Monthly Archives: June 2010

Three Roads

Posted on June 28, 2010 by

I always tell people that the Tanzanian villages where Karimu works are “remote.” Yet as I look more into cellphone use in Africa in order to learn about mobile banking, I wonder whether I have a right to call Bacho … Continue reading →

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Your banker is on the phone

Posted on June 20, 2010 by

John the General met my friend, the writer Suzanne Skees, in Nairobi’s sprawling Kibera slum after he torched its outdoor Toi market in January 2008 and then later, a changed man, watched over its rebuilding and expansion. John Oyoo once … Continue reading →

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In another country

Posted on June 16, 2010 by

I begin writing a few hours after our friend Marie will have arrived in Kigali, the capital city of Tanzania’s northern neighbor, Rwanda. She will visit her mother and sister, in whose home Marianne and I stayed for five days … Continue reading →

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Microfinance again

Posted on June 13, 2010 by

Two of my recent posts, “Joas” and “The Babati Rotarian’s Plan,” are linked by virtue of the decision last year by Joas Kahembe, Karimu’s indispensable man in Tanzania, to join the Babati Rotary Club. Joas joined because Marianne and I … Continue reading →

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On the June 10 Collaborate for Africa meeting

Posted on June 11, 2010 by

Many thanks to Jeff Chow for orchestrating the meeting last evening and to Shannon and John Frediani of Voices of Angels for opening eyes and stirring imaginations with their presentation on bringing eGranary from the WiderNet Project (http://www.widernet.org/) to a … Continue reading →

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Joas

Posted on June 8, 2010 by

NYU economist William Easterly states on his Aid Watch blog (http://aidwatchers.com/) that its “work is based on the idea that more aid will reach the poor the more people are watching aid.” In his book, The White Man’s Burden, published … Continue reading →

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Two epitaphs

Posted on June 7, 2010 by

Paul Richards’ death has taken me far too long to write about. Paul, a volunteer on Karimu’s trip to Tanzania two years ago, had nearly finished his first year of college when, on the night of April 23, he died … Continue reading →

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The Babati Rotarian’s plan

Posted on June 3, 2010 by

Today I begin with a correction: in my June 1 post I claimed that Julian Page’s write-up of the Bacho Community Survey attached to my May 18 post did not report how far the villagers must travel to collect water, … Continue reading →

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Water

Posted on June 1, 2010 by

I cannot take credit for the Bacho Community Survey attached to my May 18 post. My wife Marianne and I and Karimu’s other volunteers spend only ten days out of each summer in Bacho, not enough time for a painstaking … Continue reading →

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