A Real Occupy Think Tank

So Friday I met with a Think Tanker about moving things to the next level.  We have been thinking for months (really since its inception for me) about creating a true research institution surrounding the work and issues we are focusing on at Occupy.  We met about trying to make this happen.  There are three of us that may really be interested in working on it.  We don't really have plans as much as guidelines.  But it is a good thing to move forward with.  The general concept was free-written as such:

We would structure this research institute under different auspices and governance structures than found in typical institutions.  We would incorporate a horizontal decision making structure into a managerial structure sharing input throughout ll levels of the institute and its research process.  Focusing on horizontal ideals while still working to maximize efficiency and expertise.  The research process would be facilitated by trained intellectuals doing research and working to guide projects on specific areas of interest and expertise.  These individuals would work within their main areas of inquiry or subject matter, but would largely be responsible for managing information and what would mostly be crowd sourced research supplemented/done by the general public.  The teams would be open and charged with briding public participation in reaserch and ideas while working with the scientifically valid research methods.  The idea would create a think tank that was far broader than a few PhD's sitting in stuffy rooms reading books, but for qualified intellectuals to act as  facilitators and discussion/project leaders aiming at producing a research process that includes and brings to the fore the public's voices and ideas both in terms of subjects and as researchers. 

From a methodological perspective, the research process would include at least four areas of data collection:

1. The general public on the ground. Open discussions, town hall style roundtables, community lead research/questions. This would take the form of individuals going out into public/private spaces (in cooperation with local community groups), asking questions, and engaging in public dialog with citizens and local communities.
2. An expansive web presence that would act as an idea/information conduit and repository that would open information and research to the public and researchers.
3. There would still be standard academic styled research and discourse.
4. Survey or phone based sampling to try to include everyday citizens into the dialog. This could be part of number 1.

The key component to this think tank would be a foundation based on open/crowd sourcing of the research, and teams of researchers that could be anyone and everyone from throughout the process.  At every level of society you can have a conversation with people with profound ideas and initiative; from CEO's to carpenters, there is intellect everywhere.  All the researching, writing, editing, and decision making would be done by and for us - the people.  With a large focus on engaging the general public both in the process of learning and engaging with their voices while coming to outcomes, options, and policy suggestions.  We believe that this will put individuals and groups that have traditionally been on the periphery, or marginalized throughout the whole process of intellectual creation, at the forefront of understanding and recreating their own social, political, and economic outcomes.  

The research focus itself would be within Occupy's principles and interests of political, economic, and social justice.  The research would however not inherently be done on the Occupy movement itself, but focused on doing research that viewed the world through the prism of an occupied lens and used this as its analytical and thematic point of departure. The institute would be designed to become the nexus for the ideas, research, and actions surrounding and produced by the Occupy movement.

Educating Women and Girls in Sierra Leone.

So today was Africa day.  Earlier this week Yapo sent me a whole bunch of info on a possible funding stream through the UK government that he wants to apply for.  It's a stretch at best.  All of a sudden we are going to switch gears and apply for funding for a girls/women's education program.  We have till June 8th to get in a concept proposal.  Now believe me, I am ALL for this type of work.  It was something always in the back of my head while I was there.  Both education and gender issues are very important to me.  But as I was there talking to people and assessing the root causes of many issues I was hearing about, it all seemed to come back to income and capacity to sustain one's self and family first.



Education is free through sixth grade and then following that everyone must pay for middle school and high school tuition if they attend. Yet still there are many children that may have to drop out even of primary school, or work before and after, just to help their families stay afloat.  Seven and eight year olds working dawn till dusk and then trying to do homework with no electricity.  12 and 15 year old kids working before and after school to be able just to go to middle school and high school because their families can't afford it.   

It is a huge problem with roots that go far deeper than pedagogy, curriculum, or a teacher; its systemic and courses through the whole of society.  So no matter how important education is to me to, getting girls to school is far more complex.  Both the national and local economy has to provide economic opportunities allowing households enough to be able to have extra money to send kids to school with.  This is of course a simplified picture of the country's issues.  Woman are far more likely not to be in school as early pregnancy, stereotypes, cultural issues, and trafficking issues all play in in very different ways than with boys.  On the whole Sierra Leone is a long way away from sorting out this issue (nevermind us in two weeks) as getting these kids in school is SO much bigger than one or two development programs. 

Not only that, but our focus has been on hybrid styled non-profit revenue generating business models that give back to the community and local populace through jobs and public works.  Education is a change of gears and thinking for us.  One I'd like to do, but am not sure I can get my head around in two weeks that quickly.  (help is always greatly appreciated!).  As it is though, I've got time to think about it and plenty of time with a young impressionable little lady to brainstorm with! 

