will. Please read people like Nicholas Kristofs –
but also make sure to read the Tatalo Alamus and the
Reuben Abatis.
In his  TED lecture Chris Abani said: “If you want
to know about Africa, read our literature. And not just
Things Fall Apart, because that would be like saying
I’ve read, Gone With the Wind, and so I know every-
thing about America.”
Speaking in , author of Things Fall Apart Chinua
Achebe told Transition Magazine: “The last five hun-
dred years of European contact with Africa produced
a body of literature that presented Africa in a very bad
light and now the time has come for Africans to tell
their own stories.”
They have since started telling those stories. You only
need to pay a little more attention.


http://www.quarksdaily.com/quarksdaily///spilling-ink-on-africas-fires.html

http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com////westerners-on-white-horses/

http://thenationonlineng.net/web/columnist/sunday/tatalo-alamu/index..html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IXu-swVk
 we_volume_/

If You Want
To Know About
Africa’s Future –
Ask China!
 we_volume_/ 

Introduction: Why invest in China?

Africa is still a poor continent. 1.03 billion are living there. Of this 1 billion1 65% live on
under $2 per day2 and 59% of African households do not have electricity3, and the number
increases to 69% if you only look at Sub-Saharan Africa. Nevertheless Africa is no longer
about famine, poverty, and war. That was the Africa of the 20th century. The 21st century
Africa is about opportunity, technology, and entrepreneurship.
You may read about Sudan, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Eastern Congo, and the Ivory Coast in
the New York Times and hear about these countries on the nightly news. But these are only
five of the 54 countries in Africa. The real untold, narrative of Africa is what’s happening
in the other 49 countries. Tremendous economic growth, investment, and rapidly rising
living standards. What happened in South East Asia from 1950 - 2000 (rapid growth and
poverty reduction) is now happening in Africa from 2000 - 2050. Most of the world just
hasn’t realized it yet.
In East Africa (Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania) the GDP has grown
at an average annual rate of 7.6% the last four years compared to just 0.5% for the USA.
Africa will be the economic lion of the 21st century as McKinsey proclaimed in their July
Report “Lions on the Move: The Progress and Potential of African Economies.” WE think
Africa is ready now for private investment – we’ve seen in many countries around the
world, that the private sector has huge power to drive positive change in the world. The
best way WE believe investment can contribute to positive change is to help high-growth
companies that are creating jobs expand and create more jobs. At the end of the day,
the cause of poverty is a lack of jobs and productive capital. If you have been to Africa, you
can feel this everywhere. Low education, low health care, and low nutrition are the sym-
ptoms of poverty, not the causes. If you increase someone’s income they can afford better
education, health care, and food for their family. And this is what most development aid and
most countries which invest in China don’t see.
One of the biggest investors in Africa is China … and its investments are viewed critically
in many ways4.This is why WE placed this topic among the first in the line-up!


http://prb.org/Datafinder/Geography/MultiCompare.aspx?variables=&regions=

http://prb.org/Datafinder/Geography/SelectTopic.aspx?category=&regions=

http://www.iea.org/weo/electricity.asp

http://news.bbc.co.uk//hi/africa/.stm und Martine Dahle Huse & Stephen L. Muyakwa:
China in Africa: lending, policy space and governance,
Published by: Norwegian Campaign for Debt Cancellation, http://www.slettgjelda.no
Norwegian Council for Africa, http://www.afrika.no
 we_volume_/
tags: investment,
development aid,
Nigeria, Niger,
Zambia, Angola,
business
Sofia Fernandes
Sofia Fernandes is a PhD candidate in African Stu-
dies at ISCTE-Lisbon University Institute. She holds
a degree in International Relations and a MsC in In-
ternational Development and Cooperation. Her
main interest areas are the economy and internal
and external politics of China. Her present research
project is on Chinese engagement in the economy of
Angola. Her past research includes “Macao and
Luso-Chinese Relations” and “Inequality in China:
from 1978 to the Present”. She has published an ar-
ticle on “Turkey: an European Country?” in Janus,
an International Relations Annual publication, in
2005.
Center for African Studies, ISCTE/IUL,
Lisbon _
The general objective of the CEA is to promote inter-
disciplinary studies in the social sciences on Sub-
Saharan Africa. This objective is pursued mainly
through research, but also through (mostly interna-
tional) conferences, publications, and support for stu-
dies in this field at ISCTE as well as in other
(Portuguese, African) universities, through the disse-
mination via its website and email of information re-
levant to the field and through the constitution (since
early 2005) of a central library of African studies for
Portugal. In this context, special attention is given to
the five Lusophone African countries, but concern is
with the continent as a whole.
http://cea.iscte.pt/
 we_volume_/ 

If You Want To
Know About
Africa’s Future –
Ask China! tags: resources, labor,
Beijing Consensus,
Chinese approach

Kinfu Adisu
Grand Valley State University
Thomas Sharkey
College of Business Administration
The University of Toledo
_
A quote instead of a CV: Thomas is Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Indiana
“My teaching goal is to create a rigorous learning University, 1985. He received his Masters of Business
environment that is conducive to interaction, colla- Administration (MBA) at University of Akron in
boration and development of critical thinking. It is 1977. He is also a Master of Science and holds a
very important to respect the diverse ideas and Bachelor in Arts.
background of my students and reflect fair and equal
treatment of them in and out of the class room. I also
encourage the understanding of global issues and
the importance of knowledge and cultural exper-
ience as a contributor to personal and national
competitiveness.”

This article was first published in: African Business News, November 6, 2010
http://africabusiness.com/2010/11/06/the-impact-of-chinese-investment-in-africa/
  we_volume_/
_ Chinese Investments in Africa
Sofia Fernandes
The incentives to foreign investment in China started
in , when the economy steadily opened to foreign
investment, but the big push to Chinese outward in-
vestment started in  with the announcement of
the “Go Global” policy, aimed at the internationaliza-
tion of Chinese enterprises.
In what concerns Africa, the recent surge in Chinese
investments started in the mid ’s, after the first oil
supply agreements were signed. Even though Chinese
foreign direct investment is still small on a global scale
and highly concentrated in Asia and Latin America, its
importance in most African economies is growing ra-
pidly.
Today China ranks fourth among Asian investors in
Africa in terms of FDI stock (after Singapore, India and
Malaysia) according to data from the  UNCTAD
report on “Asian foreign direct investment in Africa”.
Chinese companies in Africa have been increasing
from less than  in  to  in , to more than
double to  in , according to data collected
by Peter Kragelund a researcher on the theme, who
published the article “Chinese drivers for African
development? The effects of Chinese investments in
Zambia”, in . This data also allows us to identify
an important trend in Chinese investments in Africa
i.e the importance of smaller private enterprises: while
the average size of investments in  was around
 million dollars, in  this amount has decreased
to . million dollars. Despite the fact that Chinese
investments concentrate in the oil sector, Chinese FDI
increasingly dominates investments in all sectors in
many African countries.
The search for new markets to sell Chinese overpro-
duction in the so-called light industries and also the
possibility of setting up units of production with the
aim of exporting to third countries taking advantage
of such initiatives as the ACP agreements (Africa, Ca-
ribbean and the Pacific) with Europe and AGOA (Africa
Growth and Opportunity Act) that allow fiscal and
entry advantages to exports with origin in African
countries, are other important drivers of Chinese in-
vestment in Africa. Another important factor is the Chi-
nese search for land plots for agricultural production
The Impact of Chinese Investment in Africa _
Kinfu Adisu / Thomas Sharkey
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to explore the increa-
singly important economic and business relation-
ship between the People’s Republic of China and the
countries of Africa. Our focus is on how this part-
nership manifests itself in investments. The research
questions are: first, how has the relationship changed
over time and second, from an African perspective
has this relationship been beneficial? Finally, how
has the recent economic downturn affected their
partnership? Our investigation shows that Chinese
investment has been motivated by a desire to access
critical resources (oil, bauxite, etc.). The Chinese ap-
proach was been to downplay political issues (e.g.,
human rights). Although recipient African nations
have received investment inflows, they have come
with certain drawbacks. For instance, they have ne-
gatively impacted local trade and commerce. Also, in
some cases African labor has not benefited from
Chinese investment.
Introduction – Phases of Engagement
Historical evidence show that there have been eco-
nomic and political relationships between China and
Africa as far back as  years ago (Mohan and Kale,
). A profound increase in the last two decades
may have been related to the shifts in the world
economy, geopolitical competition, and changes in
Chinese foreign policy (Brautigam, ). According
to Mohan and Kale (), the Chinese-Africa
business contact is divided into three phases.
The first phase from  to  related to colonial
labor demand called “coolie trade.” Coolie trade
focused mainly on plantation, mining, and railway
construction. Alongside this were small but enter-
prising businesses that serviced Chinese labor mar-
kets and undertook small-scale export. The second
period was from -. With the establishment
of the People’s Republic of China and the sub-
sequent cold war, relations between China and Africa
became political. China challenged the superpowers
through foreign aid to Africa in order to cement

_ to export to China. This seems to be an important
driver for teh Chinese presence in Africa, with its ori-
gins going back to the ’s. At that time Chinese as-
sistance teams arrived in Africa to build rural
extension programs, namely those regarding the hy-
brid rice developed in China. Chinese activity in what
concerns food production for local consumption, can
be also perceived throughout the continent.
Furthermore in analyzing the patterns of Chinese in-
vestment in Africa one can understand that it embra-
ces the entire continent: from oil rich countries such
as Angola and Nigeria, to land rich countries such as
Zimbabwe to countries with no natural resources like
Cape Verde, an archipelago of nine islands, but where
Chinese shops have spread consistently since 
creating fierce competition among Chinese shop
owners. It is important to mention that the countries
where Chinese engagement is more noticeable are
the ones that have initially been more prone and wil-
ling to take foreign investment liberation policies,
pressured by the West. That is the reason why analysts
like Kragelund comment that without Western influ-
ence it would be very difficult for China to maintain
its current investment pace throughout the continent.
Zambia is an example of a country where Chinese in-
vestment has been growing steadily since , alt-
hough concentrated in the mining sector. In  the
stock of Chinese FDI was  million dollars, conside-
ring that % of that amount was in the mining sector,
according to data from the Zambia Development
Agency and the Association of Chinese Companies in
Zambia. The other sectors involved were manufactu-
ring (% of FDI), construction (%), and services
(%). It is important to notice also from the available
data that the FDI in mining is concentrated in only 
companies whereas investment in manufacturing
makes only for a quarter of the amount invested in mi-
ning, but is spread through  companies. This data
may indicate that mining investments come from big
state enterprises, while investment in the manufactu-
ring sector comes from smaller enterprises, probably
where private companies are in the majority.
Kragelund () noted that many Zambian-run shops
are in fact owned by the Chinese, as well as construction
and manufacturing companies which have only a
“ghost” Zambian partner allowing them to win tenders
specifically aimed at Zambian companies.
we_volume_/ 
‘South-South’ relations. It also encouraged the in- _
dependence movement in Africa. This is also when
Chinese economic reforms were being instituted
allowing liberalization, special economic zones, and
permitting foreign direct investment (Shenkar, ).
The last period is from  to present, most notice-
able in the last  years. According to Broadman
(), there has been movement of Chinese com-
panies into African countries particularly in the areas
of construction, mining, and oil extraction. Such
efforts have been encouraged by the Chinese go-
vernment.
Introduction – Conferences
One of the cornerstones of Chinese-African rela-
tionship began after the Bandung conference in
 (Muekalia, ), in which, “China began to
cultivate ties and offer economic, technical, and
military support to African countries and liberation
movements in an effort to unite them against both
superpowers”. This strategy was also reflected at the
first ever China-Africa Co-operation Forum held in
Beijing from October -, , in which  Afri-
can countries and  ministers were present. Accor-
ding to Muekalia (), the forum expressed a clear
policy goal for dealing with African countries. It in-
volved co-operations on investment, financial ope-
rations, debt relief and cancellation, agricultural,
natural resources and energy, education, and multi-
lateral matters. Anshan () also reiterates this, ex-
plaining how the new Chinese approach enhanced
its relations with Africa in many ways including edu-
cational, cultural, medical, public health support and
training.
Introduction – Motives
In view of the above aid strategy, one may suggest
the main motive for Chinese relationship is to gain
access to the abundant raw materials that Africa
offers. Although this may be a good reason, Alden
() states that China’s insistence on recognition
of its “one China” policy by Africans as another
important requirement. Alden () also lists four
factors that have shaped China’s contemporary
African policy: China’s need for energy security; new
 we_volume_/

_ In Namibia the relationship with the Chinese goes
back to the national liberation struggles when the cur-
rent president received broad support from the Chi-
nese government including diplomatic and financial
support. Since  the Chinese have been present in
Namibia’s economy, mainly in construction and the re-
tail trade. Although at first their investment was very
well appreciated, in the last years there has been gro-
wing resentment against the Chinese that has gone
even further in the Parliament, with the opposition ac-
cusing the government of corruption in the public ten-
ders won by the Chinese.
Chinese construction companies have been winning
contracts, both at the public and private level. Only in
/ Chinese companies won six of the sixteen pu-
blic contract tenders. On the private level too Chinese
companies have actually won % of the market
quota in the construction business, according to data
by Dobler in “Solidarity, Xenophobia and the regulation
of Chinese business in Namibia”, . To outweigh
the Chinese presence in the economy the government
has to change the bidding rules for public contracts –
foreign companies are not allowed to bid for contracts
inferior to  million Namibian dollars – as well as the
Affirmative Action Act of  announcing that work
permits can only be issued if the workforce skills can-
not be found among the nationals.
The retail business is very lucrative in Namibia, espe-
cially in its northern border area because of the in-
creasingly good living conditions in Angola. Two big
warehouses sell directly to Angolan traders.
In South Africa investment relations have been gro-
wing steadily since the early ’s, especially since
 when the Apartheid regime fell. South Africa was
in fact China’s first trading partner until  when
Angola outpaced it as China’s main partner on the
continent. By  Chinese companies had invested
 million dollars in more than  projects in the
areas of agriculture, textiles, electronics, mining, ban-
king, transport and communications, according to
Garth Shelton in “South Africa and China: a strategic
partnership?”. In fact the biggest outward investment
of China up to the present was its buying of a %
stake in the South African Standard Bank in October
.
we_volume_/ 
market and investment opportunity; symbolic dip- _
lomacy and development; and forging strategic
partnerships. According to Konings (), the main
drivers of the China-Africa cooperation is defined by
recent statement by Chinese government on two
issues. One is on cooperation: “China will continue
to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with African
countries in the international arena, conduct regu-
lar exchange of views, coordinate positions on major
international and regional issues and stand for
mutual support on major issues concerning state
sovereignty, territorial integrity…” (pp. ) The
other one is the fact that “The one-China principle
is the political foundation for the establishment
and development of China’s relations with African
countries and regional organizations.” (pp. ).
Zweig and Jianhai () concluded that China’s
African policy is being driven by its domestic deve-
lopment strategy. First, it wants to access energy
resources. Second, it wants to establish export
markets for its light manufacturing, services, agro-
processing, apparel, and communications offerings.
Already, Africa is full of low-cost motorcycles, elec-
tronic and consumer goods made in China.
Chinese Investment Model
According to Sautman and Hairong (), there are
factors that made China’s relationship with Africa
distinctive. Other than aid and migration policies,
the “Chinese model” of investment and infrastruc-
ture loans known as the “Beijing Consensus” is a
very important approach that needs to be discussed.
In Ramos’s () terms, it is a new attitude towards
politics, development, and global balance of power.
In general, it values the political and international
relations concept of multilateralism, consensus and
peaceful co-existence (Wenping, ). This ap-
proach contrasts with Washington consensus, a neo-
liberal paradigm that takes into consideration
democracy, good governance, and poverty reduction
(Fine and Jomo, - in Sautman and Hairong).
The Chinese model of investment in essence brings
economic growth objectives and foreign policy to-
gether guiding trade and invest decisions in Africa
along with “no strings attached” financial and
technical assistance (Zafar, ). Chinese bid com-
  we_volume_/
_ Other investments are concentrated mainly in the mi-
ning sector, such as the  million dollar investment in
the Limpopo Province Development Corporation to
establish a company named ASA minerals aimed at
chrome mining. Shanghai Industrial and First Auto
Works have invested in manufacturing plants. In this
regard it is also important to mention South African
investments in China, which according to official sour-
ces amounted up to  in  million dollars in over
 projects in China, in the areas of the brewery
business with SABMillar, entertainment and television
with MIH and Landpac in road building technology. A
Free Trade Agreement between the countries have
been under discussion since , but there were ne-
gotiations to ensure that South African textile pro-
duction was protected against Chinese competition in
the first years. Angola is currently the country where
Chinese economic engagement is more noticeable,
mainly at the level of concessional financing that is
used to finance public construction projects. In what
concerns FDI we can highlight the investment of ZTE,
China’s number one telecommunications company,
that has invested so far  million dollars in the te-
lecommunication network as well as in the military
communication system.
It is also very important to mention the role perfor-
med by China’s Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s) in
Africa. Up to the present there are eight Chinese SEZ’s
in Africa, namely in Zambia (), Mauritius, Egypt,
Ethiopia, Nigeria () and Algeria. These SEZ’s similar to
Chinese SEZ’s have tax incentives and are favoured by
local governments namely in what regards land con-
cession. Sometimes SEZ’s are explored through joint
ventures set up between local African enterprises and
Chinese state enterprises, like in Egypt and Zambia. It
is also worth mentioning that sometimes the Chinese
companies operating are actually township and village
enterprises, i.e. they are managed by local authorities
in China, such as Tianjin Economic-Technological De-
velopment Areas, operating in Mauritius.
The Zambia-China Economic and Trade Cooperation
zone operating in the mining region of Chambishi in
the copper sector, was inaugurated in February 
with a total amount invested of  million dollars,
according to data from “China’s investment in African
SEZ’s” by the World Bank published in January . In
January  a new Zambia-China Cooperation Zone
petitively for resource and construction projects _
using investment and infrastructure loans. These
loans are often advanced at zero or near zero
percent interest or allow for repayment in natural
resources (Brautigam, ). For example, China of-
fered US$ billion in aid for infrastructure projects,
thereby securing a former Shell Oil block in Angola
by outbidding an Indian proposal. In a similar case,
a Chinese firm promised US$ billion in investments
and rehabilitation of power stations to secure an
oil area sought by western corporations (Alden and
Davies, ). Many Africans view Chinese invest-
ment as different from the western investment.
According to This Day (), the Chinese are not
imposing the neo-liberal package of reform usually
required by the World Bank under its ‘‘conditionality
provisions.” Chinese aid by contrast comes without
strings attached and is seen as supporting initiatives
by African states to address development issues
not solved by Western investment (Sautman and
Hairong, ).
Chinese Investment in Africa
Africa, according to Sautman and Hairong () has
the highest return on FDI, ranging from % in 
to % in . Although China’s trade with Africa
is small compared to US$. trillion in world trade,
it has grown from US$ billion in  to US$
billion in . It is predicted that Chinese invest-
ment will top the US$ billion mark by the end of
the decade (Taylor, ). As evidence of this trend,
there are more than  Chinese companies in Africa
in , one hundred of which are medium to large
state owned firms (Xinhua, ).
According to Kaplinsky, McCormick and Morris
(), China is having a profound impact on African
economies. The increasing economic expansion is
particularly evident in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the last
decade, the Chinese have built a network of trade,
aid and investment with close to fifty countries
(Zafar, ). Chinese companies are mining oil
in Angola and Sudan, building roads in Ethiopia, ge-
nerating electricity in Kenya, building infrastructure
and encouraging tourism in Sierra Leone, and servi-
cing mobile phones in Kenya and Nigeria. China’s
rapidly developing oil consumption seems to have a
 we_volume_/ 

_ was inaugurated near Lusaka aimed at light manufac-
turing and services, with an investment of  million
USD.
The SEZ in Egypt is aimed at four clusters: textiles and
garment, petroleum equipment, automobile assembly
and electrical equipment. There are plans for a second
development phase for electronics and heavy industry.
As of July ,  enterprises had already moved into
the first square kilometer start-up zone. This start-up
phase is planned to conclude around , when the
zone targets to have around  companies. In March
 the joint venture formed between the local mu-
nicipal Chinese company, Investment Holdings, Egyp-
tian interests and the China-Africa Development Fund
won a tender to build a “Chinese-style” SEZ, meaning
that it should include a portion destined to residential
use.
The Ethiopia Oriental Industrial Park was originally
formed by two private Chinese steel product makers
with a total investment of  million dollars. The
completion of the zone is to be in , but the first
cement plant has been working since September
. Eleven enterprises have signed letters of intent
to move into the areas of construction materials, steel
products, home appliances, garment, leather proces-
sing and automobile assembly.
In Mauritius the Chinese developer has been the
Tianli Group, a provincial owned enterprise, run by
Shanxi province local authorities.
bigger effect on Chinese-African trade (Taylor, ; _
McLeary, ). This is the main reason behind the
whole raft of new contracts between  and .
During this period, Chinese oil companies have
signed deals to buy refineries and explore oil and
gas in Algeria, Gabon, Angola, Nigeria, Ivory Coast,
Kenya, Congo Brazzaville, Namibia, Ethiopia,
Madagascar and Sudan. Additionally, China also
helped in treating infectious diseases such as mala-
ria and HIV/AIDS and launched the first overseas
radio station in Kenya (Brooks and Shin, ).
Recently, China and Nigeria just signed a major oil
deal worth US$ billion (Swartz and Hall ). It
calls for China to build three refineries in Nigeria.
As a result, trade between them has increased ma-
king China the continent’s third largest trading
partner after the European Union and the US. China
has continued to push closer ties with Africa and has
awarded US$ billion in aid for the next three years
and dispatched volunteers to provide medical assi-
stance and build hospitals and schools (Ewing,
). As Tull () explains, Western criticisms of
China’s human rights record and other international
issues have induced the Chinese to seek closer ties
with non-western nations in an effort to build inter-
national coalitions.

