Today I said goodbye to Melody and yesterday I said goodbye to Fatuma. It was very, very sad. We all really bonded as a group and it was so great working together and getting to know each other over the past two weeks. We worked and played together and we became very close to one another. It made me extremely sad to say goodbye, but I know I have made two very close friends forever. They are both wonderful young ladies with the most amazing energy, drive and enthusiasm. Each of them was specially selected by Camfed.
Melody does mentoring and monitoring of the Cama girls and Fatuma runs the IT center in Samfya. Each was selected because she shows amazing promise and is absolutely devoted and dependable. The 4 of us (along with Lazarus) make a great team and have had such a great time traveling together. There is no doubt in my mind that each of these young ladies, both sponsored by Camfed, will be hugely successful in their careers and give back tenfold what Camfed has given to each of them. They are just two of the many girls who, once trained by Camfed, have taken that training and their own experiences and parlayed all of it into becoming amazing trainers and extremely admirable young ladies. They are now training other girls in Africa to learn the same skills they have learned and to potentially develop more incredibly talented trainers for future Cama programs.
Next week I head off to the Western district with a new group of mentors and trainers, along with Lazarus. I am excited for the next phase of the project and the challenges we will face over in the west. I also love teaching and mentoring, so this will give me a chance to focus on training the new girls on being IT trainers and to let me focus on teaching the new Cama groups over in the west. But I will miss Fatuma and Melody very much. At least I will get to see Fatuma again in 10 days time when I head back to Samfya.
Saturday afternoon, Sunday (today) and tomorrow I have time off. I am really looking forward to it as it is long overdue and I am excited to catch up on blogging, reading, checking emails, playing guitar and watching a couple of cheesy movies at the Serenity Guest Lodge. And I will eat Chips Mayaya in honor of Melody.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
Girl power !
The groups we have been meeting have been pretty incredible. Initially Camfed selects some top performers from grade 12 and sponsors them for a special training program geared towards teaching business management and project management skills. These skills include creating budgets, communication, price structuring, finance and microfinance, accounting and budgeting, procurement and project management.
The girls are also trained on IT skills such as introduction to computer operation, troubleshooting, using email and the internet, printing, word processing, and creating spreadsheets. They also learn how to use the internet and send emails using their Camfed-issued mobile phones. After the girls finish their project and business training, they are divided into groups (referred to as Cama groups). Each group chooses a business that they want to run using their newly acquired skills and they are mentored through the business start-up all the way through to the independent and successful running of the business.
The groups are running businesses such as jewelry making, clothing manufacturing, making handbags from recycled plastic bags, running child daycare, running a photo and print shop, selling mobile phone talk time, selling mountable battery powered light bulbs, running a bakery, selling sweets and candies, and tourism and travel agency. We visit the girls on a regular basis to continue the mentoring and training process and make sure the groups are on track with their businesses.
Throughout this process the girls have been faced with a whole series of challenges. The girls live in rural areas and getting together for meetings and to run the business can pose a problem. The distance between group members and no money for transport rings about problems rotating the phones. At times the group member with the phone does not come to the meetings. We suggested budgeting some of the company’s funds for transport and told those girls with the phones that they really must make the effort to attend the meetings when they are the ones with the phone in their possession.
Many of the girls have no electricity so the girls have a challenge recharging their phones, being able to send emails and communicating with one another. As we helped them charge their phones using the portable battery, the groups informed us that it cost them 2000 Kwacha (about $0.50) every time they charge their phones. We suggested that some groups could integrate this method of making money into their business model and offer such a service – recharging mobile phones for others. The phones cost money to use and Camfed sponsors the topping up the credit on the SIM cards so they can use the telephones.
The girls told us they are lacking training and it is evident that many of them do not have much experience using the phones or the computers. I suggested another 1 or 2 sessions could be planned with the group leader during one or more of the group meetings. They need to have more time to train in order to be comfortable with the phones. If they are not comfortable using the phones and computers, they will not use them.
The Cama Trainers have been trained more thoroughly than the other members. The members must learn to ask for assistance when they do not know how to do something. What’s more, the trainers should be proactive in offering their services to the other members and passing on knowledge and training so the girls can do it for themselves, not just the trainer doing it for other members.
If the group members have children present, breaking the training session in 2 parts and allowing for a break helps maintain interest and focus. The group told us that the phones enhance communication between the members and the group leader, the ILO trainer as well as between members. We pointed out that the phones could also be used for communicating via email with suppliers and customers.
