[UPDATE 5/31: VOTING FOR EPIC CHANGE ON IDEABLOB ENDS TODAY AT 11:59:59 PM CST. PLEASE VOTE NOW AT http://bit.ly/ideablob. OUR LEAD IS NOW JUST 25 VOTES SO YOUR VOTE IS CRITICAL.]

As you probably know if you’re following the blog, Epic Change is now an Ideablob finalist - if you haven’t already voted at http://bit.ly/ideablob, I’ve no doubt you will after reading this post.  If you’re a blogger & would be generous enough to post about our Ideablob efforts on your blog, I hope you’ll do so with Zemanta’s “Blogging for a Cause” language, so Epic Change can win additional funds through your support.

Just wanted to give you an update on voting from Tanzania. I think this photo says it all:

More photos can be found here.

Just imagine how difficult it is to vote online in Arusha - to secure transport to an internet cafe, pay for web access, hope the spotty power grid is working, and use connections that are effectively at dial-up speeds to access heavy websites created primarily for Western audiences. Many haven’t used the internet before; most didn’t have email accounts; English is a second language. In this case, classrooms of children have to wait patiently in line outside for their opportunity to use the computer.  But hope is something they do have, and hard work is par for the course.

I share this as a reminder that this isn’t an effort in which “we” are giving to “them”. Hardly. We are collaborating together to build a better world for all of us…one in which children have the best possible opportunity to grow up & make invaluable contributions to our shared future. To be fair, the lion’s share of the work is being led in Tanzania, where Mama Lucy, the students and the teachers are, creating an educational environment that’s second to none in their area, based on national exam scores.

I also share this in hopes that you’ll realize just how simple it is for us to take just a minute, click a few buttons, and make a real difference in a community that is working so hard to create a better future for itself.  Despite geography, we’re all really part of the same community.  To vote now, just go to http://bit.ly/ideablob.  Remember, since the winnings will be used to build a tech lab at Shepherds Junior (solar power has already been installed and nearly 20 nearly-new laptops have been donated!), you’ll be helping create an entirely new level of access for this community and offering the world the opportunity to engage in conversation and learn from them too.

Here’s a few more updates from my inbox & text messages from Tanzania that make it clear just how much hope they have, and just how hard they’re working…in case you had any doubt:

AN EMAIL FROM MAMA LUCY

Received today (5/26):

Stacey,

I hope everything is well with you. The parents, teachers, students, friends and the community around the school are so excited with voting for Epic Change as they know what you are trying to do is for the benefit of their community.

Everyone wants to vote, but here the network is mostly very slow, so they are spending much time waiting on the queue / line to vote. But many are voting.

I’ve attached few photos of children and others while voting. The pupils are saying this is only their chance to have Technology Lab, so they don’t want to lose ;) Hope their dream will come to be true!

Wish you good luck!
Mama Lucy

EMAILS FROM PARENTS

Received 5/23:

Dear Sir/Madam:

Am Joel from Tanzania and I have a son at Shepherds Junior Academy and I need to give you a vot, but when I open the www.epicchange.org I can not find the steps to follow that I can do proper voting.

Help me
Joel mrkivuyo

__________________________________________________

Also received 5/23:

Stacey,

I have been trying to follow the simplest information and I dont know why am not getting into this thing. Am trembling right now because I have never failed a simple exam like this and I feel ashamed. I have been trying this with my son Gideon yesterday but the same thing is repeating. I have been with mama Lucy this morning and she has a bunch of student with her for the vote. I will go and see her again if she has succeded. I know it is just a small thing which is tricking me, I will find a way out and hopefully I will be a help for hundreds of people who will like to vote for our school!

Wish you all the best - Together we excel!
gidori

[Of course, Mr. Gidori figured it out. Before we responded, he wrote...]

Wooow!!!
Succeeded at last!

Just before I left the Internet cafe I noticed the problem. I had some emails which were in the spam box which am not used to read and that is where my confirmation for the vote was being hiden….I will lead many to vote for the school as well.

Am so happy now leaving this room.

Love you!
Gidori

A FEW DAYS TEXTS FROM TANZANIA (excerpts…)

[I know this post is a little long, so if you're interested in my thoughts on how limited web access may create a cultural bias in the outcome of social change competitions, by all means, read on. If not, however, just vote now at http://bit.ly/ideablob and then ask all your friends to do the same!!!]

NOW, ALL OF THIS GOT ME TO THINKING…
What if we hadn’t been involved? Would this incredible social innovator who’s now built one of the best primary schools in Arusha have any shot at winning a competition in which the winner is selected by online votes?

The truth is, she’s definitely scrappy and determined, so maybe - but the odds are undoubtedly stacked against her.  It is undeniable that entrants to contests like these from the US and other places with widespread high-speed internet and computer access have a vast leg up.  Given that American & European social entrepreneurs likely have far fewer barriers in other respects as well, it seems folly to give them yet another significant advantage in the selection process…especially when solutions developed in other parts of the world may, in fact, be the most effective and least expensive because of their creators’ deep experience in potential communities of impact.

