Friday Feb. 12, 2010

I apologize for the delayed posting to the blog. The last three days in Kwala were a whirlwind of activity that left no time for writing about all the doing that was occurring. Moving into the computer lab and getting the solar panels up on the roof a week later than we had expected squeezed Team Smallbean very tight in terms of time. We taught our first class in the new computer lab on Tuesday afternoon. Without adequate electricity in the lab, we changed our schedule and began holding class at 4pm. This provided better photographing light for the students and allowed us to use sunlight to illuminate our new classroom.

Upon the advice of the headmaster, we had an electrician install the DC wiring running from the solar panels on the roof, through some blue PVC piping running across the ceiling and, down through the wall of the classroom. The photos attached with this blog post set the scene better than I can describe it, but we essentially created a solar power wall outlet that plugs directly into the solar suitcase. The solar suitcase can then be unplugged at the end of the night and stored safely in the locked closet along with the computers, cameras, and other electronic equipment. It’s funny that after spending the last too many months intimately involved with the solar suitcase, I can still be impressed by its functionality, but damn, what a great little design.

Tuesday was the first day that we powered all laptops, cameras, and recorders used as part of the Citizen Archivist Project exclusively by solar power. The limited AC power in the lab powers the overhead projector used for computer instruction (and will subsequently power the overhead lighting used during evening classes).

Working with NTC and thanks to the excellent organizational skills presumably fostered by his years as an attorney, Tristan created a solar charging schedule for the kids in our class that will be implemented starting next week. On Wednesday and Thursday we explained the workings of the solar suitcase to our students and walked them through the charging schedule which will (fingers crossed) charge a minimum of eight laptops a day via solar power. With assistance by a half in English half in Swahili motivational speech from the headmaster, the kids have embraced the solar power system, catching on quickly and with an obvious appreciation for the marvel that is solar technology.

In terms of the Citizen Archivist Project, the kids conducted their final project on Wednesday afternoon. Each group headed for the village and conducted an approximate 20 question interview of a Kwala resident of their choosing. We worked with the students upon their return to tag the accompanying photos and movies for digital archival purposes. I absolutely cannot wait to get home and pull together the photography and audio footage into a cohesive whole. Some very neat stuff. Each group headed to the village with a soda and the instructions to give the soda to whichever interview subject they chose as a gift for agreeing to be interviewed. With the language barrier always a bit of an issue, the kids bolted out of the classroom for town with none of Team Smallbean certain that the kids understood that sodas were for the interview subjects. The kids returned on average about an hour later, empty bottles in hand (they had also been under strict instructions to bring back the empty bottles so that we could return them all to the store where we’d purchased them (not returning returnable bottles in Kwala is a crime punishable by refusal to sell addition bottles of soda and or water, the elixir of life in a 95 degree climate)). Downloading the photographs taken by the kids during their final interviews, it became quickly apparent that the kids had in fact followed instructions and given their sodas to the interview subjects, with multiple, pictures of Kwala residents answering questions between sips at their Sprites and Cokes and Fantas. Some very fun pictures.

The graduation ceremony occurred on Thursday afternoon. Photographs. Diplomas. And some last minute instructions on how to use the Flash drives that were given to each kid containing the pictures, movies, and interviews that they’d taken over the last two weeks. Attempting to explain the Windows file structure to the kids was a challenge and will likely take some more time for them to grasp. The final class ended at 6:00 pm with the kids not wanting to leave the classroom. While we were excited to linger with them, 100 tasks remained for Smallbean to accomplish on our last night in Kwlala, not the least of which was a scheduled meeting with the headmaster of the school who wanted to take us to the Hotel California for lukewarm beers and a very warm sendoff from Kwala. Somehow we managed to accomplish most of what needed to be done and left Kwala early Friday morning for Dar es Salaam. We piled into a packed dala dala (bus), bags much lighter than when we arrived two weeks earlier, thanks to the solar installation and computer lab we’d left behind in Kwala.

I will have many more thoughts on our activities in Kwala over the coming weeks and months. For now, as we depart Kwala and attempt to digest both our successes and failures, I must admit that I am excited for a respite from the relentless insects and overwhelming heat. That said, we will miss the students and our new friends in Kwala and can’t wait to return in the coming months to check on the progress of the Citizen Archivist Program. Starting next week, the 11 students in our class will meet once a week to continue with the CAP curriculum. In the short-term, the focus will be on typing skills and Microsoft Word proficiency. Additionally, the kids in our class will now become teachers themselves as they become the computer monitors and instructors when access to the new computer lab is opened to the rest of the school. I am absolutely fascinated to see how this all plays out.