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Peace Corps to Wire Senegal
An anonymous submitter wrote: "Peace Corps Online is reporting on the White House's Digital Freedom Initiative that will place volunteers from the Peace Corps, Hewlett-Packard and Cisco in a pilot program in Senegal where they will leverage nearly 200 cybercafes and 10,000 telecenters to provide opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs. The idea isn't new - David Rothman proposed an Electronic Peace Corps in 1984, the Geek Corps has been doing this kind of work in Ghana for years, and the Peace Corps already has about 1,500 volunteers working in information technology."
Because it's realistic? if you electricity and telecoms already then it's going to be much easier to set everything else up. Plus an Internet Cafe is a good place for people to meet, get training, etc.
Third world countries are stuck in a vicious cycle. Internet access should be the last thing on their minds. Basic infrastructure such as roads, sewage, hydro are needed first and formost. This will atract industry, which in turn will build more infrastructure, create training facilities, and attract more skilled labour. And the only way to do this is with gobs and gobs of cash.
You think that I'm crazy, you should see this guy!
Exactly, wouldn't this money be better spent? On the flip side it sounds like the move is generating private investment.
From the CIA world fact book (hey its what google gave me): [CIA World Fact Book]
"Senegal ... realized full Internet connectivity in 1996, creating a miniboom in information technology-based services. Private activity now accounts for 82% of GDP."
However, I worry about the mentality that the internet can solve all our problems. I think we all saw the fallacy of that misconception after the bubble. Further, the question should be asked, is this a society that is ready for this technology? Will this have adverse impacts on a culture that has not prepared itself for such drastic change (now I sound like my old Tech and Society prof)? Will the average Senegalese be receptive to such a cultural shift?
Why have 1 person driving a backhoe when you could employ 20 with shovels?
Besides, the people in this country can't afford Coke as a general rule -- even when they can, they return the glass (yes, glass!) bottle right away to get the deposit back and put the Coke in a plastic bag to drink. There are already enough cybercafes in Dakar; perhaps this cash should be going towards helping the little Muslim boys that run around the streets, forced into virtual slavery (via begging) in order to make a few bucks for their master.
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
However long range wireless solutions might be very suitable for many of these countries for bringing internet access to the cafes, because the poverty levels means that even phone lines get stolen quite often for the copper many places (some countries have even had cases of people cutting down power cables to sell the scrap metal).
Securing a number of wireless routers might be easier than securing miles and miles of cable. Additionally, putting up phone cables is expensive, and many African countries have extremely under developed landline networks, and it's not a given that setting up wireless connections won't be cheaper.
Better laws can theoretically be attained in semi-democratic and democratic countries through providing information about current laws, and things that are going up for voting in the legislative body, as well as providing a conduit for citizens to contact their government members in order to influence policy.
Better courts can be attained, especially in countries that utilize a common law standard, by having the court system linked up, so all judicial reviews can be viewed quickly, easily and instantaneously. Thus, the court system can act more consistently as a whole across the entire nation-state, as opposed to the personal habits of each judge. Also, abuses in the system can be reported easier across great distances, if the other branches of the government are plugged in as well.
Banks are another institution that really need to be connected, and have a sharing of information between them. Computers are very useful in documenting a credit history on individuals, making it much easier to call up, so any bank can view it much faster for when determining whether or not to give an individual a loan. Transfers between institutions are better handled electronically as well.
The Internet also provides a cheap way for local nation-wide businesses to post job listings, theoretically allowing for out of work people to be put in touch easier with companies that need workers, improving the overall economy. Though, it is important to note that the US has had some serious flaws with this, but not to the point where its completely useless. I have found work off an Internet job posting before.
Along with increased mobility, you also have a better chance of affordable communication with relatives within the country. Thus, despite the physical distance potentially developing between citizens and their families, all touch won't be lost.
And of course, there is always the benefit of being able to access a wealth of information sources on the Internet that encourage people to view other places in the world and see how they function, so that they might demand change at home.
