September 2012
3 posts
Reflections on the Summer: Back to A2
As the trip to Kenya finally wound down to a close, reflection began on what to us was yet another incredible summer experience. Twelve months ago, we set the bar high for ourselves and declared it our mission to “continue bringing awareness towards the need to bridge the world’s digital divide” and also play our part in it “by developing and deploying as many of our systems as possible...
Bridging the Digital Divide: “A unified &...
Following the chronicles of “The Kenya System”, while we had managed to test it successfully in the nation’s capital, Nairobi, we unfortunately were unable to set it up at the Amani Children’s Home in Kithoka, Meru. This was because we still did not have the go-ahead to use the solar panels and batteries that were previously shipped there by other donors…
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“There is no passion to be found in playing small – in settling for a life that...”
– #NelsonMandela
July 2012
11 posts
A Race Against Time: Nearing the End
The E-MAGINE system we had built and travelled with to Kenya was to be tested at the Kithoka Amani Children’s Home (KACH) which was set to have solar panels and deep-cycle batteries on hand as we were unable to travel with them or purchase them locally. A massive crate had been shipped to the orphanage from Spain and it was explained that its contents included both panels and batteries. We...
“Education is the most powerful weapon with which you can use to change the...”
– #NelsonMandela (E-MAGINE & S.E.W Kili Climb 2012)
Lewa Education Program (2012 Visit)
During my last few days in Meru, all I remember wishing was that my days had just a few more hours in them! From having to work closely with each of the social-entrepreneurship teams and organizing the final days of the Michiken program, to coordinating meetings for E-MAGINE, and even planning the logistics of my Kilimanjaro Charity Climb (that I decided to do a mere 7 days before the actual...
“It really is true that people are more alike than they are different.”
– #LayneVandenburg
The End of the Beginning
At the end of it all, it was an unbelievably fulfilling experience and a successful one at that for myself and everyone else involved. During our final debrief with just our group of UofM students, we had a chance to go around and share our thoughts with one another on the trip as a whole.
“Going into the project, neither of us knew if even half of what we sought to accomplish was even...
Social Entrepreneuring: Day 10 & 11 (The Finale)
The last two days of the trip saw the students working around the clock to complete and refine their business ideas! This was because at the end of the program, each of the 3 teams were required to present their final ideas in typed up business plans and also pitch their ideas to a group of over 20 people. The audience was filled with esteemed guests including various community leaders some...
Rama.Mwenesi: Can you believe that the US student’s didn’t know each other before coming here beyond 4 meetings together (some of which were group interviews)?
Lillian.Muthoni: That is not possible! Just judging by how close they seem with one another I would have guessed they have all known each other for AT LEAST a year!
Rama.Mwenesi: Mission accomplished....:)
Lillian.Muthoni: This program has really brought us all together in a way I could never have imagined! Especially since majority of us Kenyan’s didn’t even know each other before this...
June 2012
24 posts
“Final posts coming in the next few days! Pleased to say that “The Kenya...”
– #RamaMwenesi On My Way to Climb Kilimanjaro
Social Entrepreneuring: Day 8 & 9 (Safari)
Days 8 and 9 of the trip introduced the third quarter of the program, unambiguously named “Safari.” Unlike the day trip to Mount Kenya which was in every sense of the word spontaneous, this trip was planned into the program with the intention having the entire Social Entrepreneurship group get the chance to know one another and develop stronger bonds together before the culmination of the...
“May peace prevail on Earth. May peace begin with Me.”
– #WorldPeacePrayer
The Message: Peace
On Sunday, we had the amazing opportunity to visit the Kithoka Amani Children’s Home (KACH) and engage with its founding director Dr. Karambu Ringera. With this being my second time at the orphanage, it was definitely a touching experience. While one of the groups spent most of their time speaking with Dr. K about potential businesses and ideas, the rest of us spent the entire afternoon...
“The key to success is your entrepreneurial ability to produce results!”
– #MwendaKirera
Business Entrepreneurship: A Meru Perspective
On Day 7, all three teams arrived bright and early for a special presentation by the well-regarded Agribusiness Manager and “Farm Entrepreneur”, Mwenda Kirera. Mr. Kirera was brought in by Kevin Mutuma of Orange Telecom whom Jim and I had been in communication with for the past 7 months in an effort to put this project together and see it through successfully. An accomplished entrepreneur in...
E-MAGINE System Inspection
Day 6 of entrepreneuring, Friday, was Jim and I’s “designated” day of rest! The groups were given the opportunity to plan their own schedules and determine for themselves what it is they each sought to do. Realizing that they only had 2 weeks and a significant set of deliverables to complete by the end of the program, each group utilized their day very effectively! Most of them once again...
Hiking Mount Kenya
At the start of our day trip to Mt. Kenya, our travels coordinator Bundi Marete of Genesis Expeditions made it known that we were going to be among the first groups of “foreign tourists” hiking that particular trail. It was so new that our guides at often times had to use their machetes to clear pathways for us to get through making it that much more exciting! Words cannot describe just how...
“Impossible is Nothing If you Believe.”
– #RamaMwenesi FLH4BPE
Social Entrepreneuring: Day 4 (Mt. Kenya National...