At the beginning the economic zone built a spinning

mill that supplied much of the demand for cotton
and synthetic yarn on the island, as well as exports to
other countries. The second phase of the project is tar-
geted for  focusing on solar energy, pharmaceu-
ticals, medical equipment and processed seafood.
In Nigeria there are two SEZ’s: the Lekki Free Trade
Zone and the Nigeria-Guangdong Free Trade Zone.
The first, with a total investment of  million dol-
lars, is a joint venture between a group of four Chinese
companies and Nigerian interests aimed at transport
equipment, textile and light industry, home appliances,
communication, warehousing and export processing.
The second is also a joint venture between two Chi-
nese companies and Ogun state (Nigeria). The zone,
with an initial investment of  million dollars, will
focus on the manufacturing of construction materials,
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_ ceramics, ironware, furniture and a high-tech agricul-
tural demonstration park may be added in the future.
The Algeria-China Jiangling Free Trade Zone was pro-
jected to be developed by a Chinese automobile com-
pany, with no local partner. However in early ,
reforms in Algeria’s investment regime required fo-
reign investors to have Algerian partners as majority
shareholders. The project has been on stand-by since
November .
Other projects however have been established with-
out the official approval and support of the Chinese
Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), mostly originated
in provincial government enterprises and in private
companies. These projects are characterized mainly by
a lower investment amount and more flexible forms.
In Sierra Leone a private joint venture between Henan
Guoji and the national Ministry of Trade and Industry,
is specialized in project contracting and international
trade and investment. Because companies were sel-
ling imported duty free products in local markets ma-
nufacturing activity in the zone was almost negligible.
In Nigeria the Lishi-CSI Industrial Park is a joint venture
between two Chinese companies. The zone started
operations in July  with a total investment plan-
ned of  to  million dollars, focusing on rubber
and plastic products, home appliances, textiles, con-
struction materials and machinery manufacturing.
One of the enterprises, the Nigeria Lishi Group, has
been operating in Nigeria since  and owns more
than  factories in several African countries. Another
Industrial Park, is being planned for the textile sector,
to build an entire value chain.
In conclusion, Chinese investments have been gro-
wing progressively since  in Africa. However the
hiring of Chinese labor to the construction projects
has resulted in a visible influx of immigrants to these
communities, triggering growing resentment against
the Chinese community. Local communities believe
that these jobs – mostly low skilled jobs in construc-
tion – could perfectly well be performed by locals. Mo-
reover the isolation of Chinese communities does not
benefit their image, their enterprises nor their goals.
The Chinese are seen as unwilling to mix or learn the
habits and culture of Africans. In what concerns the
retail trade, although many Africans praise these
shops for the low price of their products, local sellers
always complain about Chinese shop owner’s unfair
competition which puts African retail businesses out
of work.
In some countries such as Nigeria, Niger, Zambia and
more recently Angola, Chinese businesses are linked to
the government. Whenever there are outbursts of so-
cial discontent it has been readily directed against the
Chinese who are considered as the closest allies of po-
litical power. It is also important to point out the lack
of political freedom in many of these societies which
means that the rage against the political power is di-
verted to the Chinese ally.
In many countries, as in Zambia, Chinese have inve-
sted in areas that did not attract the interest of other
investors: the Chambishi mines have been unexplored
for thirty years, but the Chinese investment has
brought them back to production, giving employment
to thousands of people. There is however the other
side of the coin: the complaints of the workers about
bad working conditions and low salaries. In October
 there was news about Chinese managers having
murdered two Zambian workers complaining on wor-
king conditions. Riots between managers and workers
in this mine are not new.
One can understand that these conditions – Chinese
labour, Chinese labour conditions in African countries
and isolation – have a strong negative effect on the
ongoing projects as well as on future investments. In
spite China does not yet have the practice of corpo-
rate communication, the managers of Chinese enter-
prises should start understanding the principles and
constraints that affect the work on the field. As Lucy
Corkin, a SOAS researcher referred they care much
about establishing high level contacts, but forget
about the problems on the ground.
In the present scenario one can expect increased Chi-
nese engagement in Africa since there are unmista-
kable complementarities between both economies,
but the managing of economic and business relations
in future should be made more carefully, baring in
mind culture, interests and needs of the populations
concerned.

we_magazine:
Is there any chance to get more recent data?
Sofia Fernandes: I would love to have access to more
recent data, but I’m afraid I have not. The last World
Investment Report from UNCTAD published in July 
doesn’t display more recent data than this. Further-
more, as you know, the Chinese only now are making
their data public (but there is not much anyway …) The
other data that can be found are in newspapers but
these are mainly guesses, in my opinion.
we_magazine:
What is the impact of Chinese investment on
African society?
Sofia Fernandes: That is the subject of my research
PhD project, but with reference to Angola. I’m wor-
king on it but according to the gathered information
there is no definite answer since it is a rather new phe-
nomenon, so it has not passed enough time to reach a
conclusion. As a reflection I can mention that the buil-
ding or rebuilding of infrastructure is benefiting the
population since they have access to roads, trains,
hospitals and schools that did not exist before. On the
other hand a growing resentment against the Chinese
is rising in almost every society I’ve collected data on.
The complaints as I mentioned arise as a result of Chi-
nese massive labor “imports”, Chinese labor laws as
well as Chinese shops unfair competition together in
my view with a deep lack of intertwining between
local populations and Chinese expatriates.
we_volume_/ 
we_magazine: _
Do you see any indications that Chinese investment goes
hand in hand with the distrubtion of Chinese products in the
country? Meaning: No product distribution, no investment!
Do you have any specific view and data on Chinese
investment in technology and infrastructure?
Sofia Fernandes: I don’t think so. Chinese investments
goes hand in hand with the demand that at least %
of the public works contracts goes to Chinese compa-
nies, as well as % of the labour employed. I never
noticed any mention of Chinese imports.
Regarding technology and infrastructure: most of
the contracts are to build/rebuild infrastructure,
as mentioned. In Angola, up to the present , billion
dollars in concessional credit lines have been given
by  Eximbank just for infrastructure. Another credit
line managed directly by the President’s cabinet and
Gabinete de Reconstrução Nacional (GRN) are sup-
posed to manage similar levels of financing but it’s
hard to get the real numbers.
I’m aware that Chinese investment has been relevant
also in the telecommunications sector. Huawei and
ZTE are two important companies in this sector that
have been investing in several African countries:
both are present in Angola. ZTE has signed contracts
to repair and extend the existing telephone landline
as well as to extend the military communications sy-
stem. Huawei has offices in Luanda and has funded a
Telecommunications Institute to train local professio-
nals in the sector.
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Photo © Ompeh / Unity Drum

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 we_volume_/

tags: african views,

diaspora, global
community,
African diaspora,
Wale Idris
 we_volume_/ 

Africa’s Global
Community

Kasandra Housley

... was born in Terre Haute, Indiana. She has a

Bachelor of Science from Seton Hall University
in international relations and is finishing her M.A
in Political Science at Indiana State University. Her
topics of interest include, peace and conflict studies,
African and Middle Eastern history, as well as
economic development. She currently serves as the
outreach director in Indiana for African Views.
 we_volume_/

The African Views framework is designed to

support information exchange, cross-cultural
communications and collaborative opportunities
in a fast pace global environment. Our objective
with this framework is to accumulate, aggregate
and deploy intelligible resources of voluntary
and contributive participants from all disciplines.
Our main strategy is to use an improved decen-
tralized framework to overcome immediate and
future challenges with regard to the issue of self-
reliance and interdependency between Africans,
the African diaspora and the international
community at the grassroots level.
 we_volume_/ 

Making connections The Framework

is part of the mission African Views Organization, or AV, was incorporated

in  and is designed to aid the African and Diaspora
of the African Views community in social and economic development. As
a non-profit organization, African Views achieves this
Organization. African by aggressively building its store house of resources,
particularly those of intellectual value. Having just
Views hope to launched their new framework online this year, they

resolve the issue of have made exceptional progress building their envis-
ioned network of both online and real world actors.

social connectivity The framework, located at africanviews.org, is designed

to aid in the process of empowering Africa and the
not only among Diaspora. By making it an open source tool, the col-
laborative dimension of the African Views mission
Africans in the has become all the easier to achieve. Registered
users can post articles as contributors or, under the
broadest sense, but Discourse and Debate section; they can pose ques-
tions and spark debate via blog entries. The issues
also between covered vary. Users have taken the opportunity to

Africans and the post speeches, questions about the changing role of
China, as well as news and events. Users can also

global community. include posts that link to other articles and websites.
Lastly, users can rate postings and search for specific
African Views expects issues and information.
The blog entries are part of the African Views social
that by building network, and like MySpace or Facebook, users can
create a profile which includes a picture, and other
social networks, new information. Users can track their own comments
and maintain a list of favorite posts for their own
ideas and cultural use. They can connect as friends, invite others, add

information can pass videos, or send messages all in a self contained service
on the African Views site. This allows users to meet

between these new contacts who share their interest, find them and
share very specific information with people working
respective groups on similar projects, thus elegantly merging the AV
site as one of both communication and production.
and thus reduce the Currently, the featured article on the site is titled
“What is African”. It addresses the questions with a
costs, fiscal, temporal review of the various manifestations of ‘African’ fea-
tures across the continent. Ultimately, African Views
and otherwise, of defines African as “anyone who can trace part or all

development. their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa at

any point in time”. This is a very broad definition that

The effort includes, allows groups in ‘forgotten’ Diaspora communities

to be included. It is clear that there are large African
obviously, the populations in the Americas and Caribbean. But the
definition also includes descendents of Africans in
Internet. Portugal, Iraq, or any other country. This coincides
 we_volume_/
with a scrolling list tracking the percentage of any
state’s given population which can be called African.
Thus far the website has only trace information on
most African states. However, there are tools in place
to add additional information over time. As with other
portions of the website, the country information
section is open to collaborative input from registe-
red users. The tracking information is not limited,
however, to Africa alone. Just like the information on
African populations, the data pertaining to states is
accepted for nearly every country in the world under
country profiles. As a result, users can include infor-
mation relevant to anyone in the Diaspora or related
to African politics internationally.
In addition to the text or country profile, there is also
a section for country profile videos, which are posted
via Google video and YouTube. These videos cover a
range of topics, including news and other program-
ming. When a user finds a video of interest on either
of these sites, it can be posted under a country for
use through the Africa Views site. Users will be
acting as search engines, adding videos under
country profiles that a regular search engine might
have over looked without the requisite key words;
by adding videos they find to be relevant.
The African Views Fair Marketplace tool is another
instrument available to AV users. It allows a person
to publish their work for free, including articles or
ebooks on the African Views site. Similarly, the site
makes available an Amazon widget for users to coun-
try target products available on Amazon, making it
easier to shop and sell related products. In this man-
ner, authors who have materials available on the
Amazon site, have a new advertising opportunity
for their products and materials. This is particularly
useful for researchers or students looking for new
material.
Most interesting, however, is the performance review
section. This innovation is designed to provide a re-
view mechanism for organizations operating on the
ground on African and Diaspora issues, whether they
are corporations or non-profits. Given the extensive
history of mismanagement and corruption some in-
stitutions have displayed in the past, be they public
or private, this is a crucial aspect of the African Views
framework. By creating a forum for critique, AV has
also created a space for feedback which may be of
value to the actors themselves, particularly smaller
groups who have not yet been given the opportunity
for external review of their work.
It is clear that should AV succeed in its mission, the
review mechanism has the potential to make a big
difference in Africa. Many African countries still suf-
fer the scourge of corruption and mismanagement,
both in the public and private sectors. African Views
has put the power of critique in the hands of obser-
vers in an exciting way. The infrastructure published
on the African Views site combined with the various
activities the organization has put forward will allow
African Views to be a dynamic and positive force for
Africa and the diaspora well into the future.
In conjunction with and available through the online
framework, African Views expects to build a collec-
tion of articles worthy of the academic eye. This effort
coincides with the organization’s long term effort to
create its own journal in conjunction with the ACEI
institutes called the African Views Journal of Inter-
cultural Communication Studies. It is hoped the jour-
nal will contribute to improving quality of life in
African and Diaspora communities, like its mother
institution, primarily through cooperative and cross
cultural learning.
Beyond the Internet
Wale Idris is the director of research and strategy for
African Views Organization based in Hoboken, New
Jersey. It is clear when speaking to him that he is a
man of both a positive outlook and character. A for-
mer market analyst, he has dedicated his energy to
furthering the agenda of African Views Organization,
or AV, and the results of his efforts are evident. A gra-
duate of Columbia University, he has used his many
talents to aid the organization in growing a new and
broad range of activities in support of its cause. But
he is quick to reproach any overt focus on him alone.
“African Views is a collaborative effort”, he insists.
In Zimbabwe African Views is busy building a sup-
port system for a future African Cultural Exchange
Institute or ACEI in Gweru. In keeping with the orga-
nization’s commitment to working with a wide range
of partners, Africa Views proposes that the future fa-
cility at Gweru will act as a center for agricultural and
cross cultural learning. The ACEI in Zimbabwe will
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focus on agricultural development and practices but
African Views Organization is planning on format-
ting a number of ACEI’s in the future to address local
needs in other countries.
African Views leadership anticipates that the ACEI
at Gweru will create an atmosphere of learning for
both the local community and students. African
Views hopes that the ACEI’s will ultimately become
an engaging student program that acts as a venue
for study abroad and internship opportunities. In the
process, both students and locals can learn from one
another. This will be a large part of the AV face in-
ternationally. African Views is not an organization
meant only for cyberspace.
In the United States among both adults and children,
African Views is at work building educational infra-
structure in the form curricula broadening the concept
of African. In Brooklyn, New York, the organization
hosted a day program for rd grade students offe-
ring them a taste of Africa not limited to drums and
nature parks. The program acted as a smaller version
of the African Cultural Exchange program. The stu-
dents had the opportunity to learn about Ndebele
dolls from South Africa and watch a presentation on
African cultural diversity. The organization anticipa-
tes that this basic format will soon be expanded for
older students at the middle and high school level
by including more challenging material relevant to
politics and history.
The program for the school at Brooklyn’s PS  was
a resounding success. The children asked questions
and became engaged. The questions they asked made
an impression on their teachers and visiting instruc-
tors. The educators involved wrote a response letter
to African Views, thankfully acknowledging the
“team effort” that brought “joyful expressions” from
the students. But more important than the delight the
students experienced, was the chance each student
had to learn of African people and cultures in a posi-
tive way showing the common humanity of all people.
This educational effort is in addition to conferences
covering timely topics. African Views aims to provoke
thought and energize people to act by using confe-
rences and events to stimulate debate. By using the
institution of the conference, AV can bring together
academics and practitioners with the general popula-
tion to open up the floor of debate to a wider audi-
ence. For example, at the Hoboken Library, African
Views sponsored a conference on the topic of Haiti in
the aftermath of the recent earthquake.
At the Haiti conference, there were six panelists,
each bringing to bear a different side of the story.
During the discussion it was reiterated that only  of
the  donor countries had fulfilled their pledges, a
sobering statistic. It was clear after the conference
that US policy in Haiti was seen as needing revision,
but that the Haitian government itself had great
responsibility to bear as well for improving the con-
ditions in that country. On the topic of the Haiti
conference, Wale Idris noted that, its achievement
was in separating “emotions from practicality”, a
prime motive AV has in promoting the conferences.
African Views selects topics for conferences based on
relevance to current events but also a need for im-
proved communication, a key word in the African
Views vocabulary. This was the motive behind the
recent conference on economics and governance in
the state of Nigeria which African Views co-sponso-
red at the Nigerian Consulate in New York. The
novelty in that particular conference was in bringing
together Nigerians with the Diaspora for a serious
exchange of questions and even more serious search
for answers. The topics covered ranged from libera-
lism to corruption, all of which were in the light of
 years of Nigerian independence.
African Views boasts these accomplishments in part-
nership with academic professionals, non-profit and
public organizations. It sees itself as an organization
which focuses attention on topics which are often
difficult to discuss, and at times emotionally trying,
including but not limited to racism, poverty, and the
failure of leadership. The last issue is of particular
salience, not only in state governance in Africa but in
Diaspora communities as well. Still, AV focuses on
facts and information and a forward looking vision.
Part of that vision is encapsulated in the conferences
and outreach to students, who will ultimately play a
crucial role in shaping Africa’s future.
Africa Views also prides itself on the breadth of its
activities. When Kasandra Housley, the outreach
director in Indiana, was asked if African Views suffered
from mission creep she replied, “That is almost the
point we try to be open to whatever opportunities
present themselves and as a result have achieved a lot”.
As is evident in its work African Views remains prima-
rily focused on outreach and drawing attention to is-
 we_volume_/ 

sues pertinent to the African and diaspora commu-
nities. This outreach has included both private and
public organizations but especially students, whom
African Views sees as critical to carrying out its mission.
Outlook
African Views has a long list of projects for the future.
Aside from the African Views Journal of Intercultural
Communication Studies and the ACEI’s, African Views
will continue to seek out new ideas for national and
international conferences on contemporary issues.
Of particular importance in the future will be the rise
of China and the role that country is playing in
changing the African landscape. The interest in that
particular topic, as noted above, has already been de-
monstrated in the African Views discussion boards.
In December  the organization launched the
weekly radio show called the African View, airing at
PM on Sundays via Skype. This radio show is the first
of many anticipated future projects to be produced
by African Views for both radio and television. Cur-
rently on the AV website there are some broadcasts
available for listening as well as a video on the
Nigerian Peoples’ Parliament.
African Views desires in the long term to reach a
wide audience through television, and ultimately, to
have its own channel on the airwaves. But for now
the organization is committed to taking one step at
a time. For African Views,  has certainly been a
productive year. Already new conference ideas are
being circulated and new ideas floated for projects.
The organization is off to a fine start for .

Adolf Mavheneka, student, Zimbabwe

The commitment for African values begins with us. Precisely this provides us with the best ever opportunity to
deliberate over issues of common interest. The paradox is that Africa has had to do without ‘riparian’ African interests
since colonial times. Valued African interests in the socio-economic have been clear for their absence. Thus the
networkings, and deliberations afforded by AV creates the best ever opportunity in the history of the continent.
It brings back the token for unity ... that has remained the cry of the beloved continent!

Aloke Mukerjee, public speaker and writer, New Jersey, US

When you were talking about Africans in India, at first I thought you were referring to the Dalit. I had no idea about
the Siddis. And Oh my God, I also learned about the Jawaras on the AV country video profiles. I think many Indians
will appreciate being accepted culturally as Africans because they were born there, especially the ones in Eastern and
Southern Africa. I must admit this is a good thing. African Views is authentic and timely. And that is a good thing to
support and be part of. Thank you!

