We all like to think our work makes a difference, even if we’re not really sure if it does. I’m well known for ‘doing good in the world’ yet even I question what that really means, or who precisely where might be better off in some way because of my chosen career path. For many people, … Continue reading Doing good? Or do-gooder?
Tag: Kenya
Time to meet the real M-PESA?
m-Pesa? m-PESA? mPESA? MPESA? mpesa? Putting the actual spelling to one side for a moment, there can be few more talked about yet least understood mobile services than M-PESA (yes, that’s how you’re supposed to spell it. I think). Misunderstanding, misinformation and, in some cases urban myths abound – everything from its roots and implementation … Continue reading Time to meet the real M-PESA?
An SMS “kickstart” for Kenyan farmers
In this, the fifteenth in our series of FrontlineSMS guest posts, Rita Kiloo – Customer Care Executive at KickStart in Kenya – describes how their use of the software enables them to extend and improve their outreach efforts among rural farmers in the country “KickStart’s mission is to help millions of people out of poverty. … Continue reading An SMS “kickstart” for Kenyan farmers
Mapping medicine availability via SMS
Medicine stock-outs are a potentially lethal problem in a number of African countries, yet governments insist they don’t occur. What could be more powerful than a map which contradicts this claim? Last week activists in Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and Zambia started surveying clinics in their respective countries, checking stock levels of essential medicines, including: First-line … Continue reading Mapping medicine availability via SMS
And the winners are…
Most of my ideas come on trains and buses. nGOmobile was no exception. The 1645 Kings Cross to Cambridge train was responsible this time around, after I’d spent the day getting ‘processed’ by the American Embassy in London. It only seems like yesterday that we launched the competition, and yet here we are, five months … Continue reading And the winners are…
Fuel, food and cellphone credit
According to a report yesterday in the New York Times on the continuing crisis in Kenya, “fuel, food and cellphone credit are in short supply”. Who would have thought, even just a couple of short years ago, that in a time of humanitarian crisis cellphone credit would be uttered in the same sentence as ‘essential’ … Continue reading Fuel, food and cellphone credit
Consequences
Imagine, for one moment, that the recent Kenyan elections went peacefully. That voting went smoothly, results were counted on time and in an orderly fashion, and there was general calm. Then, following declaration of the winner, local NGOs make their own announcement – of widespread corruption, ballot-box stuffing, destroyed votes. Their proof? Thousands of text … Continue reading Consequences