A crash course in changing the world.
As the 3rd of 3 girls in my family, I am used to get "hand me downs" from my siblings. I did not appreciate this system when I was younger but today I love it! My sisters are so used to handing stuff down to me such that all I have to do is stare at my sisters shoes for a couple of seconds and they will offer them to me - lucky…
ContinueAdded by Shakwei Mbindyo on March 13, 2010 at 9:23pm — 2 Comments
60% of Kenya's population live in the rural areas. Out of the 40% who live in the urban areas, almost half lives in over 100 slums and squatter settlements. The slum areas of Nairobi are swollen to record numbers. The most famous (or infamous) urban slum in Kenya - Kibera - accounts for less than 1% of Nairobi's total area, but holds more than a quarter of its population.
Many of the people living in urban slums are educated young men and women who moved to the city in search…
ContinueAdded by Shakwei Mbindyo on March 12, 2010 at 2:00pm — 4 Comments
My search for a hero has taken my across the globe. From Wangari Maathai and Dr. James Mwangi, to President Paul Kagame, to Prof. Mohammad Yunus, to Paul Meyer ... and the list goes on!
I finaly settled for Cliff Schmidt of Ghana via the USA. I first heard Cliff Schmidt speak to a Googlers regarding his innocation the "Talking Book". The Talking Book is a simple, durable and portable audio…
ContinueAdded by Shakwei Mbindyo on March 11, 2010 at 9:05pm — 4 Comments
Like many Africans, I have an "ancestral home" (or shags as we call it in Kenya) where we have a farm. Just 10 years ago my shags was considered to be in the RURAL areas. But with the growth in urban population and the expansion of the cities, my shags in now considered to be in the suburb. Which means that real estate is now booming business as all the farms are targeted for shopping malls and apartment complexes.
So, who will feed all the people "encroaching" on…
ContinueAdded by Shakwei Mbindyo on March 10, 2010 at 9:04am — 17 Comments
Every minute somewhere in the world a woman dies in pregnancy or childbirth. In my country Kenya, 22 women…
ContinueAdded by Shakwei Mbindyo on March 8, 2010 at 6:30am — 4 Comments
As I continue my search for a hero, I came across the term "assistive technology" which i learnt is technology targeted towards persons with disabilities.
In Kenya (and I reckon most of the developing world), if you are blind, deaf or otherwise impared, it means you are dumb. You are generally excluded from formal educational opportunities at an early age and even shunned by your family and community. Although there are numerous…
ContinueAdded by Shakwei Mbindyo on March 5, 2010 at 2:30pm — 6 Comments
In my search for a hero, I came across the story of Brigham Young University student engineers who designed an innovative and cost-effective apparatus that enables poor women from Tanzania turn abundant coconuts into valuable coconut oil in 2008. Their story highlighted here is further evidence of what social innovation is all about. I searched to see if/how…
ContinueAdded by Shakwei Mbindyo on March 5, 2010 at 12:00pm — 3 Comments
Driving to work this morning along the very bery busy Langata Road in Nairobi I heard the story of Evans Wadongo. Instead of brewing moonshine - as many freshmen in Kenya are wont to do - Evans started working on a solar lantern while in university.…
ContinueAdded by Shakwei Mbindyo on March 5, 2010 at 10:11am — 4 Comments
I spent this morning sharing expiences with some members of a research team at Strathmore University in Nairobi, kenya. This team of young researchers has recieved a grant from HP to do research on the use of ICT in Enhancing Teaching and Curriculum Delivery in Marginalized Secondary Schools in Kenya. The aim of the project is to build capacity and champion learning of ICTs use in secondary schools with little computing resources in…
ContinueAdded by Shakwei Mbindyo on March 4, 2010 at 5:41pm — 11 Comments
Although Kenyan and African, I have lived in all but 2 continents and consider myself a citizen of the world. But I have a stong connection with Africa which (not suprisingly) I consider the most beautiful place ever. "Popular" stories in the media focus on poverty, hunger, disease and debt - true challenges for most Africans. But what about the joy, generosity, crazy humour, rich history and culture; love for soccer, singing & education? What about the stunning landscape and wildlife?…
ContinueAdded by Shakwei Mbindyo on March 4, 2010 at 4:57pm — 4 Comments
For the past few months, my email signature has been (and still is) the African proverb "To go quickly go alone, to go far go together". Though I read it everyday - and share it willy nilly with the rest of the world - I have not thought about "going far together" and social innovation.
As I think of this proverb today, I think about the importance of honoring individuals, communities and cultures in social innovation. The usual /…
ContinueAdded by Shakwei Mbindyo on March 4, 2010 at 9:30am — 3 Comments
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