To be clear, for this current competition (Ideablob), only US entrants are permitted, which probably makes sense given their business objectives & creates a somewhat level playing field.  But what about Ashoka’s Changemakers (not to single them out - they’re just one example) and other social change competitions that accept entrants from across the globe and seek to unearth the most innovative, effective solutions to the world’s most pressing social problems?  Should competitions like those be using online votes to select winners?  My guess is it’s just one more advantage for the rich white kids.  (To be fair, people like me, though in my own country, “rich” isn’t quite the appropriate adjective.)  While I’m absolutely certain that the intent of competitions like Changemakers (which has a beautiful and vastly improved new site, by the way) and others is absolutely to discover the best solutions, regardless of geography, I’m just not certain online voting is the best way to go about it…at least not yet.

Skoll’s Social Edge blog recently asked: Are the Only Innovations in Social Entrepreneurship Anglo-Saxon? Though you might think so sitting at social change conferences like SoCap09, the Skoll World Forum and others,  the answer is: Absolutely not.  Clearly, there are brilliant indigenous solutions that are simply not being seen or resourced - and we simply cannot afford to foster or tolerate systems that overlook innovators from parts of the world with limited web access - who may, because of their life experience or out of necessity, be able to imagine more effective, less expensive possibilities.

I know, people will say, “no voting mechanism is perfect.”  And they’re right.  But if we’re going to get it wrong, let’s at least not foster a system that’s so clearly culturally-biased in a field that so clearly shouldn’t be.  For now, let’s use a cross-cultural panel of judges if we must.  Or maybe there’s a smart mobile phone voting solution that just might work.

Folks also suggest crowds are great decision-makers.  Let’s not fool ourselves.  Large, representative, informed, unbiased crowds, maybe.  But that’s a long way off for most of the social change platforms I’ve seen - these tools are nascent, have relatively small communities, and few users that are consistent, invested, long-term participants.  Perhaps Change.org will emerge as a community large enough to truly be representative and unbiased, I don’t know.  Right now, however, the vast majority of voters in online social change competitions are those driven there by contest entrants.   Until that changes, I believe online voting is a seriously flawed, culturally-biased way to select social innovators in which to invest. I know the tools are sexy and the marketing benefits alluring, but it’s the social change not the social media we should be focusing on, IMHO - let’s hope one doesn’t get in the way of the other.

Of course, this conversation doesn’t really even touch on the broader criticisms of what some some call social change “popularity contests.” Even though I’ve worked hard to cultivate an online community of supporters that will support me in such efforts (thank goodness!), I’ve heard many bright colleagues suggest that social change competitions, in their current incarnation, waste valuable resources, sabotage potential collaboration and fail to surface the best solutions.  I’ll leave you with comments from three savvy social change tweeters who got involved in the conversation when I posed this question on twitter:

“If some entrants come from places with limited web access, is it fair to use online votes to select winners of social change contests?”

Suffice it to say, there’s got to be a better way. Until we find it, though, Epic Change will continue to participate in social change competitions that raise visibility and funds for our efforts to resource social innovators like Mama Lucy.

Oh, and improved access starts right here, with you.  If you haven’t already, VOTE now on Ideablob so that Epic Change can earn $10k toward funding a school technology lab in Tanzania.

Posted: May 26th, 2009 under The Foundry, Updates from Mama.
Comments: 19

Tomorrow is huge. It’s the pudding. You know, where the proof is. We’ll be launching some beautifully designed holiday cards and gifts that share the stories of the kids at our partner school in Tanzania. Their sale seeks to prove our hypothesis: compelling stories of hope are assets that people in need can use to raise the income necessary to transform their own communities. If you believe that’s possible, and want to help us prove that it is, I hope you’ll make a purchase and help us spread the word.

I preface with that because I am completely consumed with hope and hard work, but got a couple of fabulous emails from Tanzania that I couldn’t wait to share, so I’m taking a welcome break from the grindstone to post a quick update.

The first was from Leah, a fourth grader who’s one of the brightest in her class. She wrote me this short note:

I want to tell you that yesterday I did the national examination. I promise you that we will win the exam. I love you.

Each year, students across Tanzania in grades 4 and higher take annual national exams. Since our partner school in Tanzania just expanded this year to include Class 4, this was the school’s first opportunity to participate. The day after I received Leah’s note, I got this one from Teacher Nancy Nashilu, the fourth grade instructor. I was brought to tears when I read what she had to say in an email with the subject heading “STORM IS OVER”. She wrote:

Is it real that class 4’s have done their national examination? Is it true that we’ve lifted the heavy luggage we had carried? Unbelievable.

