Mwangi made me think. (And now my head hurts).
He wants to know why I blog about Africa.
I really did try to come up with something intelligent and profound.
But, the truth trumps it all. In the end.
It’s, plain and simple, a congenital condition. Hardly terminal, but not curable.
Africa is under my skin. Africa is the voices in my head. Africa is the itch on my back that I can’t quite reach.
Africa is my “I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me.” She’s all over me like wet on water.
When one day I began to experiment with blogging, naturally she tagged along and so here we are.
She’s beautiful and she’s strong and she’s got so much to give, she inspires me and I love her truly madly deeply.
She’s battered and bruised and sometimes broken and I love her even more.
She’s always on my mind and in my heart.
It’s not so much, then, that I choose to blog about Africa. It’s that I can’t not.
I really wish the world would see in her all that I see in her.
That’s another reason why I blog about Africa: To make this wish come true.
Here are a range of bloggers whose thoughts on the subject I think would be interesting (and varied) to read:
J.K. whom I’ve only just discovered
Ben Byerly (although I’m suitably sheepish about tagging him because I owe him a meme, I know, which I’m still working on, I promise).
Sokari
Africa Expat WifeIt's my window, but I don't own the view.
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23:38
Education Moment
» bankelele Google hosted the latest skunkworks where the debate was how to design a better computer science curriculum. Present were a team from the Google EngEDU (Engineering Education) which works with campuses to mould student skills that will enable them to adapt to a work environment at Google, and through continuous learning within Google that feeds back into universities through training.
Present was a nice mix of professionals, programmers, coders, Google, who were ex-students of Nairobi, Kenyatta, JKUAT, Strathmore and other foreign universities.
So what ails the Kenyan computing curriculum?
- Universities are large factories, that focus on quantity (of students) not quality (of learning) to support their income streams
- Lecturers are lazy (don't want to teach new concepts or learn new developments), instead they spend more time outside, on more lucrative consultancies
- Students are programmed to (cram) pass exams, obtain degrees and gain employment. Few are inspired to learn outside, or become developers. They accept poor learning, without challenge, and will riot over food but not poor lectures
- Engineering/ computer science curriculums are static, have not changed in years. It is difficult to change the curriculum as it involves all departments of university, and even consultation with the Government (for public universities)
- There is little research and publishing at universities
- There was an unresolved debate of why JKUAT is a ‘better’ institution for technology programs than Nairobi University which has more resources and ‘better’ lecturers
What can be done?
- Teach children more computer/programming skills (in high school) before university
- Universities should be encouraged to compete more with each other
- Corporations should establish mentorship programs
- More programming languages should be taught, even at schools e.g. python, .net, ruby, java, not just C++ and Visual Basic.
- Engineering students remain highly employable in other sectors like accounts and audit
What else is happening?
- Google now has a director for education for Africa (A sign of better things to come)
- South Africa has signed up to link with TEAMS (submarine cable), and Governments now recognize that skills shortage is the next critical area to address after bandwidth
- Google will be working with Strathmore, Nairobi, JKUAT and with other universities on design of better computer science curriculum.
elsewhere
Safaricom University: the latest Safaricom Options magazine talks about a corporate learning & development initiative the company has with Moi University that began in October 2006. Safaricom helps design the electrical engineering curriculum at the University to produce competent engineers with skills that are useable by Safaricom, with the top performing telecommunication bachelor of engineering students, currently in first and second year, eligible to be offered attachment places at Safaricom. The collaboration is next targeting a master’s telecommunications program (to be based in Nairobi). More on Moi and JKUAT collaborations.
Universities need Change: A very timely post this week from Gukira on the difficulty of doing research from a technological standpoint at Nairobi University. For one who is used to the research recourses available at a US university, Kenyan universities are rather close-minded about IT access to research students’ e.g.
- Internet resources are lamentably bad
- Printing costs are exorbitant.
- Could not get into the library could not even apply to get into the library
- Faculty members teach ridiculously high loads
Read more
Multimedia University: The Government has gazetted the establishment of the Multimedia University College of Kenya, formerly Kenya College of Communications Technology (KCCT)
Multimedia Cows: Over the weekend, I heard about Michigan State University research program with Maasai pastoralists – where they used GPS to track the movement of cattle and their grazing patterns to help pastoralists find pasture for their cattle easier, and by having to walk shorter distances.
University Blog: Diary of a Kenyan Campus Girl is a great read about university life by a female student studying computer science at JKUAT.
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16:51
Your Money Is Safer Under Your Mattress
» For Love and Money Your Money Is Safer Under Your Mattress
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16:10
Vote for Ushahidi - USAID/Netsquared Mobile Challenge
» Kenyan Pundit We need your support again. Last time you helped us get much needed start-up funding, now we need your help to get our next phase of growth going.