The point is, just because IT infrastructure seems like a luxury, improved and increased communication between all levels of society is an inherently good thing for democratic institutions, as well as developing market economies. It might not be as useful as building a power plant, or teaching them better farming techniques, however the companies helping here aren't farming or power companies. They're IT companies, so they're helping the way they know how to help.
training for what, exactly? how are IT skills and improved communications going to help free impoverished countries from the grip of corrupt administrations and natural resource leeches such as Shell or deBeers?
what do these businesses sell, in any case? last i heard, putting your small business on teh internet was only useful if you are producing something someone in [affluent country here] wants - and sadly, outside of big business concerns such as oil or diamonds, that doesn't amount to much.
<B>note to self:</B> <I>post as html</I>
That's only half of the equation. Constant fighting between the political factions, stimulated by Colonial Europe's arbirtary division of the continent without regards for tribal boundaries (Forcing the Huutu and Tsutse tribes to live together), and corruption of their parliment have prevented African countries from prospering, as much as cash crop farming for the western world.
A large portion of Africa is farmland, but dedicated to export crops. There is little left over for staple farming. The money earned from these cash crops makes the landowners rich, which in turn makes the government rich. The profit is dumped into the military, buying jets and tanks, troops, training camps, etc to quell uprisings and 'protect' their country. Little is left over for urban development, health care, or infrastructure. Much of the foreign aid is absorbed by the government.
Tackling the root causes is difficult, as it is not only the western world which is profiting from Africa's poverty. It is their own leaders as well.
You think that I'm crazy, you should see this guy!
Word #234:
leverage (vb): means "use"
Alternative trendy buzzwords and phrases:
enabled
facilitate deployment
fixed resource empowerment
consolidate operational dynamics
foster tangible goals
Yeah , I can just see all those starving people begging for food at the side of the road
whipping out their Pocket PC once they hear that a wifi node has been set up on top of the local
rubbish heap.
The western world wasn't such a fun place to live in until education became available to everyboddy.
You said yourself that you need skilled labour.
Skilled labour means good education.
For education to work you need to get people to look beyond their horizon into the world. What better medium than the internet to do this?
Jeroen
Secure messaging: http://quickmsg.vreeken.net/
Books?
If I seem short sighted, it is because I stand on the shoulders of midgets
COMMUNICATIONS
-
Telephones - main lines in use:
234,916 (2001)
-
Telephones - mobile cellular:
373,965 (2001)
-
Telephone system:
general assessment: good system
domestic: above-average urban system; microwave radio relay, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable in trunk system
international: 4 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
-
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 10, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998)
-
Radios:
1.24 million (1997)
-
Television broadcast stations:
1 (1997)
-
Televisions:
361,000 (1997)
-
Internet country code:
.sn
-
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
15 (2002)
-
Internet users:
40,000 (2001)
Lesser-developed countries flock to cell phones to get around there out-dated, out-moded, out-period telephone communications, I guess.Sounds like the Peace Corps needs to Wi-Fi Senegal rather than wire it.
-- @rjamestaylor on Ello
Third world countries are stuck in a vicious cycle. Internet access should be the last thing on their minds. Basic infrastructure such as roads, sewage, hydro are needed first and formost.
What do you think the Internet is. It's basic infastructure. Computers and the Internet move information -- FAST and EFFICIENTLY.
Not only is that important for health, education and general quality of life, but employment can arise through it too.
The Internet is no longer a simple luxury. In fact, my specific job would be impossible without the Internet, but it has nothing to do with the Internet. It's just how we deliver our product.
So close and yet so far from the world's perfect ID number
I think this is very worthwhile but would only work in cities where you have electricity - for part of the day at least...
You only use 2% of your DNA
The Fallacy of Other People's Misappropriated Volunteer Efforts comes up on slashdot quite frequently, though predominately concerns itself with open-source software development: There's all sorts of complaining about branching and competitive overlapping software projects when all programmers should be working on project y, where y is the software the whiner (who probably doesn't contribute to anything) would most like to have an improved version of. Programmers aren't a fluid resource that can be thrown at anything for proportional result (remember Mythical Man Month), and a lot of mature software projects are intimidating or unappealling to the unexperienced or differently interested.