Regardless of the challenges they face, the girls are showing amazing progress. The group seems to be excited about using email and the internet over the phones and seems to be really gaining in confidence using the T1 and E2 computers. They are even taking initiative to try to find creative workaround solutions and teaching themselves new things on the computer.
The girls are also trained on IT skills such as introduction to computer operation, troubleshooting, using email and the internet, printing, word processing, and creating spreadsheets. They also learn how to use the internet and send emails using their Camfed-issued mobile phones. After the girls finish their project and business training, they are divided into groups (referred to as Cama groups). Each group chooses a business that they want to run using their newly acquired skills and they are mentored through the business start-up all the way through to the independent and successful running of the business.
The groups are running businesses such as jewelry making, clothing manufacturing, making handbags from recycled plastic bags, running child daycare, running a photo and print shop, selling mobile phone talk time, selling mountable battery powered light bulbs, running a bakery, selling sweets and candies, and tourism and travel agency. We visit the girls on a regular basis to continue the mentoring and training process and make sure the groups are on track with their businesses.
Throughout this process the girls have been faced with a whole series of challenges. The girls live in rural areas and getting together for meetings and to run the business can pose a problem. The distance between group members and no money for transport rings about problems rotating the phones. At times the group member with the phone does not come to the meetings. We suggested budgeting some of the company’s funds for transport and told those girls with the phones that they really must make the effort to attend the meetings when they are the ones with the phone in their possession.
Many of the girls have no electricity so the girls have a challenge recharging their phones, being able to send emails and communicating with one another. As we helped them charge their phones using the portable battery, the groups informed us that it cost them 2000 Kwacha (about $0.50) every time they charge their phones. We suggested that some groups could integrate this method of making money into their business model and offer such a service – recharging mobile phones for others. The phones cost money to use and Camfed sponsors the topping up the credit on the SIM cards so they can use the telephones.
The girls told us they are lacking training and it is evident that many of them do not have much experience using the phones or the computers. I suggested another 1 or 2 sessions could be planned with the group leader during one or more of the group meetings. They need to have more time to train in order to be comfortable with the phones. If they are not comfortable using the phones and computers, they will not use them.
The Cama Trainers have been trained more thoroughly than the other members. The members must learn to ask for assistance when they do not know how to do something. What’s more, the trainers should be proactive in offering their services to the other members and passing on knowledge and training so the girls can do it for themselves, not just the trainer doing it for other members.
If the group members have children present, breaking the training session in 2 parts and allowing for a break helps maintain interest and focus. The group told us that the phones enhance communication between the members and the group leader, the ILO trainer as well as between members. We pointed out that the phones could also be used for communicating via email with suppliers and customers.
Regardless of the challenges they face, the girls are showing amazing progress. The group seems to be excited about using email and the internet over the phones and seems to be really gaining in confidence using the T1 and E2 computers. They are even taking initiative to try to find creative workaround solutions and teaching themselves new things on the computer.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Solar powerful stuff
Today we went to Lwela High in Eastern Milenge. Eight E2 computers were installed here and the computers are in excellent condition. The school is incredibly grateful for the computers and all the surrounding villages can benefit from the computers installed at the school. The school has no electricity and has a real need for solar power. Currently they use a generator for powering the computers.
The teachers admitted that if they had solar power they would definitely use the computers more frequently and hold more classes than they can at present. It seems clear that a school like this could really benefit from solar power. Can Camfed deliver solar panels and multiple batteries to this school? In fact, I presented the school with two options to facilitate raising the funds to get this accomplished. They could run an IT center for the surrounding villages charging for the use of the computers. This is common practice in and around Zambia. Also, when the school stops using the generator all the time they could reallocate those funds to a reimbursement fund for the solar panels and batteries. Currently, the school spends 65,000 Kwacha (about $15) every two weeks.
The teachers admitted that if they had solar power they would definitely use the computers more frequently and hold more classes than they can at present. It seems clear that a school like this could really benefit from solar power. Can Camfed deliver solar panels and multiple batteries to this school? In fact, I presented the school with two options to facilitate raising the funds to get this accomplished. They could run an IT center for the surrounding villages charging for the use of the computers. This is common practice in and around Zambia. Also, when the school stops using the generator all the time they could reallocate those funds to a reimbursement fund for the solar panels and batteries. Currently, the school spends 65,000 Kwacha (about $15) every two weeks.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Rough roads, smooth travels
For the last two days we went to Milenge East and West. It takes 2-3 hours one way to drive to each one from Mansa, where we were staying for the last two nights, so there was a lot of driving to do. It was not easy driving as the roads are dirt or mud, depending on the rain (and it is now rainy season). The road was one long continuous stretch of enormous potholes, some so large I’d more aptly call them craters then potholes, so it was not possible to pass without a 4X4 vehicle. It must have been exhausting for Lazarus, our driver, but even for us it was not easy.