About the voting process
Voting is only open for a week beginning Monday, December 8 at 9:00am Pacific Time (U.S.) through Friday, December 12 at 5:00pm Pacific Time, and the top 15 vote-getting projects will go in front of a panel of USAID-selected judges who will determine the three winners. You must vote for at least three projects, but no more than five.How to vote:
* You must Register and Login to the NetSquared site to participate in the Vote (please check your junk mail folder if you do not see a registration email confirmation)
* Each registered user has one (1) ballot
* You must vote for at least three (3) Projects and no more than five (5)
* All votes are weighted equally (in other words, your first choice and fifth choice have equal value)
* You can only vote for each Project once, yes that includes your ownFor more information about voting, visit USAID Vote: http://netsquared.org/usaid/vote
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12:31
See What Conversations Social Media Have Wrought
» What An African Woman Thinks I've been eavesdropping on a 21st century conversation over where Michael Hyatt sits. It's all about the CEO, the Economy, and Social Media.
Here's the long and short:
Michael Hyatt’s the CEO of Thomas Nelson International, a publisher of Christian books and one of the top publishers in the US. They recently had to lay off about 10% of their workforce on account of the economic meltdown.
He posted an entry touching on the subject last week.
(Which is quite a contrast to the last time he was featured on this blog.)
While the comments in response to the post were for the most part encouraging, a couple of people remonstrated with him for wasting time twittering rather than doing something useful for the company.
Matthew, for first example, was decidedly unimpressed with the blogging, twittering CEO:
Then came Jim Clark with the polite but pointed rebuke suggesting that spending too much time on social media was part of the reason the company had come to this:maybe it is time for less Twittering, blogging, and sharing of musical preferences and more all nighters devoted to quantifiable revenue generating ideas and unique cost reduction measures.
Michael Hyatt’s in his own defence responded:What role, if any, has the constant Twittering by company execs over the last year played in the crisis? Seems to me that Twittering (including the time spent reading other Twits) poses a huge distraction to clear, uninterrupted thinking, strategic planning, and the timely implementation of goals.
You've writtenin the past how your old email management habits (checking & answering email throughout the day) robbed you from engaging in large blocks of time to work, think, and finish a task. To fix that, I believe you indicated you started
dealing with email just twice a day.It stands to reason that someone who feels the pull to Twitter about their day--throughout the day--might just be equally distracted, less efficient, and perhaps not as razor sharp as these tough times require.
Somehow I can't picture Michelangelo putting down his brush to dash off a Twitter: Just about finished working on Adam's outstretched fingers. God's hand is next.
First, let’s put this in perspective. On average it take me 30-45 seconds to write one tweet. For the sake of argument, let’s assume 45 seconds. I average 13 tweets a day. That’s 585 seconds (45 x 13) or less than 10 minutes. Total. Per day.
Second, my job as the CEO is, in part, to find the future. Publishing is rapidly going digital. Social networking via the Internet is rapidly replacing traditional marketing. I have a duty to all of my constituents, including my employees, to jump in with both feet and figure this out. Twitter is only a small part of a much larger attempt on my part to understand online media.
(And, I would add for good measure, last I read, no one was online surfing the net for Michelangelo's work either way back then. Different world and all that. Just saying.)
Hyatt also painstakingly explained why he blogs and twitters:
And, he had a good number of other people come to his defence too.I am trying to run a major corporation in an industry where product formats and delivery methods are changing rapidly. I am running hard to keep up, and, as a result, I am multi-tasking throughout the day. When I need extended periods of concentration, I unplug and focus on the task at hand. It’s not that difficult.
Take Mike Burleson:Honestly, I think his twittering has actually helped foster better consumer relationships with Thomas Nelson as a whole. Because of following Michael's blog then twitter after he joined, it helps sense what's behind the company, rather than the almighty dollar.
Nibby Priest:Michael, By all means keep on twittering. You have made me aware of Thomas Nelson. Before I started reading your twitters, I never knew of the company. Because of you I have been looking before I buy any Christian material to see who the publisher is! You have really helped me in my personal and business life with your twitters and blogs.
And Thomas Duff:I would say that more CEOs should be blogging and twittering, not less. In these extreme tumultuous times, you have to extend your reach outside of the normal "golf course and rotary club" circles that historically have been the stomping grounds of executives. These tools provide a level of insight to the person, and can make all the difference in whether you feel you can trust and commit to a company and their products.
Connie Rice encouraged him to continue to put Thomas Nelson ahead of the curve:Just as you did with your blog, you're putting Nelson ahead of the curve by
being on Twitter.