Maria D’ALbert, marketing analyst, Brooklyn, New York

From African Views’s African Cultural Exchange program for children on Dec. 2., 2010 I heard a lot of joyful
expressions from kids and some good feedback from the teachers too. I think it did what we hoped: Support and enrich
the curriculum in ways so that a far away place feels real to them: Echo found that each group had different questions
in the Africa presentation and thought it was going to be fun to have the groups return to their regular classes and share
their perspectives (great idea to mix it up!).
Robert explained how Animism as a faith believes that drums have the spirit of the animals and trees that they are
made from, so when you play you are celebrating with those spirits. The kids made beautiful sculptures/dolls out of
recycled plastic and scraps of fabric, buttons echoing the work done by children in South Africa’s Ndebele tribe.
I can tell you from personal experience that how you learn about the world when you are young directly affects how
you feel about the world and your role in it as you grow up. I hope they are fired up with questions and ideas when
you return to talk about it.
 we_volume_/

tags: statistics,
global health,
poverty, tintin,
gapminder, HIV,
Karolinska
 we_volume_/ 

Africa Is Not A
Country!
Hans Rosling

Hans Rosling is a Swedish medical doctor, academic,

statistician and public speaker. He is Professor of
International Health at Karolinska Institute and
Director of the Gapminder Foundation, which deve-
loped the Trendalyzer software system. From 1967
to 1974 he studied statistics and medicine at Uppsala
University, and in 1972 he studied public health at St.
John's Medical College, Bangalore. He became a
licenced physician in 1976 and from 1979 to 1981 he
served as District Medical Officer in Nacala in nort-
hern Mozambique.
Rosling discovered an outbreak of a paralytic disease
known as and described in 1938 as konzo and the
investigations that followed earned him a Ph.D.
degree at Uppsala University in 1986.
Rosling's research has focused on other links between
economic development, agriculture, poverty and
health in Africa, Asia and Latin America. He has
been health adviser to WHO, UNICEF and several
aid agencies. In 1993 he was one of the initiators of
Médecins Sans Frontières in Sweden. At Karolinska
Institutet he was head of the Division of International
Health (IHCAR) from 2001 to 2007. As chairman
of Karolinska International Research and Training
Committee (1998—2004) he started health research
collaborations with universities in Asia, Africa, the
Middle East and Latin America. He started new
courses on Global Health and co-authored a textbook
on Global Health that promotes a fact-based world
view.
http://www.gapminder.org/
 we_volume_/

Statistics can be beautiful and sexy. In that

sense the Gapminder Foundation is positively
pornographic. Gapminder presents important
global data in clear graphs that move dynami-
cally so that you can watch the history of the
world unfold through the magic of statistics.
The Gapminder graphs are built on a platform
called Trendalyzer (which was sold to Google in
2007) and use data from a variety of global
institutions like the OECD, World Bank, and the
International Labor Organization. Gapminder
is free to use and you can share graphs easily
with bit.ly links. Now, Gapminder is available
for you to download as well, so you can use all
of that yummy data in your own presentations
and educational lessons.

we_magazine:
How would you describe the “WE” today?
What does it mean to you?
Hans Rosling: . billion people.
we_magazine:
What is the driving force behind your work?
Hans Rosling: Curiosity. It’s extremely interesting to
see how the world has changed. Plus the conviction
that you can talk about the world without doing
advocacy. Some people make it their task to explain
what a city looks like. When you come as a tourist
to a new city, you want to see museums, restaurants,
and theatres, and if you come on business you want
to know where banks and companies are – you need
a map to find your way around. Gapminder provides
an updated economic, social and environmental map
of the world so users can find their way around.
we_magazine:
What is the core idea behind Gapminder?
Hans Rosling: To use the graphic animation techno-
logy behind computer games to show the changing
world. We apply computer games “enjoyment” to
statistics to upgrade old mindsets and thereby create
a fact-based worldview. We must upgrade the world-
view from a “Tintin” view where the world is divided
into the West and the rest. But to understand econo-
mic development, demographic change and health
improvements, we now have to make data about the
world accessible in a new format. Basically, it’s a new
map: instead of north and south, we display country
bubbles on a scale from healthy to sick, and instead of
east and west, we show rich and poor.
And when those bubbles in our animations move, it’s
like a football game. People can see how fast Africa
has moved in the last decades to achieve a moderate
birth rate. We’re rather like sportscasters using these
graphs to open the eyes of a very broad public to
what’s happening in the world.
we_volume_/ 
we_magazine:
You often use the expression “continuous world” –
what do you mean by it?
Hans Rosling: You have to realize that the difference
is no longer between the West and the rest – it’s bet-
ween the fourth fifths of the world population that’s
moving ahead and the one fifth that is left behind. The
new gap in the world will not be between Germany
and China; it will be between China and Ethiopia,
maybe between China and Mozambique. That’s the
big challenge: you have to bring all the poorest coun-
tries with you.
we_magazine:
And you have to distinguish between different countries
in a much better way than we usually do …
Hans Rosling: Exactly. Africa is NOT one country!
There are huge differences between the countries in
Africa. It's misleading to treat them as one and the
same. For example: life expectancy in Cape Verde is
 years longer than in Swaziland yet both are African
countries. Botswana is one of the top  achievers in
the world when it comes to sustained economic
growth. It has been democratic and peaceful ever
since independence. And it is also an African country.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the
most tragic economic disasters in the world, plagued
by despots and war ever since its independence.
Millions have died since the Second Congo War broke
out in . It is the poorest country in the world. And
the DR Congo is also an African country.
Or look at HIV. There are huge differences within
the African continent:
 we_volume_/
Adults with HIV in correlation to income per person
You can clearly see that higher income does NOT
guarantee a smaller percentage of adults having HIV,
and that the numbers vary tremendously from country
to country.
The Institute of Health Metrics have estimated the
average number of years spent in schooling by men
and women in different age groups for almost all
countries. The methods used for these estimates are
all well-documented.
This data shows that there is no correlation between
education levels in countries all over the world and
the percentage of adults living with HIV. No matter if
you live in the US or Africa, education does NOT corre-
late with HIV infection.
we-magazine:
How about if you look at a specific country?
Hans Rosling: Yes. Let’s take Botswana as an example.
The rise, fall and re-rise of health in Botswana. In 
at independence Botswana was a poor country with
low life expectancy.  years of remarkable progress
increased life expectancy within  years. This gain in
life expectancy was lost during the s with the HIV
epidemic. By , Botswana had outpaced Turkey
and caught up with Brazil. Then HIV grew to tragic
levels, causing life expectancy to plummet by  years.
Over the past five years, however, treatment of infec-
ted persons has reduced AIDS-related deaths by over
%. This has caused life expectancy to rise again.

The rise and fall and re-rise of wealth in Botswana
we_magazine:
What about the correlation between children per woman
and life expectancy? How does it look in Africa today?
Hans Rosling: Once again, there are huge differences
within the entire continent – countries like Reunion,
Cape Verde and Mauritius have already caught up with
most of the Asian countries, and even with Europe
and the US. But they are still many places like Somalia,
Uganda, Niger, Chad and Congo – to name just a few
– in which life expectancy is around  years and the
number of children per woman is greater than .
we_volume_/ 
Same thing with per capita GDP and child survival –
there are huge differences between different coun-
tries. While in Sierra Leone, for instance, there is little
money and high child mortality, Mauritius is once
more doing very well – with good money and a high
child survival rate. Mauritius was the first country
to abolish trade barriers in Africa so they could sell
their sugar and textiles on equal terms with the
people in Europe and North America. Ghana is right in
the middle between these two … Sierra Leone needs
humanitarian aid, Uganda development aid, in Ghana
it is time to invest and as we climb up to the top we
arrive at Mauritius – where you can go on vacation;-)
 we_volume_/
Child survival in correlation to per GDP capita
There really is tremendous variation in Africa – and
yet WE continue to think – because we don’t know
any better or don't read the data – that everything
is equal there! As an investor, entrepreneur or deve-
lopment aid worker you need to be well aware of
these things because such diversity demands that any
solution must be highly contextualized. Otherwise it
will fail!
we_magazine:
You are saying: ending global poverty (and increasing child
survival rates) is the clear path to reaching a sustainable
human population. Why?
Hans Rosling: There are clear links between increa-
sed economic success and reduced family size, and
between low infant mortality and reduced family size.
I am convinced that by  we can reach a sustaina-
ble human population of  billion people if WE start
today to be serious.
we_magazine:
What do you mean … serious in which way?
Hans Rosling: Look. The tragedy is that the  billion
people who were alive in  – when there were
 billion people on the planet – are still struggling on
an everyday basis to survive. They don’t have enough
to eat. This hasn’t changed right up to today. In fact
today  billion people are living in poverty. But today
we are almost  billion people on this planet. So if
WE don’t start to become serious about getting these
 billion out of poverty – WE won’t succeed. Our
problem is not the increasing numbers of the popu-
lation, our problem is the  billion people living in
these miserable conditions!
They sleep on the floor, they don’t have tapped water,
they can’t take a shower, they don’t have electric light.
To increase their standard of living to a decent level
like that of Sweden in  would mean increasing
the standard of living by a factor of from  to  for
two thirds of the world population. That’s a  fold
bigger challenge than the number of people. I can’t
understand why people are still carried away by num-
bers – they must have some problem with mathema-
tics! But how can you expect a young couple in Africa
sitting on the floor with rats, cockroaches and flies,
and carrying water in a bucket to be satisfied with this
and expect their children to live as they are doing.
They will work hard, fight hard – do anything to get
a decent life for their children. I’m not talking about
charter tourism or owning a car or air conditioning,
I’m talking about a decent life, not a minimal basic
life, but a decent life. Perhaps going to the cinema
once in a while or owning a musical instrument.
That will increase the standard of living, and to do that
we need to have new technology. We can’t do that
with existing coal technology. And this is a major
challenge. We don’t have to change technology by
% or whatever: we have to make a huge leap. But
we are not making serious investment: the OECD
countries are putting three to four times more into
agricultural subsidies than they do into green tech-
nology. Green technology is not yet a serious issue.
In fact the corporate sector is more serious about it
than governments are at present. So why don’t we
channel the money from agricultural subsidies into
green technology?
 we_volume_/ 

When we discuss the car industry, we’re simply not

serious. In the Second World War the United States
was serious. They decided to win and they put their
entire industry into winning that war. If we did the
same with energy, we would solve it. But we’re not
serious about it.

We’re trying to win the next election, not to solve the

problem. And in terms of long term trends, people
in Africa, India and China won’t continue to sit on a
mud floor while we in the richest countries aren’t
serious. Hans Rosling at TED 

we_magazine:
How come that you are so closely related to the poorest
in the world Hans Rosling?

Hans Rosling: I worked as a young medical doctor in

Africa where I was one of the people who discovered
a paralytic disease among the very poor in a remote
rural area. We named the disease “konzo” after the
name given to it by the first affected population.
Thereafter I spent twenty years researching konzo
epidemics that are induced by poverty, malnutrition
and insufficiently processed cassava roots in remote
parts of rural Africa. I’ve done many field surveys in
rural Africa. And that’s when I got irritated by the term
“developing countries”, a term that puts Mozambi-
que, Thailand and Argentina in the selfsame group of
countries. That didn’t make any sense because these
Hans Rosling at Ciuidad de las Ideas, 
countries are so very different. So I taught my students
to take a more upgraded worldview. Instead of sorting
countries into two groups, they should be sorted into
at least  groups: high income, middle income, low
income and collapsed. That’s how it all started. I wan-
ted to show that the health and economy of countries
today form a continuous set of variations in the world,
from collapsed countries like Somalia and Afghani-
stan, and peaceful low income countries like Tanzania
and Ghana, to the middle income countries now
called “emerging economies” – like China and Brazil
through to high income countries like South Korea
and Germany. The health levels in countries vary from
 years life expectancy to  years, and you’ll find all
kinds of health levels in between these two extremes.
And income levels vary from  dollars to , or
, dollars per person per year, and here again
countries can be found with all kinds of income levels
in between.
 we_volume_/

Countries
we_volume_/ 
 we_volume_/

tags: global voices,

children,
child abuse,
technology
 we_volume_/ 

Technology for
Transparency –
Text Messages
To Help Protect To
Children Against
Violence
Lova Rakotomalala

... is a researcher in biomedical engineering for low-

cost mobile diagnostic tools in resource limited
settings. Raised in Madagascar, Lova has a strong
interest in international development and digital
media as a tool to promote social change and trans-
parency in the developing world. He is part of the
core team of the Foko, an NGO driven to promote
the online exposure of social grassroots projects based
in Madagascar. Lova is studying at the School of
International Affairs and Public Policy, Princeton
and is the editor of the Francophone region for
Global Voices. Technology for transparency is a sub-
division of Global Voices.

This article was first published on Global Voices, October, 19, 2010
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/10/19/benin-text-messages-to-help-protect-children-against-violence-lessons-learned/
 we_volume_/

The Violence Against Children (VAC) project is

an initiative co-implemented by PLAN and Save
the Children in West Africa and takes place over
4 years (2008-2011) in seven countries: Togo,
Ghana, Benin, Guinea, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire and
Gambia. The VAC project trains and engages
children and youth themselves as advocates and
agents of change to end violence, together with
adult community allies. A comprehensive UN
report proposes recommendations for action to
prevent and respond to violence against children
around the world. Earlier this year, the project
explored the idea of setting up a text message
based system that will collect and map out reports
of violence against children in communities in
Benin and Togo.
The managers of the VAC project sent the following
statistics about violence against children in Benin:
according to a study conducted by the Benin
Ministry of Family in 2007: “It was estimated that
at the time of the study, 40,317 children living in
Benin were exploited, i.e 2% of the population
between the age of 6 and 17 and of those 86%
were young girls.”
The following is our interview with Linda Raftree,
social media and new technology advisor for
Plan West Africa Region and ICT4D Technical
Advisor for Plan USA who was closely involved
with implementing the text messages-based techno-
logical support for the VAC project in Benin. She
wrote extensively about fostering a new political
consciousness on violence against children in
Benin, the solutions that ICT could potentially
provide in that context and the challenges that
they faced. We discussed the implementation, the
strengths and weaknesses of the technology portion
of the project and the lessons learned in order to
provide better protection for children.

Technology for Transparency Network (TTN):
Tell us a little bit about the project, the genesis of the idea for
a text message-based reporting system.
Linda Raftree (LR): The project is managed by my
colleague who works in the West Africa regional office
and I’m supporting with the ICT integration. It started
off really as a youth project funded by our office in
Finland and an effort to break down the UN recom-
mendations from the Violence against Children (VAC)
study into a more mainstream language. The idea was
to make specific areas of the study more palatable to
the general population. The original VAC study was
conducted over about  years in consultation with
hundreds of children, and the goal of the broader VAC
project is to increase awareness amongst children and
adults, to get them to learn about the effects of
violence and how to prevent it and to share the
knowledge with their peers.
We (Plan) organized a conference in Kenya on social
change through new media in December , where
my colleague Anastasie Koudoh in Dakar heard of
FrontlineSMS and Ushahidi. She started wondering
whether such a system could be set up to track vio-
lence via cell phone messages. We knew from the VAC
study that many incidents of violence are not repor-
ted for various reasons and decided to see if we could
remedy that. We discussed internally with colleagues
from our Dakar and our Finnish office and we had a
lot of questions about implementation, privacy and
management of the platform, etc. In January, I was
lucky enough to meet for a day with Josh Nesbit and
James Bon Tempo at our office in Washington DC and
we discussed and sorted out some basics about imple-
mentation, data collection and privacy. We got our
Ushahidi instance set up with help from our colleague
Mika at the Finnish office and the folks at Ushahidi.
Then I went to Benin and supported Anastasie and the
staff there to conduct workshops with the children in
the community, the staff, the child protection services
and the Ministry of Family, consulted with them and
went through the whole process of how SMS repor-
ting might be set up. We asked whether they thought
this new system would help, the type of information
that they thought we might want to collect and any
additional risks to people reporting that we might not
have thought of. Basically making sure that everyone’s
input was fully integrated into the system.
we_volume_/ 
TTN: What type of violence is more prominent in Benin
and how would the project impact on the incidents?
LR: The Ministry of Family generously sent the latest
statistics. Besides the national numbers mentioned
earlier, the study reports that in , about ,
children (%) are forced to work in illegal conditions
and that % are performing dangerous work activi-
ties. Gender-based violence is also still very important.
% of girls reported having experienced physical
abuse and % were verbally abused; .% were se-
questered at least once; .% had undergone female
genital cutting (FGC) and .% of girls between the
age of  to  had been raped.
Evidently, one must take into account that definitions
of corporal punishment and verbal abuse can be cul-
turally different. There is also violence at school where
corporal punishment is still a commonly utilized educa-
tional method. % of students report having experi-
enced corporal punishment either inside or outside
the school.
So we really put the emphasis on having the support of
the community when raising awareness and addres-
sing social change around this issue. We would not
order people around but we would explain why this is
not the best way, and provide alternative ways with the
backing of the community. It can be difficult at times if
it is culturally ingrained.
TTN: Have you done an evaluation of the impact of the
project so far, and are alternatives to the SMS reporting system
(e.g. voice reporting) being considered?
LR: Colleagues are planning a check-in the first week of
November with our regional specialist on child protec-
tion. They’ll be looking at achievements and challen-
ges in the areas of: technology (is it working? If not,
why not? What do we need to adjust); human resour-
ces and local capacities for managing the system; part-
nership and the relationship with the local and
national government in terms of their ability and
interest to take on and manage the system; and re-
sponse – what is the current capacity to respond? How
can this be improved? They’ll also do a more detailed
mapping out of all the different potential child pro-
tection actors in the  communities, including health
workers, schools, and traditional authorities, in order
to see how we can best ensure the system is integra-
ted with existing community structures and see how
 we_volume_/
this sort of integration can improve local capacities to
respond to reports of violence. We’ll build a forward
looking plan based on this assessment of the project.
So far, the staff have stated that they are satisfied with
the set-up of the project as it is now, but they know
that there are a lot more reports that could be coming
in. They only have received  reports via SMS since
the start of the project, but it’s difficult to assess why
those potentials reports are not coming in: whether
it is the medium (text messages) or other factors in-
dependent of the new system in place. During the
technology assessment, we’ll look at what we can do
from that side, for example by potentially integrating
voice in addition to SMS and adding an improved way
to track verification and follow up of reported cases.
One could argue that the project already allowed for
more reports that would not have been reported if the
new system were not in place. Therefore, even if we are
still missing many unreported cases, we are getting a
few more, and that’s progress. In my opinion, it is a
good start if it just gets people to think differently and
look at the issue differently. Also we might see the dif-
ference not just in SMS reporting, but in reporting
overall. That would then allow us to evaluate what
other channels we could consider for reporting and
which ones would be the most effective.
At the end of the day, though, reporting is not the big-
gest bottleneck – the biggest bottleneck is usually the
response. Suppose we had  reports that came in
by SMS, there would not be the capacity to respond
to them. So slow growth may actually be beneficial to
the project. Utilizing the system to advocate for more
capacity for child services is also one aspect of the pro-
ject that we look into very closely. We don’t want to
set up a reporting mechanism that would not be able
to deliver an adequate response mechanism.
TTN: How does the response mechanism work?
Who manages the reports and the responses?
LR: We are working with the Centre de Protection So-
cial (CPS) and they ultimately report to the Ministry of
the Family and have the responsibility to follow up on
any type of child abuse. Benin has a government
agency and clear laws against child abuse. At the
workshop, we try to gather all the local agents that
have some type of responsibility who can respond in
case of child abuse (social agents but also police and
community leaders). So when we receive reports from
any victims or witnesses, a child protection officer at
our district office receives the report through Frontli-
neSMS and Ushahidi and makes a phone call to the
point person in that area (a CPS agent or a police of-
ficer). Once we get the ‘alerts’ system functioning in
Ushahidi, this can be automated. At that point, the re-
port is officially filed into the governmental system.
TTN: Could you give a broad estimate of the cost of the project?
LR: Anastasie says that the training in Benin cost
around $,, plus the purchase of phone/modem
for the FrontLineSMS platform. We used an existing
computer. That’s just the simple part of the project
though, and doesn’t include the staff time, the broa-
der project activities and work with the youth before/
after the training, and the costs of follow up that are
ongoing.
TTN: Do you think the Ushahidi platform would benefit
from being translated into the local language like Yoruba ?
LR: Actually, the mapping portion of Ushahidi is not
useful for the local communities. Very few of them
have access to internet so the Ushahidi platform is
mostly utilized by the staff and the agency, who would
know the local languages, French and some English.
So the SMS reports can be received in any language
and the administrators would translate them into
French. The web interface and the map are more of
an advocacy tool than a reporting system. For exam-
ple, we can share the map with community leaders,
local authorities, school official and the various mini-
stries as we have more information coming in and
discuss the issue with them and look for solutions. We
also have a privacy issue, so we are considering ma-
king it a private page or a password-protected page
because I am not convinced that it has any utility at
this point for someone working outside the child pro-
tection system. That would also offer some additional
protection to the victims.
TTN: Has the government approached you about down-
loading the data collected so far?
LR: That’s a good question. I am not sure if the data
has been downloaded by the government yet. What
we wanted to be careful about is involving the higher
level of the government in the early phases. We wan-

ted to work with the local authorities – with the ap-
proval of the national government, of course. We
wanted to optimize the system to the point where it is
easy to understand and flawless, and then advocate
for it to be adopted at higher levels. We would not
want to present a system that is only half-way ready
and risk having it rejected.
TTN: Since it is really focused on the community, how did
you approach publicizing the number to which text reports
should be sent?
LR: We are working on a communication strategy and
outreach. We need to not only determine the best way
to advertise the number, but also take care of educa-
ting the community about the importance of aware-
ness and how to report abuse correctly. We need them
to send complete information in the text messages,
otherwise we cannot help. There are also some new
plug-ins in FrontlineSMS that can help with better data
collection. We are also looking into possibly adding a
voice feature to see if more reports would come in.
TTN: Are there any additional lessons learned or remarks
that you would like to add?
LR: It is interesting to compare this project, where a
structure is in place for child protection, with other
places. For instance, we thought about implementing
a similar project in a neighboring country, but the
government there is basically not interested. So the
complexity there is: how does one implement a child
protection service in a more fragile state? Would we
be able to work with a community-based protection
group and do without the presence of an established
structure? In my opinion, it’s becoming increasingly
important not only for projects like ours, but any
Ushahidi deployment or SMS reporting in general, to
think beyond data collection and address the response
mechanism when there is no judicial system. One can
look at Haiti and violence against women in the
aftermath of the earthquake. Sure we can talk about
reporting violence, but who will respond to the
reports? Maybe we should also address funding for
building a response mechanism to go along with the
reporting mechanism. Maybe that is where we need
the next wave of innovation to focus on. Even in the
aid field in general, information shortage is not usu-
ally the issue, but rather what we can do with the
we_volume_/ 
information, what kind of response can be triggered.
It’s a difficult issue. We are looking into supporting
local protection mechanisms within the communities,
but this is also tricky because the perpetrators of the
violence might be parents, relatives or teachers or lea-
ders in the community. So one of the first critical
points is always awareness raising on the negative
impacts of violence on children or whichever issue
that you are hoping to address.
What makes a difference is when the children feel em-
powered to discuss the issue of violence. Children are
organizing radio shows centered around violence and
learning to look for help. There are also traditional
justice systems in most of the remote communities
that deal with the issue of violence and we try to work
with them whenever it’s possible.
Facts about Benin
The Republic of Benin is a country in West Africa.
It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and
Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. The capital of
Benin is Porto-Novo but the seat of government is
located in the country’s largest city of Cotonou. Benin
covers an area of approximately , square kilo-
meters with a population of approximately . million.
While Benin has seen economic growth over the past
few years and is one of Africa’s largest cotton produ-
cers, (the main driver of growth is the agricultural
sector, with cotton being the country’s main export) it
heavily relies on trade with its eastern neighbour,
Nigeria.
Benin ranks among the world’s poorest countries.
Currently, about a third of the population live below
the international poverty line of . $ per day and
particulary women are subject to illiteracy. Only .%
of the population have access to the internet.
But Benin is also one of Africa’s most stable democra-
cies: The political system is derived from the 
Constitution of Benin and the subsequent transition to
democracy in . The International Press Institute
(IPI) says Benin has one of the region’s “most vibrant
media landscapes” while it is ranked rd out of 
countries in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index by
Reporters Without Borders in .
 we_volume_/

Photo © Lina Ben Mhenni

tags: blogger, blogs,

web ., censorship,
revolution,
human rights, 
global voices,
freedom of speech,
transparency
 we_volume_/ 

Talking About A
Revolution

Lina Ben Mhenni

... is a Tunisian assistant lecturer in linguistics at

Tunis University and a blogger. Lina is mainly blog-
ging about freedom of speech, human rights (especi-
ally women’s rights and students’ rights), social
problems, and organ donation awareness. She likes
photography, reading, writing, watching movies. Lina
is also an athlete but within a special team:
The Tunisian National Organ Transplant Team.
http://www.atunisiangirl.blogspot.com/
 we_volume_/
Facts about Tunisia
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a
Maghreb country, bordered by Algeria to the west,
Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to
the north and east. Its area is almost , km²,
with an estimated population of just over . million.
Tunisia has close relations with both the European
Union – with whom it has an association agreement –
and the Arab world.
Tunisia has a diverse economy, ranging from agricul-
ture, mining and manufacturing to petroleum products
and tourism. The industrial sector is mainly made up of
clothing and footwear manufacturing, production of
car parts, and electrical machinery. Although Tunisia
managed an average % growth over the last decade
it continues to suffer from high unemployment
especially among youth. Tunisia was ranked the most
competitive economy in Africa and the th in the
world by the World Economic Forum. Tunisia has
managed to attract many international companies
such as Airbus and Hewlett-Packard.
Since  Tunisia has formally reformed its political
system several times, abolishing life presidency and
opening up the parliament to opposition parties. The
Photo © Lina Ben Mhenni
President’s official speeches are full of references to
the importance of democracy and freedom of speech.
According to Amnesty International, “the Tunisian
government is misleading the world as it conveys a
positive image of the human rights situation in the
country while abuses by its security forces continue
unabated and are committed with impunity”.
Tunisia practices some Internet censorship, including
the blocking of certain websites, such as YouTube,
Facebook, Twitter, Daily Motion and others, Reporters
Without Borders includes Tunisia in the country list of
‘Enemies of the Internet’ together with North Korea,
Saudi Arabia and Turkmenistan. In January  US
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sighted Tuni-
sia and China as the two countries with the greatest
internet censorship.
The state owned ‘Publinet’ internet network has more
than . million users. The Tunisian netizens are the
most connected community on Facebook in North
Africa.