To start your day that way was bad enough before a long work day, but then to get back in the vehicle and punish your rump like that is not easy. And of course once we get back to the guest house we always have another 3-4 hours of report writing to do. The days are starting to get very long, but the work (at least all save the report writing) is very stimulating.
As we drove and listened to music I was taking lots of video. I am sure it will leave a lot to be desired in terms of smooth filmmaking, as the roads threw me all over the place, and hence the camera I was holding. Lazarus asked if I wanted to step out of the vehicle and take some footage of the vehicles descending down a steep bend and I gladly agreed. When I got out of the vehicle, I started running down the dirt road to get a good distance ahead of the vehicles and to save a little time, but as I was running, I noticed 2 young Zambian boys ahead of me.
As I ran down the hill towards them, they froze in their steps and just started at me, the Muzungu (white man). After watching me run with some degree of caution they whipped around and turn to run as fast as they could in the opposite direction. It seems I was terrifying them...the cray, white man clumsily sprinting down the hill towards them. I laughed out loud at thge site of the, running, but I felt bad that their first "white man experience" was one of terror.
When we arrived in Milenge West, we set out to install another set of solar panels, a large battery and the infamous inverter, as well as the new computers. We were sure we had it down pat after our last install (followed by a re-visit to set it all up correctly in Timba). But we were not expecting the inverter cable to be completely missing from the set of equipment that had been shipped well ahead of us. The inverter cable runs from the battery to the external DC terminal port on the inverter. When we arrived on site, not only did we find out that a teacher had taken one of the 8 computers we were supposed to install that day off-site, but the inverter cable was missing and 1 of 8 keyboards was not working properly. As there is no satellite or telephone signal anywhere within 50 km, we were forced to find a solution on our own without consulting Aleutia, Aptivate or Camfed UK.
So we sat down with our tools and with the help of Albert and Lazarus, we ad-hoc built our own inverter cable with spare parts. I was quite impressed with the work we had done and when we hooked everything up to the battery and solar panels, it all worked well! So we installed the 7 out of 8 E2 computers and used a spare keyboard that we brought along just in case as a replacement. A job well done!
To start your day that way was bad enough before a long work day, but then to get back in the vehicle and punish your rump like that is not easy. And of course once we get back to the guest house we always have another 3-4 hours of report writing to do. The days are starting to get very long, but the work (at least all save the report writing) is very stimulating.
As we drove and listened to music I was taking lots of video. I am sure it will leave a lot to be desired in terms of smooth filmmaking, as the roads threw me all over the place, and hence the camera I was holding. Lazarus asked if I wanted to step out of the vehicle and take some footage of the vehicles descending down a steep bend and I gladly agreed. When I got out of the vehicle, I started running down the dirt road to get a good distance ahead of the vehicles and to save a little time, but as I was running, I noticed 2 young Zambian boys ahead of me.
As I ran down the hill towards them, they froze in their steps and just started at me, the Muzungu (white man). After watching me run with some degree of caution they whipped around and turn to run as fast as they could in the opposite direction. It seems I was terrifying them...the cray, white man clumsily sprinting down the hill towards them. I laughed out loud at thge site of the, running, but I felt bad that their first "white man experience" was one of terror.
When we arrived in Milenge West, we set out to install another set of solar panels, a large battery and the infamous inverter, as well as the new computers. We were sure we had it down pat after our last install (followed by a re-visit to set it all up correctly in Timba). But we were not expecting the inverter cable to be completely missing from the set of equipment that had been shipped well ahead of us. The inverter cable runs from the battery to the external DC terminal port on the inverter. When we arrived on site, not only did we find out that a teacher had taken one of the 8 computers we were supposed to install that day off-site, but the inverter cable was missing and 1 of 8 keyboards was not working properly. As there is no satellite or telephone signal anywhere within 50 km, we were forced to find a solution on our own without consulting Aleutia, Aptivate or Camfed UK.