To which Thom McGuire added, for good measure:Now to the question of twittering, blogging, or any web 2.0 activity. These are the waves of the future I would much rather a CEO be in the mix of what is going on then being clueless and missing the boat.
It's all so very interesting, all of this. Not so?
What do you think? What's a CEO to do? To put himself out there or not to put himself out there?It's my window, but I don't own the view.
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11:58 Gone With The Wind: Jobs, That Is…
» Kenyanentrepreneur.com I was reading an interesting commentary in some paper the other day where someone talked about the on-going layoff’s that are taking place around the world. This person was basically looking at the layoff’s from a point of view I have yet to hear spoken about. He or she was saying that in America especially, the [...] -
11:58
[nt]
» Kenyanentrepreneur.com
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10:08
Michelle Obama vs Lucy Kibaki - Salaries
» Rants, Raves & Reviews Michelle Obama (as well as other First Ladies in the USA) will earn NOTHING for her 'job' as First Lady. USA - Per Capita Income = $46,000. GDP = $13,800,000,000,000.
Yes... but in Kenya (an IMPOVERISHED country by any standard) the First Lady earns earns $8,000 a month in (tax-free?) allowances!Kenya - Per Capita Income = $850. GDP $30,000,000,000.
No wonder Kenya is & will remain a 3rd world country for many years to come...
P.S. Michelle is an intelligent, articulate, educated (Harvard Law School) woman who held a high-profile position prior to Barack being elected to the Office of the President....
Lucy Kibaki - erm, please help me out... what is her education? Her professional life? Her achievements?
*** Here is an interesting link on the US Cabinet appointments regarding salaries. Note that a lawmaker is prevented from taking up a job in government if they voted for an increase in compensation/salary for that job in the current term!!!
Of course, the thieves in our 'government' would vote themselves extra perks!
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10:04
The Rise and Fall of Kenya's Liberation Struggle-From 1963-2008
» Kenya Imagine As we approach Jamhuri day to commemorate Kenya's liberation from its colonisers in 1963, our fallen heroes must turn in their graves.
This is because unlike the Mau Mau war, which was a just struggle for the country's independence, Kenyans and their so-called liberation struggles have in the recent past portrayed a tremendous willingness to walk on the path of self-destruction that is synonymous with many African countries torn apart by civil strife.
Read more on Kenyan history.
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9:20
Heard About Regular Hijackings And Rape On Kenyan Roads?
» You Missed This One of the things that has gone terribly wrong with the mainstream media in our beloved country is that they deliberately hold back a lot of information from Kenyans. Some of it would save lives or help many Kenyans stay safe. It seems that the policy is NOT to cause panic.
Inside a Coast bus similar to the one that was hijacked by gunmen in harrowing incident on the Nairobi Mombasa Road. (Read the story HERE. Be warned. The graphic nature of this tale may be upsetting.)
Let me give you an excellent example of what I am talking about. Statistics show that every day the Kenya police receive at least half a dozen reports of hijackings of public transport vehicles by gun totting thugs. Hardly any of these cases are reported in the media. In a significant number of these cases female passengers are raped. (Read this harrowing Kumekucha exclusive of a hijacking early last year on a Mombasa-bound bus where torches were used to examine women’s private parts before rape.)
Some of the routes most notorious for hijackings are the Nairobi-Kisii route and the Nairobi-Mombasa route.
We are already in the holiday season and you can be sure that these incidents are bound to go up as the concerned parties look for cash for Christmas. What precautions are the Kenya police taking to keep Kenyans safe? Are the numerous Police checks and road blocks all over the country as efficient in smoking out gun-carrying passengers as they are in collecting 50 bob notes from every public transport vehicle that passes their route? A Kumekucha informant was in a bus late at night recently and saw a policeman who was NOT a traffic cop receive cash from a matatu (so all cops now take cash from public transport vehicles and not just the traffic police.) The same informant witnessed the vehicle he was traveling in defying an order by the police to stop and speeding on. The driver quipped “Huyo amekula mia saa hii anataka nini tena?” (That one has taken a bribe of Kshs 100 just now what else does he want?).
As usual Kenyans are on their own. So my dear Kumekuchans please take the necessary precautions as you travel during this festive season. Avoid traveling at night. (be careful about early morning as well because there have been recent reports of early morning hijackings on major highways and even within Nairobi. Mercifully these incidents hardly ever involve the rape of passengers)
Secondly be very observant in the vehicle you are traveling in. Look out for young innocent-looking guys carrying big bags. Sometimes they communicate on cell phones telling somebody their exact locations. Usually Hijackings will be executed with some gang-members in the vehicle while their colleagues are on the route somewhere ready to ambush. Those in the bus or matatu then ask to be dropped off exactly where their colleagues are waiting.