Photo © Lina Ben Mhenni
Talking About A Revolution
In Tunisia two weeks ago unrest started when
a young Tunisian man, Mohamed Bouazizi, set
himself on fire to protest the country’s high un-
employment rate. The incident, which took place
in the provincial town of Sidi Bouzid, became
the catalyst that sparked widespread protest and
riots that have become a referendum on the
government of President Zine el-Abidine Ben
Ali. Protesters are calling for an end to corrup-
tion, nepotism, and restrictions on basic freedoms.
There have been reports of Tunisian security
forces opening fire on protesters as well as large
scale arrests and torture of prisoners. Although
traditional media in Tunisia is heavily restricted
and authorities have sophisticated methods for
repressing internet freedom, reports of the protests
have spread through non-traditional forms of
media as bloggers and regular citizens have been
tracking the events.
we_volume_/ 
Despite constitutional guarantees of freedom of
expression and association, the government uses
an array of legal, penal and economic measures
to silence dissenting voices. In June of this year,
Tunisia’s Parliament passed a law that crimina-
lizes opposition activities. Journalists and blog-
gers as well as human rights activists and voices of
political dissent are routinely harassed, arrested
and imprisoned. The state strictly monitors and
severely curbs the work of opposition parties.
WE conducted this interview with Lina Ben
Mhenni, a young Tunisian activist and blogger,
on December 30, 2010, two and a half weeks
after the unrest in Tunisia started.
By now it has spread to Egypt.
 we_volume_/
we_magazine:
Lina, when did you start blogging and why?
Lina Ben Mhenni (Lina):
I started blogging in . First I was expressing my
thoughts and feelings on how we live in Tunisia. I
wrote about small social problems. Sometimes I wrote
poetry.
In  I went to the US, I was lucky enough to get a
Fullbright scholarship. Two weeks after my arrival I no-
ticed the censorship of Facebook back home. With
some bloggers we launched a campaign against the
censorship of Facebook and I started to write about
it. Then Sami Ben Gharbia, director of Global Voices
Advocacy and Tunisian native, asked me to write for
Global Voices. Back then I joined them and my first
blogpost dealt with censorship in Tunisa.
we_magazine:
Your personal blog is censored in Tunisia, isn’t it?
Lina: Yes. They blocked it in February , as well as
my Facebook profile and most recently, actually only 
hours ago, they censored my Twitter account.
The very first time I experienced censorship at all was
when I was running a blog together with a dissident
journalist in .
They just shut it down … they don’t give you any kind
of warning.
we_magazine:
Why do you call the unrest in Tunisia a revolution
and not riots?
Lina: Because it is coming from the citizens. It is not
the opposition which is monitoring this. It is just the
people who are fed up with dictatorship, they are tired
of our current system. The people are expressing
themselves and say no to the existing situation in the
country. It is a grass roots movement – and this is why
I want to call it revolution. And from the people's side,
it is a peaceful revolution.
we_magazine:
How would you describe the current situation in Tunisia?
Lina: Let’s face the truth: Tunisia is a police state.
There is no doubt on this. People are afraid of express-
ing themselves, if they say anything wrong prison is
waiting. This is tough! There is no freedom of speech
in Tunisia. Media is controlled by the government.
There are no independent TV channels or radio stati-
ons or newspapers. Even the so-called “private” media
is owned by family members of the President.
And also the economic situation is not really good,
even though Tunisia is doing well in comparison to
other African countries. But people are suffering: un-
employment rates are very high, living costs are very
high – it is hard to make a living and to find a job!
we_magazine:
Lina, could you please give us a brief timeline of what
happened so far during this revolution?
Lina: The trigger for this revolution was the fact that a
young unemployed man, Mohamed Bouazizi, set him-
self on fire to protest the country’s high unemploy-
ment rate. This was in Sidi Bouzid. From there the riots
spread to other areas in the country. And instead of
trying to find a solution, the government repressed
the movement and they even shot and killed some
people.
After the first suicide, another young man killed him-
self. This second incident was in my eyes the main rea-
son why the movement really expanded all over
Tunisia. People were very angry and started protesting
...
 we_volume_/ 

we_magazine:
How is the situation right now in Tunis where
you are based?

Lina: Protests started in Tunis last Saturday (Dec. 

) to support the citizens of Sidi Bouzid. The police
was trying to suppress the demonstrations in a very
violent way. They were brutal. After that another
demonstration was organized – at which the number
of policemen outnumbered the protestors. Four
demonstrators were seriously injured and the police
prevented them from being taken to the hospital. Ac-
tually today two demonstrations were planned, but
they didn’t happen because of the massive police pre-
sence.

we_magazine:
As far as I am informed many lawyers take part in
the protests. What role do they play?

Photos © Lina Ben Mhenni

Lina: On December , lawyers organized a demon-
stration in front of the court house of Tunis. They
where shouting slogans against dictatorship, against
unemployment, against the ruling family and the
President. In the afternoon of the same day two
lawyers were arrested and held overnight in prison.
They were released the next morning and one of them
was mistreated, bodily harmed.
we_magazine:
How do protesters communicate between the cities from
city to city?
we_magazine:
Who is going in the streets?
Lina: It depends on the areas. But usually they are
young people, students. But there are also lawyers,
doctors, teachers, unemployed men and women – all
people are expressing their anger right now.
we_magazine:
Is there any chance of the people succeeding?

Lina: We are using Facebook, cell phones and twitter.
But since two days all of these tools are censored – we
cannot upload videos any more, our profiles are block-
ed, even our Twitter accounts are blocked. So com-
munication becomes harder. Today they even shut
down temporarily the mobile infrastructure, because
we were live streaming with our cell phones from the
events.
Lina: Until today I would say YES, there is a real chance
that change will happen.
After the President’s public speech on television in
which he was threatening the people and putting
pressure on them NOT to join the protests, people are
still going out to demonstrate … this is new. We never
experienced anything like that before!
In  people went on the streets. But it remained
local. It didn’t expand into other areas of the country.
This time it is different – it is expanding all over Tuni-
sia and people don’t allow the government to intimi-
date them.

This really gives me hope!

 we_volume_/
we_magazine:
What kind of change do you want to see?
Lina: No more dictatorship! We want to get rid of the
people who are ruling the country. We want to have
freedom, we want to have justice. We want to be trea-
ted as free citizens! We don’t need corruption any
more! The reigning family is controlling anything, they
are stealing the country’s money. We don’t want this
any more!
we_magazine:
Why is this happening right NOW?
Lina: To be honest, I don’t know.
Maybe after  years of dictatorship, people are sim-
ply fed up. They are tired of all of this.
This young man who killed himself by setting himself
on fire – he really made a point. This was real. It was
tough and shocking! Such a thing never happened
before. And somehow it sets people free. Now they
show how they feel. Many of them are going out on
the streets – people can’t stand the situation any
more.
And of course the Internet and all the social media
tools helped a lot. People are now able to see what is
really happening in Sidi Bouzid, now they are aware of
the real situation. No filters in-between.
Until recently we only received the “official version”
of what is going on. Officials were drawing “our” pic-
ture of Tunisia, everything in their documentaries see-
med to be O.K.
But now with the development of the technology it is
different. Government can’t lie any more!
And if they do so, people will unveil it.
we_magazine:
What are your personal expectations?
Lina: I hope that people will resist.
Tunisia has to overcome censorship.
We, the people want to see real solution – solutions
based upon citizen needs, our needs.
We really want things to start to change.
we_magazine:
Is there any kind of dialogue going on between the
government and the protestors?
Lina: No, not at all.
The only communication is the violence of the police!
we_magazine:
Is there at least a chance for communication?
Lina: No, I don’t think so. The President’s speech – he
gave one so far during the unrest, I think it was on
December ,  – only aimed to threaten the
demonstrators. No sign of giving in. He is not reaching
out his hands to us ...
we_magazine:
What is going to happen next Lina?
Lina: Probably they will block more websites, once in
a while they will shut down mobile communication …
I don’t know what is going to happen next.
I hope it will remain peaceful and that the violence
won’t escalate.
we_magazine:
What role does Tunisia play in Africa?
Lina: I am not sure how to answer this question.
I would say Tunisia is much more integrated and rela-
ted to the Middle East than to Africa. We don’t really
have big relationships with the rest of the continent.
We are more an Arabic country ...
we_magazine:
What can foreign countries do to help the people in Tunisia?
Lina: The EU and the United States should put pressure
on our government.
All we want is a basic human right: the freedom of
speech. We, the people, need free media …
Then our country can flourish. Not only the President’s
family but WE as a democratic nation.
we_magazine:
Thank you very much for this interview Lina. And all the
best for you and your country!
 we_volume_/ 

Photos © Lina Ben Mhenni

 we_volume_/

Photo © Slumcode / Albert and Judy on messaging by Youth

tags: slumcode, slum,

empowerment,
volunteer work,
grass root,
social community
 we_volume_/ 

SLUMCODE –
Empowering Slum
Communities

Albert Nashon Odhoji

... works as an independent development consul-

tant. He is founder of THE SLUMCODE GROUP
in Nairobi, Kenya.
http://www.slumcode.org
 we_volume_/

You must give some time to your fellow men.

Even if it’s a little thing, do something for
others – something for which you get no pay
but the privilege of doing it.
Albert Schweitzer ( - )
 we_volume_/ 

SLUMCODE is a not for profit organization

that develops strategies for community based
social development in low income communities
within Nairobi, Kenya. It does so through
developing partnerships and networking to
harness the potential of diverse ideas. Its
vision is “A better person, a better place!”

SLUMCODE started out in Huruma, a resident-

ial estate located in the northeast of Nairobi.
Huruma is what the government calls an
’informal settlement’ – a village that has no
official standing where people live in constant
threat of eviction. Today close to 60% of
Nairobi’s population lives in such areas while
occupying only 5.84% of residential land in
the city. In Huruma, the Luo, Luhya, Kikuyu, Photo © Slumcode / Huruma at a glance
Kamba, Kisii and other smaller tribes are
living together. Most of the population is below
the age of 25 years. And there are many more
girls than boys.
 we_volume_/
A day in Huruma
I came to Huruma at the age of  and lived there for
more than  years. At the end I had to leave because
of the post election violence in .But Huruma is
still deep in my heart. It’s my soul. This is why I foun-
ded SLUMCODE. I go to Huruma every day to visit
projects I hope to win support for and that we have
helped to keep afloat. And every day it somehow
looks the same.
Early dawn in Huruma, : am. The toots and hoots
of matatus – a Nairobi-wide transport system – are
gathering those preparing to go to work. Many work
far away in an industrial zone. Few job opportunities,
low wages – but only for those who have a national
identity card. Some children lucky enough to have
some place to call a “classroom” hurry in the morning
darkness to a neighborhood school. : am: the
terrible traffic snarl up along Juja Road builds up –
but the price of a matatu ticket is still low – if you are
lucky, you pay about  kshs (roughly  US cents).
As it approaches : am the traffic becomes unbea-
rable – and the cheapest tickets now cost the equi-
valent of a dollar. And if you don’t make it to town on
time you risk loosing your job.
Back to us who operate in Huruma. : am: A few
“stores” are open. Women are at their shops, young
men pull carts to dispose of the waste and garbage
collected overnight from the numerous high rise flats.
Garbage and waste disposal, over flowing sewage and
crowded narrow lanes that scare the hell
out of anyone who ventures down them at night are
normality here. The market place is awakening: pubs
blare out their music, motor vehicles cruise up and
down the street. Women are already returning to their
small grocery stores from “Marikiti” and “Gikomba”,
the retail markets where they buy vegetables. From
food kiosks to grocery shops, local pubs, and neighbor-
hood clinics to coffin-making carpenters and gene-
ral ironmongers – business grinds on. Groups of
young people linger like every morning in the esta-
tes looking for something to turn their hand to –
they might end up as touts, bartenders, drug peddlers,
garbage collectors, tinsmiths or carpenters. Some try
out teaching in local community schools or hone their
talents as artists.
When I stroll through Huruma many of these young
people approach me. SLUMCODE is well known wit-
hin the community. They want to talk to me, ask me
for advice, ask me to pay a bill or two. Some want to
sound me out on ideas like how to find a space to
show what they can do best. Many of the people in
Huruma have already given up, capitulated or are
plain desperate. They see no hope – it’s a fertile
ground for alcohol and drug addiction where crime
is a daily occurrence.
All this makes me realize how fortunate my team and
I are that we have managed to do what we do!
At lunchtime women are busy cooking at the road-
side, preparing food for those who cannot cook at
home. Selling food is a pretty good guaranteed
source of income – even though prices can be as low
as  Kshs. But food is quite affordable and there is
even some variety in the menu.
In the evening those who work outside Huruma
don’t head back home directly, Because their houses
are overcrowded, and very poorly equipped they
prefer to stay at the local pubs and drink away the
stress of the day. They stagger home late at night
when their kids are already sleeping.
At night Huruma is in full swing. Literally every high
rise flat has a bar on the ground floor run by families
living in the building. Beer is cheap in Kenya since
Kenya Breweries Limited has licensed it so that people
can sell it very cheap. Alcohol is a huge problem in
Huruma. And prostitution is linked in with it. For many
women it’s the only way they have to make some
money. The rate of HIV infection in Huruma is stagger-
ing. Poverty and the thread of addiction and prosti-
tution are closely interwoven.
Security / Crime
Insecurity and crime are a constant threat as many
of the unemployed young people with nothing to do
idle their time away and come out on the prowl at
night with mobile phone being the most prized catch.
Even though they’ve grown rarer since the death of
some of the most wanted hardcore gang leaders,
gun totting criminals can still be see roaming every
 we_volume_/ 

Dennis Okoyo – is a
young man who recently
completed secondary
school and joined
SLUMCODE as a Youth
Program Coordinator.
He says:
“Through this organiza-
tion I have realized my
potential to think
critically and manage a
program at a very early
Photo © Slumcode / Dennis Okoyo

stage. Some of the things I do today would

never even have crossed my mind as a young
person outside such an organized group.
But the group’s spirit of innovation and the way
it teaches you to lead yourself and others has
made me a much better person. I now help to
develop the talents of other young people by
working with children aged  –  in the
Mtoto Palace program.”
 we_volume_/

Photo © Slumcode / Moving homes Huruma style

Photo © Slumcode / Campaign in Huruma


night. A government initiative dubbed, “community
policing” failed to work in this area after it was infil-
trated by rival gangs which made it an even worse
threat to local residents.
But a police post nearby has made all the difference
to Huruma residents and plans to have the area
district commissioners establish an office in the area
is real good news. Youth organizations have also
become more aware and emphasize being watchful
in the neighborhood. We can only expect things to
get better.
Volunteer Work
Some SLUMCODE volunteers have made their way
to Baraka Primary School a community project
the SLUMCODE Group has supported since .
SLUMCODE has done this by mobilizing local resour-
ces to purchase desks, pay rent arrears, and buy
books and meals for the some  children who can-
not follow free primary school education due to the
lack of space and money to buy official expensive
school uniforms. Here they wear whatever they can
afford and pay whatever they can afford in install-
ments. Huruma has only  state-run schools which
leaves much room for the ever increasing number of
self help projects and non formal schools owned by
community groups. I was surprised when I asked
Mrs. Irene Agana the head teacher where the  or
more pupils came from who filled the school within
a month of her setting it up. She said their needs are
diverse and that many of the parents are jobless
because they lost their temp jobs or small businesses
during and after the wave of post election violence in
 and can no longer afford to help pay for school
desks and expensive uniforms as well as mandatory
after-school tuition. And so such schools become an
easy option for many who can part with around 
Kshs a day to keep a child in school. The trend is gro-
wing rapidly as more and more parents find this a
better option for educating their children.
VOLATILE is the word that springs to mind when
talking about the post election violence in .
With my work at SLUMCODE and my personal leader-
ship qualities, many of my close friends had encourag-
ed and assured me of their support if I decided to
take part in the national elections. So I took up the
we_volume_/ 
challenge. It was the kind of experience to write
home about – and quite a daring one too.
But the worst was yet to come when everything
turned dark after the fateful announcement of the
incumbent president’s reelection. All hell broke loose
and everything went up in flames. The selfsame
young people I had known for so long turned against
me just because I came from a different tribe. It be-
came easier to count the machetes in the hands of
youth than the loaves of bread brought home for fa-
mily breakfast. For three days a dark cloud hung over
our country and lingered on for months and years.
As a leader, I was a key target because I’d campaigned
for one of the main political parties. One of the most
dreaded vigilante groups in the country which also
extorts money from the local households and busi-
nesses threatened to execute me just on hearsay. It
had been reported that I had made certain state-
ments about them to the authorities. But that was
not true since I had spent my whole day on the
streets trying to pacify mobs of rowdy youth hell-
bent on mayhem, robbing and burning down the
houses of any Kenyans perceived to be from another
tribe. I was very lucky to have escaped but I was
ordered to leave Huruma, a place I had known for
over  years. All my programs and organizational
activities were focused there, but now the very
people I had known and worked with through thick
and thin just ejected me from my home along with
all the other SLUMCODE members.
MOVING ON: Two years later we are back and once
more serving our community. Many people have
healed and now dread seeing politicians shouting
each other down on national TV. The scars still sit
deep. The volunteers are back at school teaching
kids most of whom are so desperate, they probably
haven’t eaten since the night before.
Dennis is a frustrated SLUMCODE volunteer as he
feels his days are wasted with children who cannot
understand as quickly as he would like, but then again
he realizes that if he doesn’t do this job nobody’s
going to do it. So together with Otieno, Eric and Mwai
he struggles on teaching for another three months.
Meanwhile I try to get out there and see who can
support them at school by at least providing lunch.
Not many friends come to help me but life must go
on. I must give them the optimism and hope that all
will be well in the end.
 we_volume_/
SLUMFEST™
SLUMFEST is an annual community gathering hosted
by the SLUMCODE group in low income communities
and based on thematic objectives. This will be the
fifth time after planning and successfully hosting the
inaugural event in .
This youth initiative aims to provide a space for many
young people who have innovative ideas and take
the initiative to network, share ideas and sell their
products. They also take voluntary medical tests to
find out about their HIV status. They attend business
clinics we organize in partnership with stakeholders
supporting the event.
Sponsors pay between Kshs. , and ,. For
this they “adopt a tent” as we call it: organizations,
companies and institutions pay for a tent space at
and brand it during the entire event for marketing
and publicity purposes while offering their services
to the many young people who come along. We have
seen the concept grow and hope that many will find
this grass roots initiative well worth their support.
These young people hope to be connected to business,
scholarship opportunities, employment and even men-
torship and training. They also talk about issues of
national importance and their own personal develop-
ment. We introduce them to role models who all
come from local communities and share what they
have achieved and their motivation in achieving it.
POVERTY bites as youth continue to be relegated to
the periphery of frontline development. Talking to
Richard, a middle aged man selling groceries by the
roadside in Huruma leaves me wondering how he
can support a family of four with this kind of job. But
he’s been doing it for over  years. He knows pretty
well that he has to keep his expenses to a bare mini-
mum if he’s to cater for the family. Besides which he,
his wife and business partner also have to pay for the
small trader’s scheme they have set up.
Elizabeth Akumu, a single mother of two boys,
spends her entire day in a small shop selling products
handmade by a young tinsmith – square metallic
boxes used by school kids for clothes, energy saving
cookers (jikos in Swahili), frying pans and mouse
traps. Often she is there for  hours on a stretch wit-
hout a single customer appearing. It’s out of despe-
rate situations like these that innovation is born.
SLUMCODE set up a resource centre where these pro-
ducts can be displayed daily, posted on a website and
published in brochures, hence saving the young ar-
tisan the cost of hiring space and staff, paying for li-
censes and better security which are now all covered
by the SLUMCODE centre’s logistics. All they have to
pay now is a small fee for space so they can do more
marketing.
This initiative is the first of its kind in Huruma – a
sure way of curbing poverty by promoting innovation
and entrepreneurship. Elizabeth also gets a chance
to train other interested in trade.
COMMUNITY DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT is an approach
I advocate to encourage people to participate in
social projects. With many still living on less than
one dollar a day, challenges must become opportu-
nities and avenues for empowerment that tap the
potentials of the highly pragmatic youthful demo-
graphic. For many years the population continued to
grow and nobody bothered about family planning.
Structures and institutions were put in place to deal
with the expected pressure on resources such as
schools, housing and employment caused by the
population explosion.
We young people sat down to form self help groups
for self-empowerment, growth and development.
This was after crime rates, deaths from HIV, and sub-
stance abuse hit record highs in communities like
Huruma, Dandora, Kibera and Korogocho. They saw
a great influx of people migrating from rural towns
in search of work and swelling the slum population
as decent affordable housing is a luxury.
Having seen my own brother succumb to drugs, leav-
ing  children behind, some of whom I have to fend
for, I have encouraged my team to initiate a program
that targets children. Mtoto Palace is a child support
project that keeps our children happy and focused
and we now teach them poetry, character building
and class work for school excellence.
We must curve new dimensions and our diversity
must be fed into our community programs by our
young and ambitious, open minded and charismatic
reformers. We are changing perceptions of how com-
munities view themselves in order to take part in
development.
Youth-led initiatives can transform communities.
Young people are agents of peace, not proponents
of violence. SLUMCODE wants to see them as leaders
in sustainable development, not as risks to society.
 we_volume_/ 

