I know this because I have lived here for 28 years. Indeed that is WHY I live here. But I can see that in other parts of the world when people think of Africa they generally think of bad stuff. Desperate poverty, famine, death and disease, the ravages of AIDS, civil war and genocide, corruption, bad government, horrors of every description. Its understandable really, given the spin put on Africa by the international media. (Only recently, as for instance now with the Soccer World Cup being hosted in South Africa, a few more positive stories are being told about the place).
Well maybe its not the kind of thing that sells newspapers, but I can tell you that Africa is much much more than this. The grim stories are mostly true of course but conceal much more than they reveal. And I am not talking just about the legendary warmth and hospitality of African people that foreign visitors report. Its more than that. I am talking of the spirit of enterprise and innovation, of creativity and inventiveness, of hard work and tenacity, of clear focus and determination, of energy and optimism that is everywhere in Africa. People here are really very smart. Thinking ‘out of the box’ (a tired expression no?) is normal, perhaps because most people were never inside a box in the first place. Emotional intelligence, seeing and using the interconnectedness of everything – well that’s standard operating procedure around here. And while most people are acutely conscious of the privations and the injustice of their situation, they don’t spend a lot of time whingeing about it. They get on with living as best they can. On a dime. With dignity and grace and patience. And the second a real opportunity comes their way, to get on and get ahead, they take it up and run with it. And you won’t see them for dust.
I will be talking more about this kind of thing in blogs to come, and hope you might be interested. But that’s enough for now. This is a big moment for me. My very first blog! I am not a ‘digital native’, been around way too long – but figured it’s time to take the plunge.
Well maybe its not the kind of thing that sells newspapers, but I can tell you that Africa is much much more than this. The grim stories are mostly true of course but conceal much more than they reveal. And I am not talking just about the legendary warmth and hospitality of African people that foreign visitors report. Its more than that. I am talking of the spirit of enterprise and innovation, of creativity and inventiveness, of hard work and tenacity, of clear focus and determination, of energy and optimism that is everywhere in Africa. People here are really very smart. Thinking ‘out of the box’ (a tired expression no?) is normal, perhaps because most people were never inside a box in the first place. Emotional intelligence, seeing and using the interconnectedness of everything – well that’s standard operating procedure around here. And while most people are acutely conscious of the privations and the injustice of their situation, they don’t spend a lot of time whingeing about it. They get on with living as best they can. On a dime. With dignity and grace and patience. And the second a real opportunity comes their way, to get on and get ahead, they take it up and run with it. And you won’t see them for dust.
I will be talking more about this kind of thing in blogs to come, and hope you might be interested. But that’s enough for now. This is a big moment for me. My very first blog! I am not a ‘digital native’, been around way too long – but figured it’s time to take the plunge.
Nick,
ReplyDeleteI would be interested to hear your thoughts about rural Kenyan's ability to adopt new technologies. I also have a passion for development and I am working on making it a career in East Africa. I have been a fan of Kickstart's work for a while and look forward to some more of your posts.
Best,
Ben Knowton
Benjaminmknowlton@gmail.com
Hi, nick!
ReplyDeleteI was really impressed by Kickstart's idea, the realistic way. Now I am studying about Design management at South Korea- kickstart gonna be my research project on next year.
About this, I want to talk with you.
If you see this comment, please reply me.
Sincerely.
Jihyeon
shuuuing@gmail.com
Ben
ReplyDeleteRural people in Africa are mostly farmers and are very poor. So they are very very risk averse and need a lot of convincing to take up a new technology. The exception, although it took quite some time all the same, is the cellphone. It just makes so much sense to have one - saves so much time and money and hassle and gets you timely information that you can use to your advantage. But there are so many calls on a poor person's meagre cash that new ideas and products really have to be marketed well to succeed. One powerful constraint is the anxiety about what the neighbours will say. Few people want to be ridiculed in the event they make a foolish decision - so some just dont make the decision
Jihyeon .. or Shuuuing?
ReplyDeleteOne thing we have learned at KickStart is that however complex the problem, an effective solution is usually very simple and straightforward. Ironically perhaps simple solutions are often complicated to design! But simple or complex, we are dealing with practical problems, so they require practical solutions.
Nick -
ReplyDeleteSaw the story on the PBS News Hour tonight. I have been doing some work helping raise money for Haiti the past 6 months, for Shelter Box.
Being an old hippie, I remember the block press from the Whole Earth Catalog. It was called a Ram Set press back then , if memory serves me well. Any chance of getting these Block Presses into Haiti ?
The Shelter Box effort
http://tmfishcamp.blogspot.com/
My solar oven just donated to Breedlove Foods -
http://cbsolaroven.blogspot.com/