Do have a safe holiday season and thank you for being part of the rapidly growing Kumekucha family.
Are you in Kenya or would you like to work in Kenya? Choose from plenty of Kenyan jobs available at this site.
Dream beach holidays near Mombasa this Christmas.
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9:13
Mumia in Prison - keeping deathrow alive
» Black Looks Back Panther activist and award-winning journalist, Mumia Abu-Jamal has been a death row prisoner since 1981. Amnesty International have conducted a “full analysis” of the case which took place in Philadelphia “against the backdrop of a city of racial tensions, police brutality and police corruption.” In light of the contradictory and incomplete evidence in [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Mumia Abu-Jama in Prison - keeping deathrow alive", url: "http://www.blacklooks.org/2008/12/mumia_in_prison_-_keeping_deathrow_alive.html" });
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7:11
SHIVERS DOWN MY SPINE & to others!
» My Life is...Mochalicious! Ok….commuting these sides can take at least 2hrs a day (an hour to and from) and in order to get the best train times etc., you have to leave the house at a decent time in the morning……very early. As most people, I use public transport as a place where I check to see how the back of [...]
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4:44
One more stab at online business
» Startups in Kenya I first discovered Microsoft Encarta in 1997, and what a joy that was. A digital repository with seemingly endless ways to satisfy my hunger for knowledge. Being a rap obsessed teenager it did not take me long to check what Encarta said about hip-hop. I found an article on Grandmaster Flash considered the grandaddy of hip-hop (at least by Encarta). In the article there was an audio clip of one of his most popular tunes 'The Message' which was later popularly resampled in 'Can't nobody hold me down' by Puff Daddy and Mase. One line of that great song in particular comes to mind right now "can't nobody hold me down... ohh no I got to keep on movin"
And so it is with me, I have continued with my dream of promoting online business in Kenya. My latest effort is www.FormAKenyanCompany.com, an online company formation service I have helped design, create, market and manage for a business services company. I consider this one of my most comprehensive works in e-commerce: with aspects of cookie-based shopping carts, payment processing through m-pesa, ordering through a secured web, and shipping and handling of products using courier firms. In brief, technically the product works.
The real test however is whether the business model works. One thing I am hesitant about is the issue of payment. I am yet to see whether Kenyan shoppers would be comfortable paying KSh. 15,000 (about $190) online with their order for a product that they have yet to touch, feel, and see physically. Some alternative ideas I am entertaining in case this doesn't work out are: cash with delivery, or setting up of branches/drop-off money(pick-up package) zones.
Right now though things are looking up, and the low cost barrier flagship product (1-day company name search) which costs only KSh. 200 ($2.50) has been getting a lot of activity. Hopefully it will help build the trust and customer relationships that such a business necessarily needs to build.
Watch this space for updates.
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4:17
Government Goodies
» KA-INVESTOR Lower TB cap
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has finally agreed that the Ksh.1 million cap on Treasury Bills (TB) investment in the primary market is a little too discriminating and kills the alternative investment avenue that its supposed to create. CBK has now lowered the threshold to Ksh.100,000, which is a bit affordable to retail investors. Over concentration of investment in stocks mostly by local retail investors has over the last few year lead to the NSE getting overvalued.
KRA public auction
Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) will tomorrow conduct a public auction of several imported goods abandoned at their JKIA custom service department over the year. The same will be conducted at Kilindini harbor on 23rd of December. Several items ranging from wines, cloths, computer accessories to cars will be on offer at both ridiculous and competitive prices. These can come in handy as gifts to friends, relatives and loved ones this festive season. I 'm planning to attend it for the first time just out of curiosity.
Nakumatt meat & poison
Last months has the Nakumatt supermarket on Thika Road was brought down the owners , lead by the Nakumatt Operations Director Thiagarajan Ramamurthy and many shoppers complained that the government was being unfair and not encouraging investment in the country from the way they selectively conducted the demolitions along the highway.
Demolition of Nakumatt Thika Road
It seems the demolition of Nakumatt Thika Road was a blessing to some (these guys and me) as they are now planning to open a new outlet called Nakumatt Express in Kahawa Wendani (at the former Uchumi Wendani premises – a few meters from my landlords house) to capture their customers along the highway. Renovations and even carpeting of a previously very bad road are underway.
Nakumatt Express launch preparations
Carpeting of the road
This plan may have been already in place and has only been accelerated by the demolitions, since Uchumi closed shop in Wendani August last year.
Related story: Nakumatt Mega goes 24 hours
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