Ann W. Mbugua – who

leads SLUMCODE’s
women and girls pro-
gram, says:
“Over the years as a
person who also helped
to found the organiza-
tion, I have experienced
what it takes to make an
impact in communities.
I have dealt with some
extremely desperate
Photo © Slumcode / Ann W. Mbugua

situations involving young mothers, women

with children orphaned by HIV and no regular
means of earning a decent living. We have
mobilized support for such women and are
currently working on a plan to create employ-
ment for less privileged women by teaching
them video production and documentary-
making for which we need funding”.
 we_volume_/

Photo © Slumcode / The foetus of twins discovered during a clean up event in Huruma 

SLUMCODE volunteers are a case in point showing
that we young people are no longer ignorant and
unaware of what goes on around us.
INNOVATION and creativity is what I see in many of
the eyes as we sit in the SLUMCODE office, a small
room with some photos on the wall and just space
enough for a table. We wonder what the next step will
be – always confident that we will make it somehow.
Our approach is more and more to support commu-
nity programs that promote the tenets of true entre-
preneurship and local solutions. Help people to help
themselves. We want to include the idea of sustain-
ability in our concepts – not only to get funding for
an idea but to make the idea sustainable on the lon-
grun. We look at how to best mobilize resources and
make our programs work. A good example for that is
SLUMFEST.
CHALLENGES facing organizations like SLUMCODE
must always be seen as opportunities we can learn
from. Working as a grass roots organization brings
us into contact with all sorts of people and charac-
ters. We know how to handle different challenges
from different backgrounds. Youths from low income
communities are poor and prefer projects with quick
financial gains. Very often young girls resort to pro-
stitution as a means of day to day survival which
makes it difficult for them to get out of. Abortion
quickly becomes the norm as sex is a tool of the
trade and no longer for pleasure. Nor is it safe as the
act is performed when many of the girls are half
drunk or worse. They’re hooked on drink as a way of
numbing themselves to pain. We’ve helped a  year
old in a state of total bewilderment as she tried to
come to terms with the reality that she is HIV posi-
tive. Ann Mbugua, another SLUMCODE volunteer,
leading a women’s HIV program takes up her case to
see that at least she gets psychosocial support.
With our Slumedia™ project (= a video production
project) we target school leavers who are the group
most at risk from sexual abuse. So we helped a lady
with two children. Her elder daughter has just sat her
class eight exams and she had to figure out how to
get the girl into secondary school. Missing such an
opportunity means that sooner or later the girl will
be yet another rape victim, single parent or prosti-
tute. We were more than happy that she engaged in
Slumedia™ and joined us to drive further change.
we_volume_/ 
Facts about Kenya
The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa.
Nairobi is its capital. Lying along the Indian Ocean to
its southeast and along the equator, it is bordered by
Somalia to the northeast, Ethiopia to the north, Sudan
to the northwest, Uganda to the west and Tanzania to
the south. Lake Victoria is situated to the southwest,
and is shared with Uganda and Tanzania. It has a
land area of , km, a population of nearly
 million residents and is a country of  counties
each with its own government semi-autonomous to
the central government.
Its economy is the largest by GDP in East and Central
Africa and Kenya’s capital,Nairobi is a major commer-
cial hub. The country traditionally produces world
renowned tea and coffee. Recently it has developed
a formidable horticultural industry thereby becoming
a major exporter of flowers to Europe. The service
industry is driven by the telecommunications sector
which is one of the most innovative in Africa. The
economy has seen a broad-based expansion and its
foreign debt was greatly reduced. But poor gover-
nance and corruption have had a negative impact on
growth, making it expensive to do business in Kenya.
According to Transparency International, Kenya ranks
poorly in the corruption perception index though
there have been significant improvements in recent
times.
Compared to its neighbors, Kenya has a well developed
social and physical infrastructure making it an attrac-
tive alternative location to South Africa for major
corporations seeking entry into the African continent.
Nairobi continues to be the primary communication
and financial hub of East Africa. It enjoys the region’s
best transportation linkages, communications infra-
structure, and trained personnel.
Some % of Kenyans are under . The internet
penetration rate is . %.
 we_volume_/

Photo © Slumcode / Partiocipants from the Kenya Modeling Fraternity sign abstinence cards at Slumfest IV ..
 we_volume_/ 

Photo © Slumcode / Young prize winners at Slumfest, August , 

 we_volume_/

Photo © Hisham Almiraat

tags: blogger, blogs,

web .,
censorship,
transparency,
participation,
human rights,
talkmorocco,
global voices
 we_volume_/ 

Spaces Of Freedom
– Web .
In Morocco

Hisham Almiraat

... is a medical doctor, blogger and free speech advo-

cate. Born in Morocco he now lives in France. He is
passionate about citizen media and writes about good
governance, human rights and online activism. He is
co-founder of TalkMorocco.net and author for Global
Voices Online.
 we_volume_/

Eugene Delacroix (1798 - 1863) once said:

“I looked for the truth among the masses, but I
only found it in individuals”. Thanks to his travel
books and magnificent paintings Delacroix helped
transmit the details of an ancient Moroccan
society – it would have been impossible to imagine
it otherwise. If Delacroix lived today he would be
probably running his own blog.

Photo © Hisham Almiraat


Blogging, and the Web . more broadly, have op-
posed mass and citizen media. It’s bridging the gap
between the often impersonal, sometimes filtered,
mainstream media and the colorful diversity of in-
dividual narratives. By doing so Delacroix’s dream
becomes true: he thought the closer we get to indivi-
duals, the closer we are to the true interpretation of
their lives. The Web . is a patchwork of millions of
individuals creating a rich, constantly updated multi-
media content. There are  million active users on
Facebook (more than  times the Moroccan popula-
tion),  million on Twitter, tweeting over  tweets
per second,  million per day.
In Morocco there are half a million active netizens on
Facebook and a few hundred on Twitter. There are no
official figures for blogs but a conservative estimate
puts the number at around ,. Beyond the num-
bers, however, lies a remarkable cultural and linguistic
diversity that mirrors Moroccan society.
But what social impact does the Web really have?
I like to believe that those hundreds of thousands of
bloggers, microbloggers and social networkers are
writing the corpus of Moroccan contemporary history.
By sharing bits of their daily lives and by expressing their
opinions freely, people are reclaiming a public sphere
that has been restricted and censored for too long. And
by so doing, they are finding ways to change things.
One example: July , . A Moroccan citizen, armed
with a simple video camera, goes out to shoot a scene
of daily life near his remote village in the northern part
of the country. In the early morning, he laid quietly on
the roof of an abandoned house, overlooking a cros-
sing where a police roadblock is usually set up. He
made sure no one noticed his presence. Then as soon
as the first policemen arrived he started to film. On the
video you can clearly see police officers stopping
vehicles and extorting bribes from drivers. A scene of
everyday corruption, unfortunately all too familiar for
the villagers living nearby. The videos were soon posted
on YouTube, followed by two others. They went viral
almost instantly, and toured the world, seen by milli-
ons of Internet users. They were broadcast on news
channels, and soon became a topic for television de-
bates. They became part in a documentary on online
activism and screened in over  countries worldwide.
we_volume_/ 
And the most remarkable thing about it – against all
odds – was the fact that the Moroccan authorities re-
acted positively, and rather than shooting the mes-
senger they took steps to investigate the case. Soon
after the offenders were apprehended and concrete
measures were taken to abolish corruption in the po-
lice. Today, the government is running a website
where citizens can anonymously report cases of cor-
ruption and abuse by officials and representatives of
the authority. (See StopCorruption.ma)
These videos started a trend: the technique was imi-
tated by many others in Morocco and elsewhere. Films
and photographs started to emerge on the web, un-
covering electoral fraud, corrupt regimes, the poor
infrastructure around the country, the floods in stati-
ons and airports, the impact on the environment of il-
legal dumping of industrial waste.
Others have found in social networks, like Facebook,
the perfect tool to gather support for their cause or
coordinate their actions on the ground. On September
, a group of young Moroccans, calling themselves
MALI (Alternative Movement for Individual Liberties)
decided they were going to eat in public during day-
time in Ramadan — the holy Muslim month, during
which believers are supposed to observe fasting from
dawn until dusk. The action was coordinated almost
entirely via the Internet and was meant as a symbolic
action in favor of the amendment of a law that calls
for the punishment by prison or fine of anyone whose
actions are perceived to be disrespectful of Islam. The
protesters were intercepted by the police but they hel-
ped open the debate about freedom of conscience in
a Muslim society. A subject so far considered taboo.
There’s general skepticism about whether the Web .
can actually change public life in a country like
Morocco. But collective power and collective action
are taking shape thanks to initiatives on the ground
for which the Web is serving as a powerful catalyst.
After decades of marginalization, civil society is stan-
ding up. If authorities or governments aren’t transpa-
rent enough, citizens will potentially step in to unfold
the truth. Today an ordinary citizen knows he or she
can, with good purpose, change things and start a
 we_volume_/

debate all by himself or herself. But good intentions

are certainly not enough. For the Web . to succeed
in empowering ordinary people, I think three objecti-
ves must be achieved:

First, the government must commit to build an infra-

structure guarantying broadband for all. Access to
broadband Internet should actually be elevated to the-
fully fledged status of a Human Right. The reasons for
this are obvious, and the benefits countless in terms
of development, business and education. The Moroc-
can government has been proactive in encouraging
investment in information and communications tech-
nology (ICT) resulting in a rapid increase of Internet
users (, percent in the last  years) making
Morocco second only to Egypt in the MENA region in
terms of Internet subscribers. But the rate of penetra-
tion (%) is still relatively low and efforts so far have
fallen short of providing rural areas with adequate
infrastructure.

Second, the government must ensure network neutra-

lity: the idea of any discriminatory management of the
Internet traffic by internet service providers (ISPs),
destroys the very foundations of a free, fast and fair In-
ternet. The lack of legislation in this regard means that
ISPs can decide what people can see on the Inter-net
and at what speed. There is a need for more transpa-
rency so that ISPs treat all data the same. The mono-
poly of the ICT sector in Morocco by a small circle of
families and businessmen close to power, makes the
change all the more difficult and means that reform
intimately linked to the struggle for more democratic
accountability.

Finally, the government must ensure that the principle

of freedom of expression is paramount. Considering
the restrictions on the press in Morocco, the Internet
has become an important outlet where bloggers are
Photo © Hisham Almiraat
able to tackle subjects few journalists can.

The new spaces of freedom of expression offered by

the Web . are a creative force for Morocco as well as
for all African countries. In this respect, censorship is
an impediment for development and creativity that
must be fought head on, because only free societies
can foster innovative, informed and open debates.
Something my country and the whole African conti-
nent badly need.

Facts about Morocco
The Kingdom of Morocco is a country located in North
Africa. It has a population of nearly  million and an
area of , km², divided into  regions. Morocco
is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament.
A steady growth of .% between - helped
the Moroccan economy to become much more robust.
The economic system of the country presents several
facets. It is characterized by a large opening towards
we_volume_/ 
the outside world. France remains the primary trade
partner of Morocco. France is also the primary creditor
and foreign investor in Morocco. In the Arab world,
Morocco has the second-largest non-oil GDP, behind
Egypt, as of . The major resources of the Moroccan
economy are agriculture, phosphates, and tourism.
% of its population have access to the internet.
 we_volume_/

tags: Algeria,
Nord-Sud Ventures,
transformation,
NEPAD, reforms
 we_volume_/ 

Stop Terrorism!
Start
Transformation!

Arslan Chikhaoui

... is Chairman and CEO of the consultancy centre

“Nord-Sud Ventures”, specializing in business in-
telligence, strategy and lobbying based in Algiers,
Algeria. He was born in Algeria in 1962 and has
degrees in international relations and economics
from Berkeley University and in biology from the
Algiers University of Science & Technology. He did
further studies in strategy and government affairs
at the Foreign Service Institute.
He is also a senior consultant to Algerian Govern-
ment bodies and senior analyst on international
affairs for national and international media. At
the 1999 WEF Summit in Davos, he was chosen as
a 100 Global Leaders for Tomorrow. He is also a
member of the Defence and Security Forum
(DSF) based in London, and WEF Regional Agenda
Council on MENA, and Alumni of NESA Centre
for Strategic Studies of National Defence University
of Washington DC.
 we_volume_/

In this interview Arslan Chikhaoui gives

us insights into Algeria’s politics, economy and
social life.
The interview was conducted by Ulrike Reinhard
late November 2010 at the Transformation
Thinker Conference hosted by the Bertelsmann
Foundation and the GTZ. After Arslan’s presen-
tation I felt a little uncomfortable with what I
heard and I decided to talk to him about my
concerns. I saw a huge contradiction in what
Arslan’s company Nord-Sud Ventures is doing
and what Algerian citizens really need. Money
making and lobbying in what is (still) non-
democratic country barely goes along with
people’s need. I challenged him to think about
how transformation and change – both affirmed
goals of his company – can be driven in different
ways ...
It turned out to be a very interesting conversation;-)

we_magazine:
Arslan, what is your company Nord-Sud Ventures doing?
Arslan Chikhaoui (Arslan): The trade name of the
firm Nord-Sud is directly related to the vertical relation
between the North and the South. In , I realized
what this country needed was to be advised – but not
advised by foreign firms with whom Algeria had spent
millions of dollars. So, I decided to sell my ideas to
both political and economic players in need of coun-
seling. The mission of my office is to provide counse-
ling services in the economic as well as political field.
We provide a wide range of counseling services in the
market, strategic studies by country, trade investigati-
ons, political marketing, as well as counseling at the
political and social level. We started our activities at
the local level and then two years ago, we expanded
them internationally.
We created a lobbying center in Algiers with branches
in London, Paris and Brussels, to give our decision
makers a lobbying instrument in Europe.
we_magazine:
You are here as a transformation thinker, Arslan. Do you
think you are really supporting transformation in Algeria?
Transformation towards what? Are you working for the
“public good” in this way, helping people to achieve a better
life or are you one of these people who simply benefit from
the situation and the regime. Which is of course absolutely
legal and there is nothing to be said against it.
Arslan: A good question. And many people ask this.
I have a philosophy – and I hope you can “get it” while
we are going through this interview.
I’ve had a choice between two options. The first op-
tion was to stay abroad and live an easy life. I've stu-
died in the US, but I decided to come back. If I would
have stayed, I might have thought about ways to in-
fluence my country from the outside and drive change
from there. But I think this is impossible. You can't in-
fluence anything from the outside, you are comple-
tely disconnected from reality.
The “real” thing is to be in the country, to be connec-
ted to reality, but – even when you are connected to
realty – to be away from the system ...
we_volume_/ 
we_magazine:
Do you consider yourself “away from the system”?
Arslan: I am “out of” the system. I will never accept
any position as a minister or a politician. What I am
trying to do in Algeria is to participate, to build some-
thing new, to support the change – but I try to avoid
being a threat to the regime.
Why?
If you are a threat, you will never have the chance to
train, to educate the regime in a better understanding
of what needs to be done in order to achieve prospe-
rity or a descent life for the majority of the people. To
better understand the new dimensions of the market
economy.
We mostly focus on the politicians, very often we for-
get about the administration, we forget all the civil
servants who don’t know much about what is going
on abroad and what needs to be done to transform
our country. I see my role right in there! This can only
be done from inside the country, this is not something
you can achieve with anti regime blogs or any other
type of activism from the outside.
And me, being a member of the World Economic
Forum (WEF)…
we_magazine:
… WEF – another of the elite clubs where a lot of “deals”
are made … not always really good for mankind. Sorry for
this, but I don’t trust them very much!
Arslan: Yes, we can argue about this as well. But it
gives me a trump card to play within my own country.
It demonstrates some kind of reputation to our lea-
ders in Algeria. And this is why they are listening … If
you don’t have this, you will be completely out of the
scene.
So this is my way of acting.
And I try and I do my best to be as honest to both
sides as possible.
It is some kind of balancing act.
 we_volume_/
we_magazine:
So let’s stop this discussion here and start talking about your
country. What is the role of Algeria within Africa?
Arslan: Algeria is starting to come back.  years ago
Algeria was in “brackets”, it was put on hold. It wasn't
involved in any projects in Africa. But now it is moving.
Actually Algeria is one of the African countries which
defends poor countries and helps them. One of the
future challenges for it will be to invest the money
coming from our oil and gas industry within Africa. I
can see this happening at some stage, even though
not immediately. The reason is the fact that Algeria is
one of the initiators of the NEPAD plan. Together with
Nigeria and South Africa they set up this program for
new development in Africa. What they are still wor-
king on is the business plan which goes along with it
and which is needed to implement it so to speak “on
the ground”.
we_magazine:
Do you think other African countries like Ghana or Kenya see
Algeria as a supporter of Africa?
Arslan: I think they see Algeria as a leader of the old
fashioned, non aligned countries which helped other
African countries achieve independence.
And this is it.
Today they don't see Algeria as a country which could
help them. Not at all. But Algeria could definitely play
a major role in both the northern Africa and Sahel
region. And it should do in my opinion.
we_magazine:
Who is creating wealth in Algeria? Is there anything like
a private sector?
Arslan: Do you think it is the private sector which
creates wealth in Algeria? No! It is still the centralized
government. And this will remain so for a while –
Algeria is just starting to move …
we_magazine:
Would you say that Algeria has started a real transformation
process or is it just a declaration of well meaning intentions?
Arslan: What I can say is that we have freedom of
speech. We have more than  private media compa-
nies …
we_magazine:
Are they censored?
Arslan: (laughing) Censored? Some of them in a way.
But most of them not! No! You can see the media in-
sulting the President and they don’t have to fear any
consequences. But is it enough to have freedom of
speech? Is it enough to move on? No! We need more
than this. We need to move away from our present of
governance – still based on the old Soviet model – to-
wards a new way of governance.
we_magazine:
Which could be …
Arslan: Which would include – besides freedom of
speech – rethinking how decisions are made. How the
decision making process could be run within a frame-
work of dialogue. The political elite should open up
and let civil society participate more through various
kinds of platforms like media, unions, NGOs … Our
leaders – decision makers as we call them in Algeria –
need interaction with them. There is still a lack here.
They should listen more to the people – economically
and politically.
we_magazine:
Do you think a strict distinction between politics and the
private sector is needed to transform the country?
Arslan: I think Algeria should definitely become more
open – in various ways … Today they don’t put you in
jail when you insult the President. But this doesn’t
mean anything! We need free trade and more open-
ness. WE, the people need hope!
The government is still playing a game here. But even
the “western” countries are playing a game here. They
actually very much like the situation we have in
Algeria. They don’t want every Algerian to be able to
leave the country whenever he/she wants to … To be
very honest.
we_volume_/ 
 we_volume_/
The new generation in Algeria – % of the popula-
tion is younger than  years – they need a vision for
the future! They need a new leader as we had one in
the seventies …
we_magazine:
How can this be achieved?
Arslan: Above all, we do need stability in the country.
At least a certain level of stability. Once we are done
with terrorism, violence and crime then we can start
talking about the next step! Otherwise you can’t
achieve anything.
We haven’t achieved this yet. We are still struggling.
Even though the security within the country has much
improved – in comparison to the nineties – but when
you open the paper, almost every day you'll find a new
case on these issues.
we_magazine:
You are working as a consultant Arslan. Which are the
three drivers for transformation would you recommend the
government to take up?
Arslan: Definitely macro economic reforms and then
economic growth. This will then lead to the third point
which is social stability and descent life for everybody.
If you achieve social stability, then you can move to-
wards broader political reforms.
we_magazine:
What about the Internet? How many people have access?
Is it censored?
Arslan: I will surprise you! The Internet is not censo-
red in Algeria, not at all. This is a really good point!
Today more than - million people have access, this
is about  % of the population. Most of them are
young people. The infrastructure is there in the cities,
for most people it is simply too expensive to use.
we_magazine:
What about mobile?
Arslan: I will surprise you again! More than  million
have mobile phones, this is more than % of the po-
pulation. We have a public mobile operator – like
every other country – and we have opened up this
market for two private carriers: Orascom, which was
established in  and is considered among the
largest and most diversified network operators in the
Middle East and QTel from Qatar. Most of the phones
aren’t smart phones, you simply use them for phone
calls, SMS or MMS.
we_magazine:
Are there any mobile services, applications that help
people in rural areas?
Arslan: No, not that I know of.
we_magazine:
Arslan, do you think that the kind of regime which is now
running Algeria is better right now than a democracy,
a democracy like we have here in Germany?
Arslan: To be honest, I prefer to answer YES. I think
we still need this autocratic system – without it I be-
lieve change would be even harder, the situation
would escalate much more easily! But we don’t need
it for ever, just for a few more years … a short period
of time!
we_magazine:
Arslan, thank you very much for your open words and
your great personal insights! All the best.
Arslan: Thank you, Ulrike.