So we sat down with our tools and with the help of Albert and Lazarus, we ad-hoc built our own inverter cable with spare parts. I was quite impressed with the work we had done and when we hooked everything up to the battery and solar panels, it all worked well! So we installed the 7 out of 8 E2 computers and used a spare keyboard that we brought along just in case as a replacement. A job well done!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Geeks unite !
Camfed is installing two different models of Aleutia computers – the T1 and the E2. The E2 computer is the older model and the T1 the newer. The E2, though it uses about 3 less watts of power than the T1, has no internal disk drive and uses an 8 GB removable flash card as its only source of storage. It is also smaller than the already impressively small T1. On one hand the flash card is nice as it can be removed and easily replaced with a new flash card in case the first one stops working. On the other hand, it is much less flexible than the T1 which has the internal drive and still the option to boot on an external USB memory stick.
That is one of the wonderful and impressive things about Ubuntu – you can boot off of a memory stick. Even a Windows or Mac system which has never seen Ubuntu before can boot off of the memory stick. When you do boot, you are then presented with a list of options, including the possibility of installing Ubuntu on the system on which you just booted up. Impressive stuff! And the OS GUI (operating system graphical user interface – essentially the “Windows” we are used to working on) is so simple to use.
If you have worked with a Mac or a Windows system it will take only minutes to familiarize yourself with using Ubuntu’s menus and applications. Using the command line is something altogether different. It is Linux so it uses mostly UNIX commands. I grew up on DOS (Windows) command lines but became familiar with UNIX command lines while I worked on UNIX middleware at Philip Morris and worked for 2 years on ZENIX (a different “flavor” of UNIX released by SCO - Santa Cruz Operations). So Linux is not completely foreign to me, thankfully, because I have needed to use the Linux command lines a more than few times for support out in the filed on this project.
That is one of the wonderful and impressive things about Ubuntu – you can boot off of a memory stick. Even a Windows or Mac system which has never seen Ubuntu before can boot off of the memory stick. When you do boot, you are then presented with a list of options, including the possibility of installing Ubuntu on the system on which you just booted up. Impressive stuff! And the OS GUI (operating system graphical user interface – essentially the “Windows” we are used to working on) is so simple to use.
If you have worked with a Mac or a Windows system it will take only minutes to familiarize yourself with using Ubuntu’s menus and applications. Using the command line is something altogether different. It is Linux so it uses mostly UNIX commands. I grew up on DOS (Windows) command lines but became familiar with UNIX command lines while I worked on UNIX middleware at Philip Morris and worked for 2 years on ZENIX (a different “flavor” of UNIX released by SCO - Santa Cruz Operations). So Linux is not completely foreign to me, thankfully, because I have needed to use the Linux command lines a more than few times for support out in the filed on this project.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Crafty computers
This morning we headed off to Samfya where Camfed has an IT Resource Centre. On the ride we had a very interesting discussion about witchcraft. Apparently, there are well known and wide spread rumors of witchcraft in and around Samfya. Hearing this made me very curious and I urged the others in our group to tell me more, but they were not willing/able to go into much more detail. Whether it was due to the fact that it made them nervous to talk about it or they simply did not have much more information about the rumors, the group did not talk much more about witchcraft in Samfya other than to say that some of them heard of these rumors.
It turns out that many in Zambia and other parts of Africa can view growing wealthy or being "rich" as something evil. In other words, having too much money or making too much money can be seen as evil or going against God. I wondered if the accumulation of money seemed unachievable to some and so they could easily explain it all away by labeling it as evil. Or was it the fact that they had so often witnessed riches or wealthy people leading to corruption? Colonists, imperialists and mineral-centric entrepreneurs that Africans have heard of from the past. Moreover, many governments inside and outside of Africa have seen corruption grow out of the prospect of great wealth.
Either way, there were many in Samfya that started describing some charities' practices of giving money to needy people around Africa for “no reason” as witchcraft. There are those Samfyans that see giving equipment or supplies to Africans or sponsorship of businesses as witchcraft. I even heard there were rumors of some being put to death around Samfya after being accused of witchcraft.
While we ate outside a small café in the center of Samfya, a police officer walked past us into the café. Everyone sitting around the table went silent and started whispering amongst themselves in Bemba. I asked what they were talking about and they said nothing. But once the officer left the café and walked past us into the distance, someone explained to me that he, too, had been accused of being involved in witchcraft. And I have to admit that even though I did not have any real fear, it all seemed a little bit freaky. In fact, I know that many forms of witchcraft exist and I personally believe that a few even possibly can work magic...especially some of the voodoo I have read about taking place in remote areas of the world. But witchcraft does not scare me, per se, as I believe it can be used for doing good, too. However, it does really stir my curiosity.