Here, there's the misappropriated tech support for the third world:
Most countries need better laws, courts, banks not IT infrastructure.
I would also prefer it if the U.S. had better courts and laws- they're currently better than most countries, but could also stand a lot of improvement. I'm not volunteering as a lobbyist, political activist, or even writing my representatives about those issues. Instead, I do some network administration and general tech support for a couple local non-profits. Are my efforts better spent elsewhere?
The short answer is no:
-I want to build on the knowledge I already have.
-I want to feel satisfied at the end of the day for having solved some small network problem, gotten a donated computer up and running, etc.
-I want an external and personal source of motivation: other volunteers and employees who immediately appreciate and recognize my efforts (and they couldn't have done it themselves) because it helps them do their job.
-I might want to get a paying job doing something similar with the references and skills I've built volunteering.
Large scale societal and infrastructural issues take lots of time, money, and effort beyond the abilities of volunteers to fix alone. It's good to be aware of efforts in those larger-scale issues and support them, but it's easier to get volunteers to do something they already know and want to do. (Contrast with "Hey guys, let's dig a latrine in Cambodia!" recruitment method)
If someone were to go to Senegal or other country with IT work in mind, they may come into intimate contact with the more fundamental problems and shift their efforts accordingly, where as reading a speculative slashdot post about the 'real' problems may put them off from volunteering altogether.
Senegal is a great place to mount an initiative like this because they have access to some serious bandwidth. The SAT-3/WASC/SAFE undersea fibre optic cable landed in Senegal last year, delivering multiple gigabits of internet bandwidth. This is in contast to the previous situation, where basically all of Africa had less bandwidth than the headquarters of my former employer.
But the idea of wiring Senegal is all wrong. What's needed is wireless. Wireless internet (e.g. 802.11b Wi-Fi) is a far more appropriate solution in a country like Senegal where traditional wireline infrastructure is going to be subject to harsh environmental conditions and being destroyed by political unrest. Wi-Fi long-distance links can span 30 km in a single hop, and the towers like cell towers can be powered with generators. Wi-Fi delivers true broadband, 802.11b is 10Mbps, and 802.11a and 802.11g can deliver more like 30Mbps.
Broadband is essential. With broadband you can deliver the killer app (yeah, I said killer app) of the rural internet which is Voice over IP. People in Senegal, well, the literacy rate isn't so high, and VoIP is what's really useful to people as it allows them to call members of their family who may be off making money in other parts of the world, to call into town to check crop prices, to call their relatives in the city. Of course this requires policy to make sure that VoIP is legal and that the national telco doesn't try to block it to protect their own profits.
If you're interested in wireless long-distance links, you might be interested in a mailing list on the subject, wireless-longhaul@openict.net. You can subscribe here, and the mailing list home page is here.
home page
The best answer is in an article I wrote, available here: More than one way to make a difference
You can also find more info about my Peace Corps experience here: Two Years, Two Months
The requirements you listed are spot-on. Note that if you don't have knowledge of Spanish or French, having a science or engineering degree can do just as much to help get you in to the Peace Corps. (Most applicants are liberal arts majors without any technical skills that the Peace Corps needs.)
I could see 3 or 4 months, but 2 years of my life to be a volunteer?
Two years is nothing -- a small fraction of your normal life span -- especially when you consider the impact those two years could have on your life. Think about it: What would you do with those two years in the U.S.? Work a nine-to-five job so you can buy that new computer and a big screen TV? I'd prefer to spend the time traveling the world, making friends, learning a new language, and discovering places I've only seen in National Geographic. But that's just me. If you can only commit three months, try the GeekCorps.
Peace corps only uses US "recruits", therefore I cannot bring my contribution through peacecorps! I wonder why!!
http://ebgp.net/ccc/