Facts about Algeria
Algeria, a gateway between Africa and Europe, has
been battered by violence over the past half-century.
More than a million Algerians were killed in the fight
for independence from France in , and the coun-
try has recently emerged from a brutal internal conflict
that followed scrapped elections in  which was
won by an Islamist party. The election was annulled,
heralding a bloody civil war in which more than
, people were slaughtered. Although political
violence in Algeria has declined since then, the coun-
try has been shaken by a campaign of bombings car-
ried out by a group calling itself Al-Qaeda in the Land
of Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM).
After years of political upheaval and violence, Algeria’s
economy has been given a lift by frequent oil and gas
finds. However, poverty remains widespread and un-
we_volume_/ 
employment high, particularly among Algeria’s youth.
Endemic government corruption and poor standards
in public services are also chronic sources of popular
dissatisfaction.
Algeria’s TV and radio stations are state-controlled,
but there is a lively private press which often criticises
the authorities. There is no direct censorship, but laws
set out prison terms and fines for insulting or defaming
the president, MPs, judges and the army.
There were . million internet users by September
 (InternetWorldStats). Most surfers rely on dial-up
connections and cybercafes. No widespread filtering
is reported, but the blocking of a political website in
January  was said to be the first known instance
of online censorship.
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Photo © iHub

tags: iHub, technology,

creative space,
incubator,
technology,
innovation,
white african,
global voices

Kenya Matters
Erik Hersman
Raised in Kenya and Sudan, Erik Hersman is a tech-
nologist and blogger who lives in Nairobi, Kenya. He
is co-founder of Ushahidi, a free and open source
platform for crowdsourcing information and visua-
lizing data. He is the founder of AfriGadget, a multi-
author site that showcases stories of African invent-
ions and ingenuity, and an African technology blog-
ger at WhiteAfrican.com. His current project is the
iHub, Nairobi’s Innovation Hub for the technology
community, bringing together entrepreneurs, hack-
ers, designers and the investment community.
Eric is a Senior TED Fellow, a PopTech Fellow
and speaker. You can find him on Twitter at
@WhiteAfrican
we_volume_/ 
Ethan Zuckerman
... was a co-founder of Tripod.com, a web hosting en-
terprise, and later founder of Geekcorps. He cur-
rently serves as a fellow at the Berkman Center for
Internet and Society. His work at the Berkman
Center has included research into global media
attention, and the co-founding of Global Voices On-
line in collaboration with Rebecca MacKinnon. For
some years he was also a contributing writer for
Worldchanging.com, where he served as president of
the board of directors. In January 2007, he joined the
inaugural Wikimedia Foundation Advisory Board.
He is a graduate of Williams College, spent a year
in Accra, Ghana on a Fulbright scholarship, and
currently resides in Lanesborough, Massachusetts
with his wife Rachel Barenblat.
 we_volume_/

In August 2010 I was in Nairobi, Kenya for the

first time. I visited Makers Faire Africa and of
course – being an Internet person – I ended up
at the iHub. And I immediately fell in love with
it. In its inspiring and inviting atmosphere, I in-
stantly felt at home;-)
So it was somehow a “must” to include the iHub
in this issue.
Luckily Ethan Zuckerman came to Nairobi a few
weeks later and visited iHub as well and wrote
a beautiful blogpost, which is printed here.
We’ve added a short interview with Eric Hersman,
founder of iHub. We believe this round-up gives
you a pretty good overview on how this place
ticks and on what’s going on in Kenya!

Ulrike Reinhard

Photo © iHub

we_magazine:
Tell us a little bit about the history of the iHub
and about your role in it.
Erik Hersman: You can look back about  years ago
to see a post on my blog about the idea of tech hubs
needed in the major tech cities across Africa. This
was an idea that germinated at Barcamp Nairobi
 when I was chatting with one of the other
organizers for that event. There was obviously a void
in the community for a place to meet, exchange
ideas, and serve as a central nexus point for industry,
devs, investors and others to meet.
we_magazine:
What is the secret of its success?
Erik: Well, it’s still a little early in the game to know,
but it’s largely due to the community being in charge
of making a lot of the decisions, therefore having a real
ownership role in the space. They have done every-
thing from design the layout to setup meetings to run
the network and servers. My role, and that of Jessica
and Tosh as well, is to provide a basic structure from
which the community has to build something.
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“The good news:
I’ve found the
co-working space I’d
been searching for.
The bad news:
it’s in Nairobi.”
Tweet by Ethan Zuckerman, Nov. , 
I’ve spent most of the past two days at the iHub,
part of the vast (non-profit) corporate empire that is
Ushahidi. I’m lucky enough to have known three of
Ushahidi’s founders from before their launch of their
crowdsourcing platform, and my friends invited me to
join their board of directors. Wednesday afternoon
was a board meeting, and members flew in from three
continents to review a chaotic, crazy and incredibly
productive year. A team at the Fletcher School used
Ushahidi to coordinate information and relief efforts
in the wake of the Haitian earthquakes. A team of blog-
gers and activists in Russia used Ushahidi to provide
aid to people affected by Russia’s forest fires, an effort
that was so popular, it briefly broke our system. Usha-
hidi launched Crowdmap.com, a platform that makes it
possible for anyone to start a crowdmapping project
with no more than a few mouseclicks, and everyone
from individuals to the BBC tried it out.
There’s lots for a board member to understand about
Ushahidi – three core products, developers around the
world, a web of partnerships and collaborations. One
part of the mix I’ve never entirely understood is the
iHub, which serves as the team’s Nairobi offices, but is
lots more than that.
The space is located on the top floor of a five story buil-
ding on Ngong Road, one of the major arteries of the
city. Across the street from a well-known supermarket,
it’s easy to get to via cab or matatu, the minivans that
carry the majority of the city’s passengers. The space is
open, high-ceilinged, and surrounded by windows.
There’s a coffee bar in one corner, staffed by Pete,
Nairobi’s barrista champion. Above Pete’s shop is a
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we_magazine:
What role does the iHub play in the tech scene
within Kenya?
Erik: The iHub serves as the central nexus point for
what’s going on around Nairobi.  We run events, pro-
vide a working space and are a trusted intermediary
for all of the stakeholders. We provide neutral terri-
tory for all to come together.
we_magazine:
What impact does it have?
Erik: At this point, we’ve only been “open” for about
 months.  However, we’ve held + community and
corporate tech events, we have over  members
and are seeing the members come together to form
companies, win seed capital and win competitions
for prize money for their ideas.   the cost of the space, as does renting the room out for
narrow loft, the offices for the space’s managers –
they’ve got access to the servers and other gear, as well
as a panoramic view of the room below. They look
down on a cluster of worktables, a raised area with
couches and comfy chairs, and a loose agglomeration
of wooden patio furniture. The walls are vibrant blues
and greens, lit by the sun streaming in from all sides.
One wall features a half-finished map of Nairobi matatu
routes – Ushahidi co-founder Eric Hersman tells me, “so
much of this space could have been anywhere in the
world, we needed something to remind us of Nairobi.”
By am, virtually every seat in the house is taken, oc-
cupied by young Kenyans and a few expats, almost
all wearning green badges around their necks. These
badges are the first clue that the iHub isn’t an extre-
mely hip cybercafe. It’s an incubator, an invitation only
space open every day to the  entrepreneurs who’ve
applied for and won badges from the iHub team. For
those who’ve won a green badge, there’s no charge to
access the space, which is a pretty amazing asset, as
it’s not just an extremely cool space – it’s got some of
the fastest connectivity available in the city. Eric tells
me that more than  people are members of the
iHub, using the online tools the group makes available
and coming to selected events. From that pool,  pit-
ched projects or ideas that earned them a green badge
and membership in this exclusive club. Another small
set, wearing red badges, pay , Ksh (about $
USD) a month for a reserved desk space and a locker
within the shared work space. The rentals help defray
technology trainings and events.
The end result of the space, the connectivity and the
membership policy is that many of Kenya’s best and
brightest young geeks can be found at the iHub on any
given day. This helps explain why there’s also a crowd
of expats – the iHub has become a pilgrimage stop for
people hoping to understand the future of information
technology in Kenya, and in the developing world as
a whole. In the few hours I spent yesterday, I ran into
a CBC crew filming a segment on the center, a reporter
with the Economist, and half a dozen visiting NGO pro-
fessionals, looking for contacts, ideas and insights.
Several of the green-badged folks are old friends from
the Kenyan blogosphere, and I spent most of Thursday
sitting on a couch, catching up with the best and
brightest of the Kenyan geeks. Rebecca Wanjiku is one
of Kenya’s most talented tech journalists, writing for
domestic and international publications, including

we_magazine:
How would you describe/distinguish the tech scene
in Kenya in comparison to the rest of Africa?
Erik: That’s hard, as  countries across the conti-
nent make it a very fractured view. There are a num-
ber of big tech cities though, and Nairobi is one of
them. In Kenya we have a population of very hard
workers with an entrepreneurial bent, coupled with
a decent education system. This means that the tech
scene has a constant and growing number of young
programmers and web designers. We’re starting to
reach critical mass in the tech sector, with the big cor-
porates like Nokia, Google, Microsoft, IBM head-
quarter locally, universities with a focus on computer
science, and a government that is trying to trigger
even more activity in the sector.
we_magazine:
What is “hot” right now at the iHub?
Erik: There are always a lot of different things going
on in the mobile area, Kenya has a real competitive
advantage in this space. In fact, the new mLab (mobile
lab) is going to expand our space by %, it will
be on the floor directly below the current iHub room.
We’re seeing a couple of projects show up around
the area of mobile agriculture apps and services,
web based consumer buying and goods, as well as
mobile payments.
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Global Voices. I hadn’t realized she’s also become a
systems integrator, designing, purchasing and in-
stalling the essential components of network infra-
structure for Nairobi businesses. As we lounge on the
couch, Rebecca walks me through the installation
work she and her team did procuring the wifi hot-
spots and servers that support iHub’s users. “Being a
journalist is an incredible resource for being an inte-
grator,” she tells me. “You learn who’s reliable and
who’s not, who you want to work with … and you see
opportunities that others don’t see.”
One of those opportunities involves working with
NGOs to help them use social media to reach a
Kenyan population that’s rapidly coming online.
Rebecca works in this space as well, where she’s a
friendly competitor to Daudi Were, the blogger
behind the celebrated Mental Acrobatics. Daudi is
working with the Open Society Institute’s Public He-
alth program, helping organizations around the East
African region use new media to reach their audi-
ences. We talk about Facebook, which is catching on
in Kenya at a ferocious pace. (In a brief walk through
downtown, I encountered Facebook ads plastered
throughout a downtown shopping center, and a man
pushing a bike with a back fender made of a cardboard
Facebook sign.)
Daudi tells me that most Kenyans find Facebook when
they complete secondary school – some of their
friends stay in their hometowns, while others go to
Nairobi, off to university or out of the country. They’re
separated physically, but Facebook – which most
Kenyans access through their phones, allows them to
stay in close touch. Daudi tells me about Ghetto Radio,
a station that’s built a youth audience around the idea
of being an “underground” station… though it’s pro-
bably the most popular station for its target demogra-
phic. “They run polls on Facebook and get thousands
of responses. Lots of the folks responding can’t actually
hear the station.” They heard it when they came to Nai-
robi on holidays, decided it was cool and now follow it
online. “You see guys requesting songs via Facebook –
they’re in Eldoret, so they can’t hear them, but it’s a
cool way to interact with a station.” Daudi and I talk
through the implications of the rise of Facebook for
Kenyan politics – given the size of the youth vote, and
the number of youth who feel alienated from the po-
litical process, the ability to leverage personal social
networks to build support for candidates could be a
powerful force in Kenya’s next elections.
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Rachel Gichinga of Kuweni Serious is thinking about

elections as well, and specifically about the impor-
tance of attacking apathy, which she identifies as a
key evil affecting certain Kenyan communities. She
identifies herself as part of a group of educated, well-
to-do young Kenyans who have disproportionate
power to influence politics, but who are usually side-
lined by a sense of frustration and futility. Kuweni
Serious, a group that came together in the wake of
conflict after the  elections, uses viral video to
reach this group of young Kenyans. One of their se-
cret weapons is Jim Chuchu, member of electronica
band Just a Band and the man behind the remarkable
Makmende viral video. (Kuleni Serious’s videos have
the same timeless, sun-drenched look as the Mak-
mende trailer – I’m wondering which one of Kenya’s
next tech exports will be an Adobe AfterEffects plug-
in that gives you the Chuchu look.) The work Rachel
and others in her group are doing reminds me of
Enough is Enough and other groups trying to use
both political and social issues to convince Nigerian
youth that they can have a voice in civic affairs – it’s
exciting to think that there’s a movement in different
corners of the continent to mobilize youth around
the idea that they can and should have a voice in
politics.
Jessica Colaco wonders whether the next generation
of Kenyan youth are starting to use social media in
a different way than peers a decade older. When
not managing the iHub, she’s an MBA student at
Strathmore University, building experiments to test
the ways different groups of Kenyans interact with
social media. She suspects that there’s a generation
gap and that Kenyans under  expect to be in dialog
with everyone online, from individuals to corpora-
tions. When older Kenyans have problems with Safari-
com, she tells me, they complain to one another,
while younger ones start messaging the company
on Twitter and Facebook, demanding the company
respond in much the way we’d expect an individual
to. For her, the iHub isn’t just an incubator, but a lab,
where she’s able to watch the behavior of Kenyan
early adopters change in real time.
Given the richness of the conversation at the iHub,
it’s not always the easiest place to get work done.
Eric tells me he spends two days a week working
from home in the hopes of getting grantwriting and
other focused activity done. Limo Taboi is based in
the quietest corner of iHub and exudes a sense of
Photo © iHub
 we_volume_/ 

calm amd focus that creates a cone of silence around

him and his laptop. Better known as “Bankelele“,
Limo is Kenya’s top financial blogger, and perhaps,
top financial writer. And now he’s the financial
manager of Ushahidi, wrestling into submission
the finances of an organization with principal players
scattered around the world. Blogging at the iHub
is a mixed blessing, he tells me – “We’ve got so many
great events here, you’d think I’d get blog posts out
every day. But I’m so buried in the rest of my work,
it’s hard to find the time to get a post into the shape
where I can publish it.” My guess is that this is a
symptom of the overwhelming nature of the iHub –
there’s so much going on, it’s hard to present a tho-
rough picture.
At the board meeting on Wednesday, Eric closed his
presentation with a slide titled, “Kenya Matters”.
Kenya’s not just part of the narrative behind Usha-
hidi, a platform used globally but developed by
Kenyans to respond to a domestic political crisis.
Kenya matters because it’s one of the places where
the future of technology is coming into focus, where
a generation of creative people are building the
future, one experiment at a time. iHub makes sense
because it’s the physical manifestation of the crea-
tive collaboration that took Ushahidi from idea
to project to platform within months. I had to go to
Nairobi before I really got it. And now I don’t want
to leave.
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Disciplines
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A Techie In Love
With The Arts

Interview with Jepchumba tags: art,

African Digital Art,
digital art,
creativity

Jepchumba is a digital enthusiast who works hard

to combine her two loves: Digital Media and Africa.
Originally from Kenya, she has lived around the
world developing her interest in philosophy, art and
technology. Founder of African Digital Art Network,
Jepchumba enjoys studying how technology has
changed art and culture. With a Masters Degree
in Digital Media, Jepchumba has formal training in
Project Management and Digital Media Production.
In many ways she considers herself as a mad scientist.
Always looking for the next upcoming project. She
loves experimenting with motion, sound and various
digital effects and techniques.
 we_volume_/

Digital Art according to Wikipedia is: “... an umbrella term for a

range of artistic works and practices that utilize digital technology.”
Something which is fairly new in Africa – first and foremost because
of the lack of bandwidth. The following interview with Jepchumba
will hopefully highlight the fact, that African Digital Art is as diverse
and special as traditional African Art has ever been.

we_magazine:
Jepchumba, who are you?
What are you doing? What is your passion?
Jepchumba: My name is Jepchumba and I am an
African digital artist and digital enthusiast from Kenya.
I am also the founder of African Digital Art Network. I
have a masters degree in Digital Media, and I enjoy
studying how technology affects art and culture in
Africa.
In many ways I consider myself a mad scientist. I love
experimenting with motion, sound and various digital
effects and techniques. The reason why I am so pass-
ionate about digital media is mainly due to the fact
that I have an entire laboratory at my fingertips. In
many ways I am a techie with the heart of an artist.
we_magazine:
You are founder of Africandigitalart.com. What is it all
about? What are the goals ? Why “only” digital art?
Jepchumba: African Digital Art is an online collective,
a creative space, where digital artists, enthusiasts and
professionals can seek inspiration, showcase their ar-
tistry and connect with emerging artists.
For the past two years the African Digital Art Network
has presented unparalleled ideas, individualistic works
and insightful designer solutions by the African crea-
tive community. It has become a platform for innova-
tion and inspiration with a sophisticated blend of fresh
talent and successful designers and artists.
The focus on digital is quite unique and important to
us. We are not exclusive to digital art expressions but
we are mainly interested in how artists use technology
as a medium for their work. We believe that African
digital art has a way of “Pushing Digital Boundaries”
by enabling artist and creative professionals to come
up with innovative solutions for their everyday lives.
The African Digital Art Network is dedicated to foste-
ring the growing technology-driven creative commu-
nity that still remains in its infancy in Africa.
we_volume_/ 
we_magazine:
Why is art so important for African
communities? What kind of impact has an art community
like the African DIgital Art Network on society?
Jepchumba: Art has the ability to transcend barriers.
It is a powerful tool for communication. There are
many untold stories in Africa and art has the ability to
give African communities a way to express and share
their stories and experiences. Art, especially digital
art, is also a form of ingenuity that often fosters in-
novation. Through creative exercise new solutions are
brought to light which often help empower indivi-
duals to improve their communities. In terms of de-
velopment art can be a powerful weapon to motivate,
inspire and direct individuals towards change.
we_magazine:
What makes art good art?
Jepchumba: This is a difficult question to answer. Art
is truly subjective. However I find that the art that I
consider “good” is the one that resonates with the
audience.
One of the things that I have found as an African digi-
tal artist, is that there is an expectation of what is
considered to be African art or “good” African art. We
are still very limited in our scope of understanding
what African art actually is. Unfortunately the majo-
rity of the world considers African art as mainly tradi-
tional masks, sculptures and paintings. Capturing
Africa’s visual identity is simply beyond our grasp. It is
a kaleidoscope – open to multiple interpretations and
understandings. We can however engage the creative
community to take part in a collective form of pro-
duction. It clearly will help to shape our understan-
ding of what it means to be African. The forms of
expression that break the stereotypes are the ones I
find most enjoyable.
we_magazine:
What kind of role does art play in the African school / educa-
tion system? Are there any special art schools?
Jepchumba: Unfortunately there has been little
development in art education in Africa. I would argue
that the education system in Africa is designed to
create doctors, lawyers and engineers and not too
 we_volume_/
many artists. There are just not enough art programs
in Africa. Many professional artists have received their
education abroad and many struggle to find a sustain-
able income in Africa, where art is not as valued. At
the end of the day it all comes down to sustainability.
The art industry in Africa is mainly geared towards fo-
reign consumption. Art is mass produced for tourism
and is undervalued within local communities.
Thanks to the recent World Cup in South Africa, the
creative economy throughout Africa has been flouris-
hing. More and more creative projects and professi-
ons are available to African artists. As the demand for
more African inspired work continues I hope to see
the education system, especially the higher education
system, respond to the need for trained and skilled de-
sign professionals.
we_magazine:
Digital art in Africa is a fairly new concept, isn’t it?
Jepchumba: Yes indeed, it is fairly new. Before African
Digital Art Network was created most people would
have never put the words “Africa” “Digital” and “Art”
together. The majority of the world does not see
Africa from a digital perspective, they still see Africa as
a place somehow stuck in the past. However as recent
developments in mobile technology in Africa show,
we are great early adopters. Africa is experiencing the
same influx of technology as the rest of the world, we
are on Facebook, on Twitter, we text each other and
we share our experiences over the Internet.
As more artists are exposed to digital technology they
are also exposed to new tools that they can utilize for
their work. Digital art expressions are growing rapidly

throughout countries such as Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya,
and South Africa. Young people who have grown up in
this new connected society are experimenting with
motion, video and sound.
We still have a long way to go, the statistics show that
Africa is underrepresented in terms of access to ICT’s
but we do have an influx of mobile technology that
has inspired us to come up with new design solutions
forour everyday experiences.
we_magazine:
Art has always something to do with creativity. What does
creativity mean for you and how can you nurture other
peoples creativity?
Jepchumba: Creativity is linked with innovation and
it gives us a way of growing and inventing; experi-
menting, taking risks and breaking rules. Creativity for
me is the ability to generate new ideas or possibilities
that may be useful in solving problems, communica-
ting with others and expressing and engaging myself
with others.
we_volume_/ 
I created the African Digital Art Network as a platform
to foster and encourage new forms of creativity. We
recently re-launched the social networking compo-
nent of African Digital Art, The District. The District is
a new platform we designed to get artists together
and connect them with each other. On The District,
African creatives can network, share their work and
resources. They have the ability to collaborate, learn
new skills and also promote their portfolio all within
this space online.
we_magazine:
You write on your website that you are dreaming digital ...
what do you mean?
Jepchumba: That is right, I often say I dream “digital”
because I find the digital format the easiest way to
express my own creativity. Digital technology has
given me the ability to bring to life what is in my ima-
gination. It has given me the ability to think of new
possibilities and realities and offered me a unique way
to imagine and shape the future.
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tags: genocide,
Burundi, Rwanda,
UN Radio
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Radio As A Force
For Peace

Jocelyne Sambira

... was born in Paris, France. She holds a BA in Eng-

lish Language and Literature from the University of
Burundi. Since 1995 she has been deeply invoveld
in producing radio shows from conflict areas, mainly
in Africa. Her mission is peace building and driving
social change for the better.
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In 1998, at the height of the civil war in Burundi, one of the rebel groups
operating in the suburbs overlooking the capital, Bujumbura, had just issued
threats to the local population. The rumor was that the rebel group was
going to behead 100 people in the area suspected of being government infor-
mants. The locals did not take the threat lightly. There had been several
isolated cases where the heads of people were left on small pathways to discou-
rage the locals from talking to the government army. A group of men and
women took their courage in both hands and went to one of the independent
radios with this story. The station manager called the head of the rebel move-
ment and recorded a live interview with him. The rebel chief was livid. He
rigorous-ly denied any plot to murder people. This report was broadcast
throughout the week. That night and the rest of the week, the residents of
that area slept soundly. In fact, the beheading stopped completely.
That alone says more than a thousand words.

