Giladon-line » africa

Analog Blogging

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:03:04 +0000

In Monrovia, Liberia a unique form of journalism exists where the news is written out daily on a chalk board for everyone to read as they pass by. Alfred Sirleaf established his chalkboard news service called “Daily Talk” in May of 2000, when he saw a need for direct, free and accessible reporting. Because of his provocative style of reporting the truth, the Daily Talk was destroyed twice before he finally fled into exile in Ghana. As peace returned to the region, so did the Daily Talk, and today it is one of the most read News Sources in the capital with thousands everyday taking the time to stop as they walk or drive by to get the breaking news. The Daily Talk in not only a board, but includes a small news room in the back, where he works on the next set of “articles” as viewers read the current set (using a rotating double-sided chalk board). (link)

Alfred Sirleaf is the managing editor of The Daily Talk, a white plywood shed trumpeting the latest headlines along Tubman Boulevard, one of Monrovia main thoroughfares. “Those who don’t have opportunity to buy newspaper, go on the Internet, who can’t afford to buy generator to buy TV,” he said, describing just about everyone in this battered city, “I do all the dirty work for them, and I just give them exactly what they want.”

Alfred’s solution to dispersing information to the people around him is simple yet highly effective. He also seems to have made a business model out of this board, charging for advertisement space on the bottom. Alfred wants to make sure every Liberian can keep up with the news and play a part in the country’s young democratic government, but in a way that wholly depends on what type of information he displays.

But there are so many advantages to providing “analog” news:

Alfred serves as a reminder to the rest of us, that simple is often better, just because it works. The lack of electricity never throws him off. The lack of funding means he’s creative in ways that he recruits people from around the city and country to report news to him. He uses his cell phone as the major point of connection between him and the 10,000 (he says) that read his blackboard daily. (link)

[tags]mobile, development, blogger, analog, africa,news[/tags]

charitywater.org

Sun, 11 May 2008 07:58:11 +0000

I saw this video by charitywater during one of the Pangea day commercial breaks today and simply could not get it out of my head. After checking out their site and some of the amazing work they do around the world, I was sold on donating $20 for one of their projects. Clip and info below:

Most of us have never really been thirsty. Weâ€™ve never had to leave our houses and walk 5 miles to fetch water. We simply turn on the tap, and water comes out. Clean. Yet more than 1.1 billion people on the planet donâ€™t have clean water.
Itâ€™s hard to imagine what a billion people looks like really, but one in six might be easier. One in six people in our world donâ€™t have access to the most basic of human needs. Something we canâ€™t imagine going 12 hours without.
Here, weâ€™d like to introduce you to a few of those billion people. They are very real, and they need our help. They didnâ€™t choose to be born into a village where the only source of water is a polluted swamp. And I didnâ€™t choose to be born in a country where even the homeless have access to clean water and a toilet.
I invite you to put yourself in their shoes. Follow them on their daily journey. Carry 80 pounds of water in yellow fuel cans. Dig with their children in sand for water. Line up at a well and wait 8 hours for a turn.
Now, make a decision to help. Weâ€™re not offering grand solutions and billion dollar schemes, but instead, simple things that work. Things like freshwater wells, rainwater catchments and sand filters. For about $20 a person, we know how to help millions of people.

Start by helping one.

[tags]charitywater,pangea day,donation,development,water[/tags]

Africa in our Eyes

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 02:19:44 +0000

This important and long overdue blog post is finally seeing the publishing board. There are three Africa related issues which I’ve been wanting to mention here. Each is a completely different ways of tackling the “Africa Problem”. But more and more of these different initiatives are emerging from a variety of sectors. This is indeed exciting to watch – from MTV to our 5th avenue shopping experience, Africa is sticking in our conscious. I hope that we will all live to see the results of these great efforts: finally an Africa which is on the map, where the problems are highlighted, and a world discussion is formed in a clear and present way.

1. TED Africa: the recent TED conference which took place in Arusha, Tanzania, June 4-7, 2007

I observed so many connections and conversations at the conference that felt like they were changing lives. Like William Kamkwamba, the kid who built his family a windmill. Tom Rielly showed him the Internet for the first time. He’d never seen it. Tom typed his name and “windmill” and said, “Look, this is all the information that’s on the web about *you*.” (As Ethan Zuckerman reports, the TEDGlobal community is getting together to help Kamkwamba get further education.)

It felt like the speakers were more remarkable as individuals, because of what they’ve had to overcome to achieve what they’ve achieved. Corneille Ewango is a perfect example. He has an accent, and he is a little shy, but people really connected with his story. It reminded me that we should take risks with speakers — if the story is great and hasn’t been heard, people will connect. I had to go on stage after William Kamkwamba, wearing a blindfold, to throw hats into the audience, but by the end of his talk, his story is so amazing, so inspiring, I was moved to tears — with a blindfold on! -

(source:TED blog)

2. Instant Karma:

For those of you who haven’t seen Green Day’s new video – Working Class Hero – check it out on youtube. It is powerful and touching. This song is part of a compilation album, Instant Karma, which is a part of the Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. The album consists of various artists covering songs of John Lennon, seeking to benefit this campaign. The rights to Lennon’s songs and music publishing royalties were donated to Amnesty International by Yoko Ono. Proceeds from CD and digital sales will support Amnesty International and its campaign to focus attention and mobilize activism around the urgent catastrophe in Darfur, and other human rights crises.

“It’s wonderful that, through this campaign, music that is so familiar to many people of my era will now be embraced by a whole new generation,” Ono says. “John’s music set out to inspire change, and in standing up for human rights, we really can make the world a better place.”

(source: wikipedia)

watch the video!

3. (PRODUCT) RED collection designed to make a difference for africa

This campaign consists of a limited collection of clothing and accessories for men and women designed to help fight AIDS in Africa. As part of Gapâ€™s global partnership with (PRODUCT) RED, half of the profits from sales of the Gap (PRODUCT) RED Collection will go to The Global Fund to finance programs that help women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa. Founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver, (RED) is a groundbreaking initiative that marries the private sector of business with the buying power of the public in an effort to generate a sustainable flow of private sector funds towards the fight to eliminate AIDS in Africa. To do this, (RED) will harness the power of some of the worldâ€™s most iconic brands including Gap, Converse, Emporio Armani and Motorola â€“ the first companies to partner with (RED).

About (RED) and (PRODUCT) RED

(RED)’s primary objective is to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds for The Global Fund to help fight AIDS in Africa. Companies whose products take on the (PRODUCT) RED mark contribute a percentage of the sales from that product to The Global Fund to finance AIDS programs in Africa, with an emphasis on the health of women and children. Current partners are: American Express, Emporio Armani, Converse, Gap and Motorola. MySpace.com is the first media sponsor. WWW.JOINRED.COM.