At one point Mr. Rain seemed nervous and even a little disturbed about the talk of magic. But as I know he is a religious man, I reminded him that Jesus rising from the dead and turning water into wine and such religious beliefs can also be seen as forms of magic - but believers see these as a good sort of magic – a magic from God. He reflected for a bit and it seemed to calm him, at least for the time being. A couple of days later he confided in me that he had been thinking a lot about what I had said and that the more he thought about it, the more it made sense to him – that for believers, God and Jesus had also performed miracles or some sort of “good magic”. It seems my words really made him think long and hard about this.
When we arrived at the Samfya Resource Centre (SRC), we met Penelope and discussed what had to be done at the SRC. The router and switch are currently sharing an uninterpretable power supply (UPS) with many other devices including a server and a printer. That means that when the power cuts, which it does very frequently in Samfya, the SRC has 10 minutes maximum of connectivity and then the router and the switch will be cut off.
I proposed moving the router to a dedicated UPS and the switch to another, perhaps shared with the server, and that we have the server do an auto-shutdown 3 minutes after the power outage. Then we can move 4-5 T1 computers to the small batteries that I brought to the SRC. In this configuration, 4-5 T1’s could continue to work on the internet for 6-7 hours after a power outage. This will be a vast improvement to the 10 minutes they currently have from the time the power cuts out.
Today we received very unfortunate news. Melody’s dad was in a car accident and was being transported to a hospital because his injuries were fairly serious. He had 4 broken ribs, a head injury, a dislocated leg and his spinal chord had been shifted. Poor Melody was terribly upset and it really changed the elated mood of the whole group, especially for our vehicle. The 4 of us have grown very close and were having such a wonderful time, and Melody’s energy was an enormous part of this great energy between the 4 of us. The life was sucked right out of her for the next couple of days. What’s more, her boyfriend, Eddy, had called her 3 days earlier to tell her he had 4 deaths in his family in 2 days. Poor Melody - our hearts are with her!
It turns out that many in Zambia and other parts of Africa can view growing wealthy or being "rich" as something evil. In other words, having too much money or making too much money can be seen as evil or going against God. I wondered if the accumulation of money seemed unachievable to some and so they could easily explain it all away by labeling it as evil. Or was it the fact that they had so often witnessed riches or wealthy people leading to corruption? Colonists, imperialists and mineral-centric entrepreneurs that Africans have heard of from the past. Moreover, many governments inside and outside of Africa have seen corruption grow out of the prospect of great wealth.
Either way, there were many in Samfya that started describing some charities' practices of giving money to needy people around Africa for “no reason” as witchcraft. There are those Samfyans that see giving equipment or supplies to Africans or sponsorship of businesses as witchcraft. I even heard there were rumors of some being put to death around Samfya after being accused of witchcraft.
While we ate outside a small café in the center of Samfya, a police officer walked past us into the café. Everyone sitting around the table went silent and started whispering amongst themselves in Bemba. I asked what they were talking about and they said nothing. But once the officer left the café and walked past us into the distance, someone explained to me that he, too, had been accused of being involved in witchcraft. And I have to admit that even though I did not have any real fear, it all seemed a little bit freaky. In fact, I know that many forms of witchcraft exist and I personally believe that a few even possibly can work magic...especially some of the voodoo I have read about taking place in remote areas of the world. But witchcraft does not scare me, per se, as I believe it can be used for doing good, too. However, it does really stir my curiosity.
At one point Mr. Rain seemed nervous and even a little disturbed about the talk of magic. But as I know he is a religious man, I reminded him that Jesus rising from the dead and turning water into wine and such religious beliefs can also be seen as forms of magic - but believers see these as a good sort of magic – a magic from God. He reflected for a bit and it seemed to calm him, at least for the time being. A couple of days later he confided in me that he had been thinking a lot about what I had said and that the more he thought about it, the more it made sense to him – that for believers, God and Jesus had also performed miracles or some sort of “good magic”. It seems my words really made him think long and hard about this.
When we arrived at the Samfya Resource Centre (SRC), we met Penelope and discussed what had to be done at the SRC. The router and switch are currently sharing an uninterpretable power supply (UPS) with many other devices including a server and a printer. That means that when the power cuts, which it does very frequently in Samfya, the SRC has 10 minutes maximum of connectivity and then the router and the switch will be cut off.