What the ordinary citizen in Burundi had come to un-
derstand was that information is power. In a country
where people at the grassroots had little or no power
of decision, their voice carried far through radio. In one
radio broadcast,  million people could be reached, the
estimated population of the country at the time.
In many countries ravaged by war and violent conflict,
radio is sometimes the only way of getting informa-
tion. In most of these regions, there is little or no infra-
structure and when people are on the run, it is some-
times the only link to the world they have left behind.
Repressive governments, the masterminds of the geno-
cide, and other war criminals in the past have under-
stood the power of radio. They use it as a tool to control
and influence the masses, sometimes even as a wea-
pon of mass murder as in Rwanda. In the lead up to the
genocide in Rwanda, there were very divisive and po-
larizing messages broadcast by the former “hate
radio”, Radio Milles Collines. During the genocide it
egged on its supporters, encouraging them to kill the
people from the minority, the “Tutsis’ who they labe-
led as cockroaches and assailants. It fuelled a lot of the
ethnic tensions and violence, pitting one ethnic group
against another. Three of the station managers were
tried and convicted with genocide, incitement to ge-
nocide, and crimes against humanity at the Interna-
tional Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha.
Burundi has the same ethnic makeup as Rwanda, and
almost the same ethnic issues, which is why “hate
messages” were also insidiously creeping up in the
local media.
I had just graduated from the University of Burundi
and the country was at war. It was a particularly trau-
matic time for me. I had survived the genocide in
Rwanda after fleeing to a displaced persons camp gu-
arded by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, RPF. I was happy
to be alive but I was also struggling with the trauma
of what I had been through as well as grief over the
number of loved ones lost. I walked away from that
tragedy feeling that I needed to do something with
my life, to fight for peace so that genocide would
never ever happen again in our region. So it was with
that mindset that I applied for a job with Studio
Ijambo, an innovative media project that was using
radio to promote peace and reconcile the two warring
ethnic groups in Burundi. Together with a team of
talented local journalists, we strove to uphold the
highest professional standards of journalism in a very
difficult moment of our history.
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People in Burundi came to trust independent radio
as a source of information but also as a vehicle to
broadcast sensitive information. It took time to gain
that trust. In the beginning people were afraid of tal-
king into the microphone. There was such an atmo-
sphere of fear and profound mistrust, people ran away
whenever they saw a journalist. It was after covering
several stories about the war, the massacres, and
other tragic events during that time that people began
to open up.
When I went out into the field and said my name,
people’s faces would break into a smile and I would
always hear a word of encouragement. At the radio,
we always worked as a team, regardless of our ethni-
city, and worked hard with the fact-checking and dou-
ble checking our sources to report without any bias.
We always made sure to go in mixed teams: both Hutu
and Tutsi ethnic groups represented. It was a little
scary at times because when you went into an area
where people were hostile towards your ethnic group,
you had to rely totally on your colleague who was of
the other ethnic group to keep you safe. That forged
a strong bond amongst us. Furthermore, you had to
sometimes face the hostility of listeners who did not
like the fact that we were denouncing sometimes vio-
lent acts committed by people of our own ethnic
group. It was not rare to be singled out in public or
called “traitor” by extremist groups or individuals.
The government too was keeping tabs on us. I was
filing stories on the war for Associated Press in addi-
tion to my work at the radio. I often got “reprimanded”
or “warned” on the phone by army officials for stories
I wrote about the fighting. I was even threatened once
with incarceration if I did not divulge my sources. I was
called into the Justice Minister’s Office for an AP story
where I quoted one spokesman for a rebel group. The
fighting had intensified and was now taking place not
far from the capital. The government had warned the
local stations about broadcasting interviews with the
rebels using the argument that the country was at war
and that it was a national security issue. As journalists,
our position was that the same rebels were in secret
talks with government, so we had an obligation to our
listeners to get both views.
When I arrived at the Minister’s office, I was asked to
hand over the rebel chief’s cell phone number or go to
jail. I chose to go to jail. Luckily for me, it was just a bluff.
The Minister already had the number, but he wanted to
intimidate me and maybe discourage me from any furt-
 we_volume_/
her reporting. It did not stop me, but made me even
more determined to do my job. I can state for a fact that
non-stop coverage by Burundi journalists during the
civil and peace process kept the warring parties ac-
countable and forced them to work towards peace.
Radio in Burundi became the fourth estate. It kept the
government in check and demanded accountability
from the local authorities. Throughout the war, radio
covered both the Hutu and Tutsi camps and kept the
local populations abreast of events. Radio gave the
people a platform for discussion. It often played media-
tor by organizing debates between both rival ethnic
groups. Radio became the voice of the voiceless. It
taught people tolerance and acceptance. By covering
atrocities committed by both sides, it forced people
to accept and acknowledge the truth. It also gave an
unbiased account of Burundi’s recent history.
Radio prevented massacres and killings of innocent
civilians where it could by airing the information be-
forehand, discouraging the armed groups from carry-
ing out their deadly plans. It helped curb violence
between different ethnic groups by trying to get ba-
lanced reports on events, giving a voice to the victims
and confronting the authorities and rebel groups to
explain their actions. The politicians and armed
groups could no longer pit people against one another
by using propaganda and disinformation. The people
were able to judge for themselves because they were
informed. Ignorance and lack of balanced and true in-
formation has been the root of all evil in Burundi.
Muzzling the press, harassing and arbitrarily arresting
journalists caused such uproar that the authorities
had to bow down to public pressure.
One time, the government had closed down one of
the popular private radio stations because it had been
critical towards the President. People came from
every-where and demonstrated in front of the radio
station. When the police dispersed them, they went
to one of the President’s houses that was under con-
struction, and staged a sit-in. They threatened to bring
the house down, if the radio did not go back on air. A
few hours later, the President lifted the ban on the
radio station. That was a sign from the people to the
government that they would never again accept being
silenced.
The current UN envoy in Burundi, Charles Petrie, re-
cently said in an interview that “credit needs to be given
to the [Burundi] press” in defusing the tensions and
lifting the taboos in society.
Another way our radio project tried to break stereo-
types and discuss sensitive issues like ethnicity, was
through drama. We produced a series called, “Our
neighbors, ourselves” and were able to use it as a plat-
form to debate social issues. Things that people were
afraid to say on air, they could act out in a sketch. It
also allowed people to debate the issues freely since
they were discussing “fictional” characters and situa-
tions. The series was broadcast for  years with huge
success throughout the country.
When I moved to work with a UN humanitarian news
agency, IRIN, I produced another soap opera or radio
drama series with a group of Burundian refugees living
in the camps in Tanzania. This radio soap opera written
for and enacted by Burundian refugees demonstrated
once again the power of radio. The project began in
May  covering various aspects of refugee life, the
peace process and the return home. The Burundi refu-
gee camps in Tanzania had existed for over thirty years.
During that period, the previous regimes did every-
thing they could to suppress all means of communi-
cation. Very little mention was made of the ,
people living in camps, and when mentioned it was
usually to portray them as enemies of the state, mur-
derers and assassins. This radio soap opera gave a voice
to the Burundi refugee as well as a say on what was
happening in the country. For the first time, their voices
were heard across the border. And we were sending
news reports about the camps and the repatriation
process that was ongoing.
People in Burundi were curious and interested in this
cross-border information exchange. We were able to
put a human face to the “Burundian refugee on the
other side of the border”. People back home realized
that they shared the same everyday issues and aspira-
tions with the refugees. Many were even surprised to
hear that refugees still speak the same language and
were still attached to their country. Once the dialogue
opened up, people were able to set aside their diffe-
rences and agree on certain issues. By experience, my
team and I knew that violence erupts out of fear, and
you can only fear the unknown. By getting the two po-
pulations better acquainted, the project helped defuse
past tensions. The return from exile was no longer
viewed as a threat for either population – and that is
something only initiatives dealing with the grassroots
can achieve.
I had the chance to experience the magic of radio
once again, while training Sudanese journalists at the

UN Radio in Juba, South Sudan. Sudan was very diffe-
rent from Burundi in the sense that most of the local
journalists had already picked sides. It is very hard to
find objectivity or people who want to be “neutral”.
Sudan had many issues ranging from racial, to reli-
gious and linguistic divisions. People clearly felt that
they were fundamentally different and belonged to
two different worlds. The North of Sudan is mainly
Arab and Muslim while the South is mainly Christian
and Black. When I arrived, the language people used
in private when talking about their fellow countrymen
from the North or South left me in no doubt. The radio
station also employed former soldiers to work with
them. So the challenges were: how do you make jour-
nalists out of former combatants? How do you bring
people who are still politically active and under their
political party or tribal/social/religious influence to
think objectively? How do you build peace in a war
situation?
Another daunting task was to build a solid and united
team of journalists – making the radio one. We had two
newsrooms: one in Khartoum, the capital of North
Sudan, and one in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. It
often felt like we are two separate radios without a
common vision or goal. There was a lot of rivalry –
which in normal circumstances would be healthy com-
petition – that weakened the radio. I felt that if we
could bring the two newsrooms to work together, and
build trust, it could be a test case for the rest of the
country. Gradually, through pep talks, a lot of on the
job training focusing on ethical reporting – looking at
the issues and not the actors – the quality of the work
improved. And as the reporting improved, the two
teams slowly began to appreciate each other profes-
sionally and started treating each other as equals.
I saw these journalists gradually change and rise
above the conflict and strive to be professional, non
partisan and independent journalists driven by their
passion to obtain the truth. I left before I could see
the two newsrooms merge, listening to the radio, you
would not guess that the teams were operating from
two separate regions.
I learned a lot as a journalist working in Burundi du-
ring the war and in post conflict countries like Sudan.
I learned to be accurate and remain objective and
impartial in my reports. I sometimes made people
unhappy with my dogged pursuit of the truth. One
soldier in Burundi had even cruelly dubbed me the
“crow” because he said everywhere a dead body
we_volume_/ 
showed up, I was always on the scene like the bird.
But I learned to deal with difficult and dangerous
people, like the soldier, and I also learned when to
push and when to tread carefully when I was collec-
ting information. Over time, I also developed a keen
sense of danger, but I learned the hard way. I remem-
ber going out to report on a newly built camp for
people displaced by the fighting in Burundi. On our
way, we saw people moving fast in the opposite
direction. We kept driving and got caught in the cross-
fire between rebels and the army. Luckily we managed
to get out safely but I always remembered from then
on to be more aware of my surroundings and look out
for possible signs.
I also gained a profound passion for justice and the
truth. I come from a very troubled and conflict prone
region in Africa where information gives a person
great power. It can either get you killed or save your
life. Those who are privy to certain types of informa-
tion wield it like a weapon against the weak. This
secretive culture has been the reason behind our
blood-filled past.
I understood, when covering the war and then the
peace process, that sharing such crucial information
helped the ordinary citizens make their own individual
choices based on evidence and not hearsay. It also
acted as a deterrent for people who in the past used
false pretexts to push people to violence. Radio is a
very powerful tool for African citizens who want to
build strong, democratic societies.
New York is just another leg of my journey. If I am here
today, it is because of the power radio has had in my
life. And I am not alone. There are many more people
like myself whose lives have been transformed positi-
vely. To support and strengthen radio is to support
people whose voices are being silenced by repressive
governments and bring them a step closer to achie-
ving peace in our lifetime.
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Photos © DFID – UK Department for International Development

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Photo © notphilatall
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Film Still by Mark Wessels (www.markwesselsphoto.com)

tags: film maker, art,

African film,
pumzi
 we_volume_/ 

You Beg,
Borrow, Steal ;-)
You Do Almost
Anything To
Get Funding.
Interview with Wanuri Kahiu

Photo by Chris King

Kahiu was born in Nairobi, Kenya. After graduating
from the University of Warwick in 2001 with a BSc
degree in Management Science, she enrolled for a
Master’s Degree at the Masters of Fine Arts program
in directing at the School of Film and Television at
the University of California, Los Angeles.
 we_volume_/

Film Still by Mark Wessels (www.markwesselsphoto.com)

Wanuri Kahiu, a young Kenyan filmmaker, was introduced to me by Mark Kaigwa, also author in
this issue of we_magazine. Contact, first chat and the interview itself happened within one hour – thanks
to real time communication on the Web. Before we start with the interview here is a short introduction
to cinema in Africa.

African filmmakers often have difficulty accessing African audiences. The commercial cinemas in Africa
often have to book blindly and show primarily Hollywood or Bollywood films. However, there are still
limited venues where African audiences have access to African films, e.g. at the Panafrican film festival in
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Most African filmmakers still rely heavily on European institutions for
financing and producing their films. A commercially viable video production has been set up in Nigeria,
colloquially known as Nollywood. When you look deeper into it, you can clearly see that many young
African film makers follow a mission: They focus on social and political themes rather than any commer-
cial interests, and they try to give an exploration of the conflicts between the traditional past and modern
times. Their role is often compared to traditional Griots. Like them their task is to express and reflect
communal experiences.

we_magazine:
What made you a filmmaker Wanuri?
Wanuri: I’m a firm believer that there will always be a
role for storytellers in Africa. I think I’m just a modern-
day storyteller and I use the tools that are available to
my generation. I do remember when I realized wit-
hout a shadow of a doubt that’s it what I wanted to
do. I was  years old. Before that I didn’t even know
that people produce TV shows or make film.
we_magazine:
So how come?
Wanuri: I used to watch a lot of TV. I was a bookworm
and a telly addict. When I walked for the first time into
a production studio and saw what they were doing, I
was like: “That’s exactly what I want to do in my life.”
Do you know what I mean?
we_magazine:
Yes! Where was it? In Nairobi or …
Wanuri: Yes, it was in Nairobi. A friend of my mother
was trying to start a TV station. By then we were still
under the dictatorship of Moi, so he never knew ex-
actly if he would be able to get the right documents,
you know?
we_magazine:
Yes.
Wanuri: The moment I walked in I knew this is it, what
I wanted to do.
we_magazine:
That sounds great, so what is your background? Did you
study moviemaking, filmmaking?
Wanuri: Yes, after knowing that this is what I wanted
to do. First I applied for any possible internship to get
closer to filmmaking. Then I studied and finished my
Masters in Film at the University of California in Los
Angeles.
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we_magazine:
Not the worst place to do this ...
Wanuri: It is the best place to be for filmmaking. LA
was a very interesting experience for me. I don’t think
that I’ve met one single “real” person in all the years
I spent in LA. Everybody was playing a role: trying to
be an actor or trying to be a singer or cab driver try-
ing to be in drama. There was nobody just being who
they are.
we_magazine:
How would you describe the film industry in Africa?
Wanuri: The film industry in Africa is twofold. Many
people probably know about Nollywood, Lagos,
Nigeria, because it is so prolific. But that’s only the
one type of film-making we have. And then there’s the
African cinematography tradition that has been there
for a long time. We all know names like Ousmane
Sembene and Oumarou Ganda – the great godfathers
of African cinema. They saw filmmaking as an impor-
tant political tool for rectifying the erroneous image
of Africans put forward by Western filmmakers and for
reclaiming the image of Africa for Africans.
I would like to think myself as the latter. I would like to
think myself as a filmmaker that produces for theatri-
cal release as well. Right now it is very exciting because
a lot of attention is turning back to the African conti-
nent. Africa is becoming sexy again with the World
Cup and everything. That’s great.
we_magazine:
I totally agree. There is really a u-turn: America or Western
Europe at least have started to think differently about Africa.
It is no longer considered the "dark continent" as many busi-
ness opportunities are opening up. But I also feel – since I do
quite some work with Africans – that more and more young
educated Africans are returning back home after their studies,
ready and willing to drive change by themselves. They’re no
longer waiting for help. They really start doing their own
thing, they want to shape their future by themselves. I really
love to see this is! I think it’s very important!
Going back to filmmaking my next question is: Do you think
African film production has any impact on African society
and what role is played by digital media?
Wanuri: Of course! So the first question is it impor-
tant in society? Yes. Yes. Yes. And yes.
 we_volume_/
we_magazine:
In which ways?
Wanuri: In different ways. I think many of us who are
not able to travel to other African nations have almost
no chance to learn anything about other African cul-
tures. Simply because of the images that we see on
TV: so many more stories from the West than from
Africa. Africa barely exist on our TV screens. Many of
us even forget our own representation, our own role
within society and culture, within our ethos and with-
in our or own morality. Things are like that, because
that is not what is presented to us. That’s definitely
not what is presented to my generation of Africans.
I remember traveling around the continent and being
very fascinated by Africa. I was overwhelmed by the
beauty of the landscape and the diversity of our cul-
tures. I haven’t seen it before and I didn’t know about
it – even though I live here. And films, documentaries,
any kind of story telling can bring this to us, can raise
awareness. African filmmakers have an important role
to play here. Give people a sense of affiliation, to
where they belong to – when they see their continent
in the media. That’s one of the things for us, the African
filmmakers – and I’m making this very, very general
and I apologize for it – but that is one of our impor-
tant roles: to portray a positive, generous, loving and
fantastic image of who we are! Based upon this we
can begin to have a dialogue about ourselves and at
least we can begin to relish being our own heroes.
The second question about the digital age, yes it’s
fantastic. Actually one of the ways I have been able to
distribute my films to film festivals was online. I can
upload it to a FTP server and somebody else can
download it on the other side. It doesn’t lose resolu-
tion, its quality remains the same and it’s affordable.
Creating a HD master tape is still almost impossible. It
is way too expensive and only a few places in Nairobi
provide this kind of equipment. So to be able to send
a digital format film, so that other people can create
masters so that they can save it on a hard drive is re-
volutionary and also very effective, efficient (cost and
time efficient) and has just become a breeze.
And digital media is also important during the pro-
duction process and in the post production. We Afri-
cans have not managed to perfect the art of film-
making yet, because it didn’t come from this side of
the world. It has a much longer tradition and history
in Europe and in the West. So we are still learning a
lot. For example in sound mixing and sound compo-
sition we are not at the top of the game. For my film
Pumzi which I shot in South Africa, I had to hire a com-
poser from the Netherlands. An amazing, amazing
composer. Unfortunately until today we have never
ever met face-to-face. We communicated via SKYPE –
and this is how I know him …! Only in virtual space …!
we_magazine:
How would you describe the film industry in Kenya?
Wanuri: The film industry in Kenya is growing. Some-
thing new besides the francophile influence from
West Africa is happening. For the first time we – in
East Africa – have begun to take on a very different
role. We are beginning to claim our own space. And I
am not talking only about me. I see this happening in
Uganda, in Tanzania. There is an amazing filmmaker
out of Uganda called Carol Kamya and she produced
her first feature film Imani that was shown at the Ber-
linale earlier this year. So these things are happening
and there’s such a wave of new East African cinema.
Very exciting, very dynamic. We’re experimenting
with the art form and the way we’re dealing with it is
definitely different to the way West Africa does.
we_magazine:
Are there any schools or universities where you can now
study filmmaking yet in Africa?
Wanuri: There are only a few schools. I wouldn’t say
they’re filmmaking schools, they are more journalistic
schools. Filmmaking is still really, really in its early
days. People who are making films are most likely
taking training workshops. Like Tom Tykwer has crea-
ted workshops where young filmmakers can come and
study and produce / create a film. His group has just
shown their second film in Kenya which has been ge-
nerating interest in our filmmaking industry. It has
also encouraged other people to explore the possibi-
lities of filmmaking.
we_magazine:
How do you fund your movies?
Wanuri: You beg, borrow, steal ;-) You do almost any-
thing to receive funding.
At the moment I’ve been fortunate enough to have a
day job, so I work during daytime and at night I am

pushing my film projects. For this documentary in
Sudan I’ve been fulfilling my day job duties, didn’t
take one day off and now I am able to leave and make
this documentary happen. When I come back in late
January I will start again working. I’m splitting my days
in half. Day’s work is for paying my rent, night’s work
is dedicated to my “everything”, my dream, the reason
why I’m alive.
we_magazine:
So there is no way for you to make a living based on
filmmaking?
Wanuri: It’s very hard. This is the first job I’ve taken for
the past five years; I have been living from filmmaking
but it can be very stressful. I’ve learnt for myself that
creativity and stress do not live together. They do not
live in harmony.
we_magazine:
Not at all.
Wanuri: This is why I’ve decided to take a job. I wan-
ted to avoid the stress to find the money to pay my
monthly rent. Now I can allow myself to be creative …
To be creative that is the only reason why I wake up in
the morning. It’s the only reason I surround myself
with the people I love. It gives me joy, pleasure, pain.
we_magazine:
What is your dream?
Wanuri: My dream is to be able to make a living from
filmmaking. I want to be successful. Successful in the
sense that I will be able to raise my family. I want to
make the films I love … that’s my primary vocation.
we_magazine:
What kind of films would these be?
Wanuri: Different types of films: science-fiction films,
documentaries. My first feature film was about a real
story that happened in Kenya and I adapted it into a
narrative piece.
I’ve always dealt with the question: “What is Wanuri’s
style?” I believe my style is defined by my themes. The
themes that I deal with usually deal with belonging,
with diaspora; they usually have to do with being
home or finding a home.
we_volume_/ 
we_magazine:
You are leaving tomorrow for Sudan to shoot a new docu-
mentary. How would you describe the situation right
now in Sudan?
Wanuri: The situation in Sudan a couple of weeks ago
was very peaceful, very energetic, very hopeful. It felt
like everybody was gunning for peaceful democratic
change. And that’s what we hope to record. We hope
to record people who are looking for change in a po-
sitive and peaceful way. And we hope to reconnect a
courageous and beautiful young man with his family
which he hasn’t seen for  years.
we_magazine:
I was in Africa in August when in your home country
Kenya the new constitution became effective.
A very proud moment. Full of hope …
Wanuri: Yes, I remember how hopeful it was.
we_magazine:
It was. It really was … Everybody in the streets was so proud.
Wanuri: I think it was one of the greatest moments in
Kenya’s history. Especially after the last elections when
we faced so much violence. It was so devastating. So
it was very important for Kenyans to vote and feel that
they can make a difference. And they’ve made the dif-
ference. They voted for the new constitution – a con-
stitution we felt we needed for ourselves and for our
country. It fills me with such pride to be part of a coun-
try that recognizes a need for change and allows
its citizens to be part of it. That isn’t common for all
African nations yet ...
we_magazine:
Do you think the political parties will go along with it?
Wanuri: I think they don’t have a choice.
we_magazine:
So coming back to filmmaking, what makes a good movie?
Wanuri: A good story makes good movies. I think that
story is key. Story is key, yes; and having strong and
complicated characters that are not stereotypical is
also very important.
 we_volume_/

we_magazine:
What is your favourite movie?