Of course on a side note we also have to be able to qualify for the funding stream.  That is where a good deal of my attention went today.  I know that on US government funded projects the principle organization should have three years of solid revenue, which we do not.  So if the UK is similar, we may not even be eligible unless we apply through another organization.  Which we then have to find and convince to do this in two weeks.  Sigh....  So yeah, what all this Africa work really needs is a concerted, undistracted effort at picking a project, designing it, and making it happen.  We are a ways away from there right now.  Like another entire person (yes, please join!).  But, no matter, I just want so badly to make something work.  It has been too long in the works.  A plan and funding is all we need.  It has to happen. 

Africa!

So timing is something that I will never quite understand, and probably shouldn't even attempt to...  On Sunday April 15th I learned I would not be starting a Phd program in September, that Wednesday I lost my job and my relationship was in dire turmoil.  Seemingly every part of my life had schismed aimlessly within just a couple days of each other.  Time as I knew it had stopped. 

What do you think happened that very next day?  I was standing in Union Square talking about getting a think tank going, and to people about this crazy couple of days when my phone vibrated and three quick successive emails came through.  They were from Yapo!  Now, anyone new to this blog won't know him, but he is my guy in Sierra Leone.  Around the turn of the year I had scratched together some money for our Africa work and sent it out to him.  We needed to get our national and municipal registrations up to snuff for our community organization in Sierra Leone and the bank account open.  We went back and forth for a while as it took me longer than expected to get the money and get it to him.  Things had kinda gone quite  and then when I sent the money I didn't hear anything.  He had told me he would be doing some election monitoring and be a way for a bit so I didn't know what happened.  I was worried, but Sierra Leone is an interesting place.  There is no electricity pretty much anywhere and communications are really tough.  He basically never got my messages saying the money had been sent, thus never picked it up.  He thought I just didn't send anything.  So he slowly got together some cash to do the registrations himself.  When he sent me the certificates I immediately asked if he had gotten the money.  No!  He went that night and got it all.  So now we have a sizable chunk of cash sitting in the bank!  We still have to do a couple administrative things, but we are up and running!

We do not have a specific project yet that we have committed to, but as of right now we are strongly looking at verma composting (composting with worms) of waste, and also at a sustainable internet cafe/office to work from.  That is where the most interest came from the government and seems most viable.  It is really tricky though as without personally going there and getting to work on it, it is very difficult to make things happen. 

All in all though, it was fortuitous that he simply popped back up when he did.  Down to the day itself!  Perhaps there is something to our connection that is in fact incomprehensible!?  Or maybe things just happen incomprehensibly... But I do know that it brought a huge smile to my face, and I immediately ran around the park and told everyone.  Any rain on my face that day was quickly washed away...  I had hope again of finishing what I started.  :)

What am I up to...

So I am spending my days working with people with "disabilities".  Trying to find them employment in a world and system that has ostracized them and that really has created no place for them.  It is truly sad to see.  People that just want to be accepted, loved.  That just want to feel "normal", to feel like they fit in and have a place.  Yet here they are in a society designed to work entirely against the assets they've brought to their table.  They are a true minority in the greatest sense of the word and world.  African Americans may be discriminated against where they go, women in the workplace, homosexuals in marriage, but imagine if you were discriminated against within the very socio-biological ways of society?  The way you talked, walked, looked.  The way you picked things up, the accessibility of places, people, how you physically did things.  Imagine if you couldn't hear your mothers voice, couldn't see the bus approaching to pick you up, couldn't walk in to a job interview and truly be heard, couldn't comfortably perform simple professional norms like shaking someone's hand? 

Society is set up for people that physically and mentally work in a certain way.  If you don't function in that way, you will never truly find a place.  I recognize it more and more within myself every day, and I'm simply dyslexic.  My brain processes things differently.  The conclusions I draw seem different, I don't organize information in the same way, and I see the outcomes daily as I become more aware of it.  But imagine if I had a completely different genetic makeup?  Imagine if my brain didn't just process or sort information differently, but actually worked entirely differently?  And that way of working was deemed by standard measures - such as IQ tests and such - to actually not be working?  It is a true travesty of our society that people that function differently on so may levels have no place in society, that they are not encouraged to be a part of global or national life as they are.  They are encouraged to conform, to try to become like "us".  Medicated, trained, whatever.  Where is their own personal voice?  Muted.  People that think differently are really the only people with the true capacity to think "outside the box", to work from an original canvas as they are not hindered by the mainstream.  They are different, and I truly wonder why we try to make them the same.  We need to hear them, listen to the ideas, try to hear the variance, the possible new directions.  What better way to change our society to be more inclusive than through dialog with and via the eyes of those that are actually ostracized? 

So this is what I do, I try to jam round pegs into square holes.  In my spare time I am still working on ideas with Africa.  I am saving some money for another trip and project supplies.  Things have been downsized a bit.  I am at this point simply trying to find a small fairly straight-forward and simple project that can be delivered in the next year during my spare time.  I am of course also still trying to find people to work with that will keep me going and help with the process.  No small issue...