Today (Day 4) will be a trip to Mount Kenya – a chance for the group to have some team building and bonding time and a chance for me to prepare for my ambitious Kilimanjaro Charity Climb in about one weeks time.
This coming weekend I will finally have the chance to focus solely on E-MAGINE Activities which will involve:
1. Inspecting the system after its 48hr trip from Ann Arbor, USA to Meru,...
Social Entrepreneuring: Day 3 (Rama @ The Helm)
On Day 3 of the program, Jim (who had slept somewhere in the region of 8-10 hrs) approached me (who had slept somewhere in the region of 4-5 hrs) and said with a big smile on face “Rama today it’s all You!” I had, had such little sleep the night before after going out with the group to watch the Euro 2012 Cup – I barely processed what he was saying… As soon as he said goodbye it sunk in that I...
Social Entrepreneuring: Day 2 ("Ideation")
Day 2 of the program involved a very insightful group discussion on local cultural and business norms from both sides. It was important to help them understand that certain things they considered to be obvious were in fact completely foreign to persons not from their localities. It was also the beginning of Quarter 2 – “Ideation”.
Each group spent the day brainstorming and discussing...
Social Entrepreneuring: Day 1
Prior to arriving in Meru, we had prepared ourselves as best as we could for the trip! Monday was the very first time we got a chance to discover the local group of entrepreneurs that had been assembled by the prominent community leader and BLISS school principal Moses Marete. While Jim and I had requested a group of about 7 people on the Kenya side, we instead ended up with a conglomerate of...
"The Kenya Project"
This year, my travels to Kenya were on behalf of TWO main initiatives. One of which was E-MAGINE, and the other, the Michigan-Kenya-Partnership, or, Michiken. Founded by Jim Sterken and Dan & Marianne Clauw, Michiken, is a newly established NGO dedicated to working in rural parts of Kenya (starting in Meru) to promote job growth and sustainable economic development through various...
UofM Team Arrives: Detroit-Amsterdam-Nairobi-Meru
On Saturday June 10th, a total of 25 UofM students and faculty arrived in Nairobi.
For some, this was their first time in Kenya, Africa, and out of the US in general, while for others this was yet another yearly trip to the region! Collectively the individuals represented a variety of departments from Public Health & Policy, to Medical, Dental, Pharmacy, Engineering and Entrepreneurship...
Family Time is Quality Time
Having had no sleep before my flight on Sunday and going straight into the two-day long conference on Tuesday and Wednesday, each and every part of my mind, body and soul was well and truly SPENT! Thursday as a result became my self-granted “Day of Rest”!
With my body clock somewhat adjusted, I woke up today eager to see and catch up with my family! My first Jumah (Friday) at home with them made...
Maendeleo = Progress
This time last year I had the incredible opportunity to attend the very first Pivot25 Mobile Innovation Conference which showcased the top 25 mobile app ideas and startups from the East African Region. Coming back for a second time, it has been amazing to see the advancements that have taken place since! I was greatly impressed by the fierce competition in the “Mobile Apps in Society” category...
“Ideas are not innovation. Ideas are a dime a dozen you can google them for...”
– #AliHassan (PivotEast Analyst)
1 Team, 2 Semesters, Countless Learning...
Over the course of the past year, the E-MAGINE team embarked on an ambitious plan of expanding upon the developments of their Summer 2011Trip to Kenya. Enlightened by their discoveries which included; a deeper understanding of the (critical) need for low cost solar-powered ICTs, as well as the rapidly growing market and the key players therein,
The organization’s goals for the year 2011 2012...
July 2011
7 posts
Mission Accomplished: Back to A2, Back to the...
By the end of our trip we had managed to go above and beyond some of the goals we had initially set out to accomplish while in Kenya. We managed to meet with numerous educators, from primary and high-school teachers, to the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor of Meru University of Science and Technology in order to better understand the challenges educators in underserved and off-the-grid locations...
“All that children need is to be mentored, encouraged and the rest is possible.”
– Dr. Halima Mwenesi
—RM
A Unique Experience: Dagoretti Muslim Primary...
Among the schools visited while in Kenya was the primary school my mother Halima Mwenesi attended many years ago, Dagoretti Muslim Primary School. I had been to the village in which she grew up countless times before however never to the school itself. This experience for me was an eye-opener like no other.
Walking through the school grounds I found myself questioning “exactly how” my mother...
June 2011
18 posts
ALIN visit
We visited with the Arid Lands Information Network yesterday. There vision is just about perfectly aligned with ours - to use technology to connect rural/poor communities to information for improving their lives. We had time to visit one of their Maarifa Centers - community knowledge centers - in Isinya. This center has power and is connected via cellular modem. Folks at these Maarifa centers...
“The speed at which the world is moving is very very fast. If we are to ever keep...”
– Principal Salmet Githonga of Leparwa Primary School
—RM
Kithoka Amani Children's Home
We visited Amani today. What an amazing place. The director, Dr. Karambu Ringera, set it up originally to care for the orphaned children of Kenyan women who contracted AIDS. She’s doing amazing things there to help the orphans of the area.
Dr. Ringera has a vision of a “Digital Village” that really resonates with E-MAGINE’s goals. She wants to get her center...