Wanuri: That’s a hard question. It depends on the day.

Today, I think my favourite movie is “In the Mood for
Love”.

we_magazine:
“In the Mood for Love”. Good. Good to hear.

we_magazine:
Wanuri, anything you would like to add at the end?
Anything missing what you would like to say?

Wanuri: No. Or may be I should point out the fact that

it’s really important for the people to support the arts;
it is the heartbeat and the pulse of the people, of a
society. It’s a great way to communicate across the
borders. We need the arts to unfold our full potential.
I still cannot understand why music and arts have
been taken out of the school curriculums …

we_magazine:
Why is this?

Wanuri: Budget restrictions … When free education

— primary education started they felt that they needed
to concentrate on what they felt was important. And
art was not considered to be important ...

we_magazine:
That’s sad.

Wanuri: It is very sad, yes.

we_magazine:
Wanuri, thank you very much!! It was a great pleasure!

Film Still by Mark Wessels (www.markwesselsphoto.com)

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Film Still by Ross Hillier (www.rosshillier.co.nr)

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 we_volume_/

Photo © Frerieke

tags: mobile,
revolution,
change,
health care,
infrastructure
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Change Has A
Name: Mobile

Steve Song

... is the founder of Village Telco, a social enterprise

that develops low-cost, Open Source, telephone net-
work technology for use in under-serviced areas. He
has spent the last three years as a fellow at the Shutt-
leworth Foundation in South Africa developing both
advocacy and technology to drive down the cost of
access for those who can least afford it.
http://villagetelco.org
 we_volume_/

Mobile telecommunication networks in

Africa have profoundly changed the face
of social and commercial life in Africa.
But understanding the scale and impact
of this change can be a challenge for
several reasons.

Photo © kool_skatkat

First, mobile networks and related services are grow-
ing at an unprecedented rate. Measures of network
size must be continually revised, as the landscape of
mobile access can change significantly over a few
months.
Second, the medium itself is evolving. Not so long ago,
we considered mobile phones were just that, phones
for voice conversations. Now more and more mobile
phones are also generic Internet access devices, which
opens up a whole new world of access through the
same network.
The third challenge to understanding mobile networks
in Africa is obtaining relevant usage data. Network
operators regard detailed information on network
usage and growth as confidential business informa-
tion that might give their competitors an advantage.
Most of the available information is therefore the pro-
duct of third-party research. Unfortunately, the appe-
tite of funders to support publicly-accessible, broad-
based empirical research appears to be modest at best.
As a result, comprehensive information on communi-
cation patterns and affordability of access is not widely
available and we are left to intuit the gaps in our
understanding.
So what do we know about the impact of mobiles in
Africa? Perhaps the most significant indicator of the
impact and importance of communication networks
is their very pervasiveness in such a short space of
time.
High level macro economic studies by Leonard
Waverman of the London Business School and others
have made credible claims that the spread of mobile
infrastructure has had a direct positive impact on GDP.
At the micro level, many anthropological studies have
profiled the use and impact of mobile phones on
specific communities. Between these macro and micro
levels, however, much is still guessed at.
There is a seductive tendency when talking about the
continent of Africa to refer to it as a single country.
The mind boggles at the thought of characterising
 different states and economies and we tend to seek
out broad brush strokes to help cope with the dazzling
complexity of the continent. This is true as much in
the telecoms sector as anywhere else. And superfici-
we_volume_/ 
ally the development of telecommunication infra-
structure across countries in Africa looks very similar.
Most African countries have struggled with market li-
beralisation, with the separation of government in-
vestment in formerly incumbent telecommunication
operators, and with the kind of tacit influence if not
outright corruption that such a lucrative market in-
spires. Yet, the closer we look, the more it is evident
that there are no simple formulas for stimulating
growth and competition, that each country has uni-
que challenges and opportunities.
Let’s take a look at Kenya and South Africa as exam-
ples. On the surface the telecommunications sector of
these two countries have much in common.
• Both have an independent communications
regulator whose job is to ensure healthy growth
of the telecommunications market. In both
countries, these regulators have adopted pro-open
access regulation for licensing telecommunication
companies. This policy approach aims to separate
infrastructure from services with the intention
of stimulating independent competition for the
provision of infrastructure as well as for the
services that run on that infrastructure. Thus,
the company that brings copper wire or wireless
connectivity to your home need not be the same
company that sells voice, Internet or other services
through those connections.
• Both Kenya and South Africa are recent benefi-
ciaries of new undersea fibre-optic cables which
provide orders of magnitude for greater Internet
and voice capacity. Both countries are actively posi-
tioning themselves as regional hubs for that
access.
• Kenya and South Africa have a former monopoly
fixed-line incumbent telecommunications service
provider in which their respective governments
retain a substantial investment. Furthermore,
the largest mobile operator in these countries,
Safaricom in Kenya and Vodacom in South Africa
have Vodafone UK as their most significant
shareholder. Both countries currently have four
mobile operators.
• Kenya and South Africa have roughly % Internet
penetration.
 we_volume_/
• Finally, both Kenya and South Africa have mobile
enabled money transfer and payment services.
Notably, the biggest mobile money success story
in Africa, Safaricom’s mPesa service, was recently
launched in South Africa.
Given this list, the development of telecommunica-
tions infrastructure in Kenya and South Africa appears
very similar. On a closer look, however, we find that
the differences significantly outweigh these similari-
ties.
Kenyans spend a much larger percentage of their
disposable income on mobile services than do South
Africans. Ground-breaking work by ResearchICTAfrica
(http://www.researchictafrica.net), has shown that,
within the bottom % of earners in Kenya, people
spend an incredible .% of their disposable income
on mobile services. In South Africa, within the same
demographic, that figure is .%. This difference can
be attributed in large part to a higher average income
in South Africa but there are other factors at play as
well.
South Africa has a much larger fixed-line infrastruc-
ture than Kenya, with % of urban areas having fixed-
line services in SA versus a little over % in Kenya.
This means that urban users in South Africa may rely
more on fixed-line for some services such as Internet
or some voice services whereas in Kenya far fewer
people have that choice.
While both countries have four national mobile opera-
tors, Kenya is dominated by Safaricom whose market
share is over %. This is perhaps the most interest-
ing difference between South Africa and Kenya. With
that kind of market dominance, Safaricom has been
in a position to dictate its terms to the market. One
would imagine that this would lead to a less competi-
tive environment than in South Africa where the
market is somewhat more balanced. However, in the
last two years, Kenya has seen more price competition
than South Africa, Moreover, Kenya has managed to
maintain interconnection charges between telephone
networks that are half those in South Africa.
One might also argue that Safaricom’s massive size
enabled the huge success of mPesa in Kenya, a success
which curiously has not been replicated to the same
degree anywhere else on the continent. South Africa
in particular has not seen a tremendous uptake of
mPesa since its launch. The factors underpinning this
are complex and worth exploring further.
More significant than any of the above points, howe-
ver, is the arrival of Bharti-Airtel in Kenya through its
acquisition of Zain networks in Africa. Zain Kenya is
the second largest mobile operator in Kenya. Indian-
owned Bharti-Airtel comes from a more aggressive,
competitive telecommunications environment in India
and has brought operational and pricing models that
have sent shockwaves through the Kenyan mobile
market. In August , Bharti-Airtel (Zain) dropped
mobile prices by over %. Safaricom held out for a
couple of weeks but eventually dropped their prices
to match. Overnight Kenya became one of the most
competitive telecommunications markets on the con-
tinent.
Prior to buying Zain, Bharti-Airtel had been in negotia-
tion with MTN to buy their networks in Africa. MTN is
South Africa’s second largest mobile operator. It is
interesting to speculate whether, had Bharti-Airtel
bought MTN instead of Zain, South Africa might be
the most competitive telecommunications market in
Africa.
Regardless, there is now a massive difference in tele-
communications costs between Kenya and South
Africa. Looking at Safaricom and Vodacom, two com-
panies with the same parent in Vodafone UK, voice
calls are  times more expensive in South Africa than
in Kenya. Individual SMSes are three times more
expensive. For bulk purchases, SMS costs are up to
 times more expensive. For data services, out-of-
package data rates have the same kind of distortion.
Mobile data costs are three times more expensive in
South Africa. More than anything else, these figures
suggest that the South African mobile market is rela-
tively stagnant and uncompetitive.
Interestingly, this situation contrasts dramatically with
the Internet service provision market in South Africa
which has seen increased competition and drops in
price for pure Internet services of up to % in the last
 months. Internet Services Providers (ISPs) have had
healthy competition for many years but until recently
have been hamstrung by having all international

access throttled by Telkom South Africa, thanks to
their control of the SAT undersea cable. It took about
a year after the arrival of the Seacom cable in June
 for prices to move but  has seen an avalan-
che of change with ADSL Internet costs dropping as
much as %. Kenya is experiencing similar price
drops in the ISP market although there is much more
demand for mobile Internet in Kenya due to the lower
density of fixed-line infrastructure.
We can also see significant differences in the mobile
Internet market. Facebook, arguably the fastest grow-
ing Internet-based service in Africa, is an increasingly
good proxy for measuring mobile Internet use on the
continent. Facebook is the top mobile Internet desti-
nation in both Kenya and South Africa. And while
there are many more Facebook users in South Africa,
nearly . million in South Africa as compared to
about a million in Kenya, there is a different growth
pattern across the two. Facebook use in Kenya has
grown % in the last six months compared to % in
South Africa.
Similarly, we can see mobile ad growth in Kenya ex-
ploding at % in the last year versus % in South
Africa. And while mobile Internet use in general is
growing in both countries, we see % growth in
Opera browser statistics in Kenya versus % in
South Africa. However, as with all statistics, this evi-
dence needs to be examined in context. The massive
popularity of MxIT as a messaging platform in South
Africa may partially account for the difference in rate
of Facebook uptake. Also, there is evidence that use
of the mobile Internet through dedicated “apps” such
as a mobile Facebook or Gmail app is more popular
than using the same services through a browser such
as Opera.
This tale of two African telecommunications markets
underscores the complexity of communication mar-
kets in Africa. Nonetheless, we can draw some telling
conclusions. We know that demand for mobile ser-
vices is growing by leaps and bounds and we know
that cost remains a barrier to uptake. We know that
with Kenya and a few others as notable exceptions,
mobile markets remain uncompetitive in Africa ma-
king costs high for those who most need it but can
least afford it. The greatest barrier to access on the
continent and to a growing wave of African innova-
we_volume_/ 
tion is the cost of access and enabling real competi-
tion is the key to driving prices down.
Unfortunately enabling competition in the telecom-
munications marketplace is not as straightforward as
simply allowing new competitors into the market, alt-
hough that is obviously a factor. The key to participa-
tion in the market is access to wireless spectrum. The
rising price of copper as a commodity makes it in-
creasingly impractical as a last mile solution. Its in-
crease in value also makes it more appealing as a
target for theft. The only practical option for service
delivery is wireless. However, one cannot use just any
wireless spectrum. Mobile phones are designed to
work within specific wireless spectrum bands thus re-
gulators are constrained to assign specific ranges of
spectrum for mobile use.
The result is that most of the spectrum allocated for
mobile use has already been assigned to existing
mobile operators. This “administrative scarcity” of
spectrum is something that urgently needs to be
addressed by regulators. More spectrum needs to be
made available whether through the licensing of new
spectrum bands, sharing of existing bands, or increa-
sed use of unlicensed spectrum like WiFi.
Enabling more competition through increased access
to wireless spectrum is an opportunity that could help
drive down the cost of access on the continent. To
date we have seen great increases in efficiency
through access to mobile infrastructure in Africa. If we
can drive down the cost of access to the point where
mobile users don’t need to think about how much
they are spending at every access, we’ll begin to see
a wave of innovation in African products and services
that will astonish the world.
Sources:
Research ICT Africa: http://www.researchictafrica.net
CIA World Fact Book:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
Social Bakers – Heart of Facebook Statistics:
http://www.socialbakers.com/
Admob – Mobile Metrics: http://metrics.admob.com/
Opera – State of the Mobile Web: http://www.opera.com/smw/
Internet World Stats: http://www.internetworldstats.com/af/
Vodacom: http://www.vodacom.co.za
Safaricom: http://www.safaricom.co.ke
 we_volume_/

Photo © Esther Dyson

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People
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Photo © Ompeh
 we_volume_/

Our Culture –
A Source Of Life
Affirming Joy
Emmanuel Charlse Richardson, , Cape Coast, Ghana

tags: culture, empowerment,

dance, unity drum, oomph,
African youth
 we_volume_/ 

There was a time my mother and father met in life to be a couple and care
for each other. It came to the point where my father and mum gave birth to my
senior siblings.

And it then came about that I was born to the earth of Africa without anything
in my hands but came empty to the world of Africa. I started crawling on the
ground at the age of six months and I started walking at the age of one year.
At the age of five my father started teaching me drumming but different from
traditional drumming. My father was a great musician on the Ghana Cape
Coast then.

When I was nine years of age my dad and my elder brother took me to a group
called the Twerampong Traditional Drumming and Dancing Group at the
Cape Coast Castle. They knew where my source of motivation in life came from.
I never knew I could dance but I always see the music in me as my passion. I
humbly submitted to my leaders in the group and learnt drumming and dancing
very well and everything else they were willing to teach me.

When I was in junior secondary school my dad died and it was like I have lost
all my life. But I never give up on what I do. I continued but stopped my formal
group and became my own master by teaching foreign and local people to earn
some money for a living. In late 2007 when I was in senior high school I got the
opportunity to teach my mates in school for the school’s speech and prize giving
day. After this day, I took those people and I taught them drumming and dancing.
This way I started forming my own group now called UNITYDRUM which was
first known as the Peace Academy Youth Group. My aim was to pass on my
knowledge to others. However, after only four months the group was on the
verge of collapse due to financial problems because we spent too much on drums
and other equipment.

Despite these initial setbacks I still kept the vision alive, continuing to walk on
the path I felt was laid out for me. In August 2008, I met Joy Ayo Tang founder
of the Onevillage Foundation (OVF). She opened up OVF’s doors to UNITY-
DRUM. In 2010 we did a Digital Archive for OVF which uses digital tools to
record the lives of local people. OMPEH was a local fishermen’s group we got
involved in.

This group is made up of elderly people of great personal dignity. OMPEH

means I DON’T LIKE. Its meaning is derived from the speech of youth who,
when they saw the group full of elderly people, said we don’t like ’old age things’.
But this group is a very passionate one and also speaks a lot to you when you hear
their drumming and their songs. Because it always speaks to your heart to know
where your roots are and where you’re heading to.

Drumming and dancing has always been the soul of Africa. In UNITYDRUM
and OMPEH all our dreams come together: to celebrate our spiritual heritage
and to revisit the past with SANKOFA as our spiritual guide. All this is done in
honor of our land of Africa.
 we_volume_/

For Men Only?

Mary Githinji, , Nairobi, Kenya

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marie.githinji
twitter: mariegithinji
tags: gender, technology,
equality, iHUB, African youth

Education: I have an advanced diploma
in business information technology.
Employed at: I am a Web developer, freelancer
Hobbies: I have a passion for technology,
I read a lot, and I also love to watch movies.
Your wish for Kenya: My wish for Kenya is
that more people will embrace technology in solving
problems, especially women. These women will
understand that there is no such thing as careers
“meant for men only”. And I guess men have to
learn this as well.
we_volume_/ 
Women in tech – Please, tell us about
the status quo in Africa, Marie.
If you take a look at any IT department in East Africa
you will notice that women who embrace technology as
a career are still a rare. IT has been seen as a career
that is only suitable to males within the African com-
munity. Therefore the men-women ratio in IT is still
9:1. But it is changing. Even though slowly. The shift
started about 10 years ago: more and more women are
trying to embrace technology and apply for IT related
courses. Especially in Kenya. It is still a long way to go
for women and men – men have to accept women in
their new role and women have to go for it!
Any example where WE can already
see the change?
The Akirachix network is a very good example. It is
a forum for girls in IT. The community is steadily
growing. Their goal is to empower women interested
in IT in Kenya.
Akira is a Japanese word that means energy and
intelligence. These two words aptly describe this group
of ladies: “We are intelligent and we bring all our
energy together to help and empower the greater
community of girls out there.”
Akirachix has successfully launched a training program
for girls from poor backgrounds by offering them
free IT training courses. The same group of girls has
also been asponored by infodev to run a mobile social
network lab in Nairobi.
Akirachix is based in Kenya but they are planning
to reach out to other parts in Africa and to the rest
of the world.
Do women earn less than men for
the same job?
Every case is unique, but men are paid better than
women in ICT. This is because there tehy are given
more responsibilities than women because they are seen
as more capable.
 we_volume_/

I Want To Be A
Computer Genius
William Dwayne-Tyga Junior, , Winneba, Ghana

twitter: @jnrwill
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jnrwilly
tags: technology, programer,
African youth
 we_volume_/ 

How many brothers/sisters do you have?

I have one sister.

What are your parents doing?

My mom is a trader.

Are you still going to school?

Yes, I am still going to school.

What are you doing besides school?

I actually do repair computers for people.

How do you use digital media and what for?

Digital media usually refers to any electronic media that is created and
displayed using computer technology, such as digital audio, digital video
and anything that you would find online, such as computer games, internet
technology, communication (email) and social interaction (Facebook for
example). And all these I use.

What is your personal dream?

My personal dream is to become a computer genius – a Microsoft Engineer.
And I want to explore the world.

What is your vision for Africa?

My vision for Africa is to alleviate the abject poverty and appalling health
conditions by re-developing the conditions of mother and child healthcare
centers, enhancing youth development through training programs and
expanding the sponsorship of orphaned vulnerable children in underprivileged
areas of African countries.

What could / should “western” countries do to help Africa

move towards your vision?
I think they should oppose congressional legislation to extend the trade
preferences in the African Growth and Opportunity Act to all developing
countries.
 we_volume_/

Memoirs Of A
Slum Boy
Mark Kamau, , Nairobi, Kenya

twitter: @Mark_Kamau
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mckam
tags: slum, struggle, nairobits,
education, Kibera, African youth
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My name is Mark Kamau. I was born in the slums of Nairobi

which are – to say the very least – quite difficult conditions to
grow up in. As a young person it was difficult to understand why.
Why do some people go without food and others don’t? Why had
we all to sleep in a cold space with a leaking roof while others had
comfortable rooms and didn’t worry that it was raining?
Who decides? What did I do wrong?
Many young people numb themselves with drugs and cheap liquor.
They steal and will do anything to get by. They harbor no dreams.
They themselves are the peddler’s dream. He moves around
making sure they never dream. He makes it clear that this is
where they are destined to live and die.
To be fair, it was not all gloom. I remember the togetherness and
solidarity that living so closely together can bring. I remember
sitting by the fireside and everyone contributing the little money
they had to give a fallen son a decent burial. This often happened
because a lot of young people got shot while committing crime.
But the solidarity, the togetherness in such times is something
special. I remember sharing playthings we improvised and running
around with my cousin Kamse. Those were special moment of
bonding and friendship forged in the substance that is suffering,
tears and joy. Bonds forged of life itself.
While many gave up, I decided to dream. My dreams kept me
sane. They were the only thing standing between me and the
horrible things I saw and experienced. Without them I would have
had nothing. I would have lost. I dreamt of success – a proper roof
over my head, a car, wealth … you name it.
I played football with all my heart as a way of escape. I even was
called up by our under 21 national team. But they never paid us
so that was that. I wanted to be a journalist. After finishing school,
I gathered myself up and went to the Kenya Institute of Mass
Communication to learn about the fees they charge. I simply
couldn’t afford them and there was my last card. By the time I
heard about NairoBits I was completely desperate. They wanted
to train youth from the slums in computer skills.
I didn’t even know what computers were. I had only seen them
through the windows of glass-fronted offices where people wear
fancy clothes. It was a dream I had never even considered. But my
time at NairoBits changed my life completely. It was the lifeline
I needed.
Today I am able to support myself and my family and – more im-
portantly – I also have a chance to help other young people to get a
grip on the same lifeline. When I look at my future now, I see only
opportunities ahead.
And you know what? I am glad I dreamt …
And I am glad I still can dream …
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