I proposed moving the router to a dedicated UPS and the switch to another, perhaps shared with the server, and that we have the server do an auto-shutdown 3 minutes after the power outage. Then we can move 4-5 T1 computers to the small batteries that I brought to the SRC. In this configuration, 4-5 T1’s could continue to work on the internet for 6-7 hours after a power outage. This will be a vast improvement to the 10 minutes they currently have from the time the power cuts out.
Today we received very unfortunate news. Melody’s dad was in a car accident and was being transported to a hospital because his injuries were fairly serious. He had 4 broken ribs, a head injury, a dislocated leg and his spinal chord had been shifted. Poor Melody was terribly upset and it really changed the elated mood of the whole group, especially for our vehicle. The 4 of us have grown very close and were having such a wonderful time, and Melody’s energy was an enormous part of this great energy between the 4 of us. The life was sucked right out of her for the next couple of days. What’s more, her boyfriend, Eddy, had called her 3 days earlier to tell her he had 4 deaths in his family in 2 days. Poor Melody - our hearts are with her!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
The Gift of Printing
Today we passed through Mpika again and went to go see Gift at the Cama Centre. We trained Gift on printing for a second time and this time with an even more in depth look at how to vary size and quality of printing as well as the type of paper they print on.
It was interesting because the girls wanted to simply charge a set fee for printing and a set fee for copying. But I explained to Gift that their costs were essentially labor, paper and toner (and eventually perhaps electricity and rent). I told her that the larger the image and the higher quality the print job, the more toner they use and the more it costs them to produce. I developed a pricing matrix for Gift based on the following:
• 3 varying levels of quality
• 3 different sizes
• paper type (glossy versus matte)
• black and white versus color
• printing versus copying.
Although it seems confusing at first, I do believe their customers would be scared away by some of their pricing if they did not adjust the pricing based on these elements. I was motivated to do come up with this price matrix when the first 24 black and white matte paper copies that we made on Chanda’s request came to 96,000 Kwacha (K) - that is $20!!
We trained Gift on using the solar panels and small battery. Gift is an extraordinarily bright girl. She is very observant and she does a great job teaching the other girls. It is clear she is bright, has a very strong character and is a natural leader. The Cama girls really look up to her and she seems much more mature than her age. On top of all of this, she is striking in appearance, with beautiful, prominent cheekbones and standing just short of 6 feet tall. I told Melody that if Gift lived in the U.S., she would have already been scouted by someone to do runway modeling. Someone pointed out that she is small breasted. “Cheekbones and legs”, I said, “That’s what they really want.”
Melody and I discussed the possibility of creating a database for the Cama girls. The DB would contain detail such as suppliers, goods and services, cost of raw goods and services by region, etc. I think that the Cama girls would find some great information if they had a way to lookup what other groups had done in terms of purchasing, contacts, sourcing goods and services and other data essential to starting and running the businesses.
It was interesting because the girls wanted to simply charge a set fee for printing and a set fee for copying. But I explained to Gift that their costs were essentially labor, paper and toner (and eventually perhaps electricity and rent). I told her that the larger the image and the higher quality the print job, the more toner they use and the more it costs them to produce. I developed a pricing matrix for Gift based on the following:
• 3 varying levels of quality
• 3 different sizes
• paper type (glossy versus matte)
• black and white versus color
• printing versus copying.
Although it seems confusing at first, I do believe their customers would be scared away by some of their pricing if they did not adjust the pricing based on these elements. I was motivated to do come up with this price matrix when the first 24 black and white matte paper copies that we made on Chanda’s request came to 96,000 Kwacha (K) - that is $20!!
We trained Gift on using the solar panels and small battery. Gift is an extraordinarily bright girl. She is very observant and she does a great job teaching the other girls. It is clear she is bright, has a very strong character and is a natural leader. The Cama girls really look up to her and she seems much more mature than her age. On top of all of this, she is striking in appearance, with beautiful, prominent cheekbones and standing just short of 6 feet tall. I told Melody that if Gift lived in the U.S., she would have already been scouted by someone to do runway modeling. Someone pointed out that she is small breasted. “Cheekbones and legs”, I said, “That’s what they really want.”
Melody and I discussed the possibility of creating a database for the Cama girls. The DB would contain detail such as suppliers, goods and services, cost of raw goods and services by region, etc. I think that the Cama girls would find some great information if they had a way to lookup what other groups had done in terms of purchasing, contacts, sourcing goods and services and other data essential to starting and running the businesses.
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