Shepherds Junior, with the help of Epic Change, has managed to make a big step in life by having their first Class 4 doing their National Examination. Great. I personally interviewed my students one day before that very day, and they thanked their teachers for the good preparation we had done for them. They promised me to do wonders. I saw the determination and the courage they had when I was interrogating them, and I felt something in them. Being a class teacher and having the first class at our school to sit for the national examination, made me struggle and surrender all my energies together with my colleagues to see our students succeed. I was chosen as the assistant exam proctor. On that very morning, 12.11.08, I was given the mathematics tests to take into the examination room. Behind me was the lead proctor and the headmaster. I walked as a bride holding the papers on my hand. When I reached in the room I looked on my beloved students and I felt tears rolling from my eyes. Not that I was sad, but because I had faith and trust that they will make it.

The room was so quiet in such a way you could have heard intestines colliding in the stomach. And as I was opening the sealed envelope containing the exams, I knew to expect nineteen 100s in math from my class. After the examination, the students told me the paper was as easy as ABC! I felt like flying because this first exam got such a positive response from my lovely students, but I had no wings. The first day ended with this saying of “YES WE CAN” which reminded me of the current U.S.A. President and how he made it with the same words and I got even higher hopes for my students. The second day everything went on accordingly still with the same saying. Now we are eagerly waiting for their results to see whether they will win the battle…like Obama.

Whatever your politics, you can’t help but feel this fabulous teacher’s love, pride and hope for her students. I wish I could explain to Leah, Nancy, and to you, just how much these notes mean to me.

I’ve heard a lot of talk at recent conferences about metrics for social innovators and socially responsible businesses. So many seem to measure quantity. How many people were served? How much was donated? How many donors participated? How many people visited the website? These are obviously critical metrics, but I believe we need to expand the discussion to focus not only on the scope of our impact, but on its quality and depth. Test scores are one way to do that, as are surveys of targeted populations (provided you can obtain frank feedback, which is sometimes difficult).

For us, it’s more than how many students are we impacting, it’s the quality of the education they receive. For our partners who are passionately committed to delivering the best possible education to the children in their care, that’s the pudding. You know, where the proof is.

I can’t wait to share the school’s test scores with you when they arrive.

Posted: November 17th, 2008 under The Foundry, Updates from Mama.
Comments: none

Today, Mama Lucy writes on the subject of poverty in commemoration of Blog Action Day 2008. According to the site, “Today thousands of bloggers will unite to discuss a single issue - poverty. The day aims to raise awareness, initiate action and to shake the web!” Since many bloggers will likely be posting on the topic of poverty from an outsider’s perspective, I thought it would be interesting to supplement their coverage with the views of people, like Mama Lucy, who have been directly impacted by poverty and have lived their entire lives in one of the poorest countries in the world. What she has to say is powerful. She wrote:

What is Poverty?

• Lack of something which otherwise could be of great importance for you. For example: basic human needs, good sources of income, or ability to think well.
• Not having enough to meet basic needs.
• Having something but not in a good quality which is supposed to be.

According to my first and last definition, I don’t consider myself as a poor person. I’ve no good sources of income but I’ve the ability to think and utilise the little I’m having so as to bring change to my community.

When talking about poor people, others’ minds go straight to not having money, shelter, food or clothes. For me, it’s more than that. Anyone who has money but their thinking capacity is poor/low, is poorer than the one with no basic human needs. This is because, what you are having can easily perish if you’ll not know how to use it.

What I think some wazungu (foreigners) misunderstand about poverty (which is good for them to know) is:

• Lacking basic needs does not mean your thinking capacity must be low.
• They sometimes think that because Africans are living in poor countries, therefore they cannot think about themselves. They think that since they don’t have money, so they can’t be able to plan, implement, monitor and supervise anything even if given chance or supported.
• They should know that, even if a person/community is poor, the best way to help is to listen and give chance to the beneficiaries to know what really is their problem, and what they think is their priority. You may think they need good road first but their priority is school, hospital or water. If you’ll not give them chance, you’ll end up doing their last thing at first.
• Poverty cannot be eradicated by just the ideas of one side. Sharing ideas of both sides can help and bring changes easily.
• Not the ways which has eliminated poverty in another country or community can be applied to every part and bring success.

For me to be rich is good thing if, you’ll be rich and happy. I’ve seen some people who are very rich but not happy at all. That is nonsense to me.

Education is the key to life. If good Education could be offered to all children, from their early years up to colleges, with time, poverty could not be an issue anymore. EDUCATION HAS POWER! This is why I’m among the people who are trying to bring even a slight change to this sector.

I hate the effects of poverty. Some of them being:

• Diseases which mostly are caused by low standard of living, which has connection to Edudation too.
• Death at early ages
• No say to your properties. Those being just few I’ve mentioned.

Let’s join hands to fight POVERTY.

Regards,
Mama Lucy.

Posted: October 15th, 2008 under The Foundry, Updates from Mama.
Comments: 3