Right now I am thinking that the internet incubator/cafe will be the easiest thing to deliver upon.  An office space for non-profits that would be funded by an internet cafe.  The proceeds cover the rent and computer upkeep while providing organizations with the space and infrastructure to do their work.  It wouldn't cost more than $10,000 to get everything set up and running and would require little oversight.

I've got some stuff I may do to help bring out the minority vote in Dutchess county where I am living right now as well.  Kind of a complicated road, but one that could be quite fulfilling.  I'm also looking into PhD programs again.  Doing a much more thorough analysis of the anthropology programs this time.  Narrowing down the ones that would be just right for my interests and theoretical vantage points.  This is the type of arena I belong in, but it is funny that the reason I am not there is because I am a round peg, I think very differently, and it caused me issues both in getting accepted and during my time in academia.

We'll see though, there is a lot of ways to get to the places I want to be.  It will take some time and a little bit of doing.  But if I can get something done in Africa, and survive my current job, it could all open a wealth of doors for the future.  Time is always an asset, and always a challenge....  

tick tock...

(jeopardy theme hums...)  So when is something going to happen?  Yes, this post is not going to be about things happening, but about if/when, and about feelings...  Yeah, I like to put forth positivity and promote all the wonderful things that are going on.  I'm an optimist.  But one of the key things that I did on my trip to Africa was to write, to write honestly, openly, and with no holds barred.  That works fine when no one you're working with reads your posts.  You can't hurt your negotiating or marketing position.  Since I've been back in the US I have realized this is tough to do.  People read this.  So I have tried to put forth the "right" face.  But I've gotten to the point where it is time to express my internal scenario here.  This site was always about the journey of trying to make this type of thing happen, and the struggle I'm facing is just as much a part of that journey as anything. 

Make no mistake, this is a solid struggle.  I am now coming up on two years back in the US, after spending most of the previous decade abroad.  I have been un/underemployed for the entire time back here.  One of the main catalysts for going to Africa was because I couldn't find a job or the money to start my own business.  I packed my bag and went to Sierra Leone because I frankly didn't have anything else to do.  It was the best way to both learn about the world and to make things happen.  But it was also about changing the course of the path I'd been on since returning from abroad.  I am now armed with so much more experience than before and even with prospective projects to put on the ground.  But still, I find myself, unemployed, on food stamps, no car, about to have no home, and stuck sitting around all day waiting for Africa... sigh..

Wake Up!!

I have put my future in the hands of African governance, African time, and in capitalism's stagnant economic realities.  And I'll tell you what, it doesn't seem like its the safest of bets!  Fact of the matter is that I want nothing more than to make this work, but as it is currently not really working, I am realizing another need: stability.  I am back in the US and Hudson Valley because of a familiar support structure.  I want to spend time with my 87 year old grandparents, I have friends here, my family.  If there was a place to call home, this would seem like the first place to start, nevermind to be able to play entrepreneur.  However, for all the things that there are here, there is nothing else.  There are no jobs (and frankly, given the economic climate we're in and the number of applications for jobs, I wouldn't interview me), there is no capital, no money.  I've been out of work now for over two years including school, and my work prior was all over the world and not easy to quantify.  Of course I can do the jobs, I can do anything, literally anything.  But this doesn't matter, it is never about what you can do, but what you appear to have done.  I've done a tremendous amount in life, but this is apparently not interesting enough.

So here I sit, languishing.  I am nothing of the man I was two years ago.  I was all over the world, using other languages, living amongst other cultures, reading, writing, working, learning.. everyday, all day.  Now, I fester away in suburbia.  I have tried to make things happen, but it becomes more and more difficult to summon up the inner fortitude to continue to try over and over again.  Websites and shoe stores?  A self funded trip to Sierra Leone?  Malaria?  My own business?  But it is just not that simple.  There is not a whole heck of a lot that you can do alone.

This business I am working to set up has some realities and parameters that are pretty concrete.  I need it to be about Africa first.  I want to do work locally in Newburgh, but there is no starting there, there just isn't the margins for success.  In Africa there are plenty of opportunities to make substantial revenue streams that can fund other projects both locally and abroad.  How much do you think I'd get in donations to start another non-profit in Newburgh?  If Africa falls through and it is just about Newburgh, it isn't viable.  So it has to be about developing economies such as Sierra Leone. 

Here in lies the problem.  I am not getting the things out of Africa that I need.  It has been over a month now with only a text message and one two minutes phone conversation.  I have not been able to get the costs and numbers I need to move forward with planning and funding the situation here in the US.  I need someone there getting things done.  Do I need to go back for a couple weeks, plan this whole project out and then come back and get the money?  Didn't I just do that?  There obviously needs to be oversight, someone there keeping things moving.  I have contacted my friend in the Peace Corps to see if they could help, and I'm now waiting for their reply. 

Fact of the matter is, this is weighing heavily on me.  I have to be able to maintain myself as a human being.  I don't need much, a room or two to call home, some food, friends...  But most importantly, I need something productive to do with myself that will then provide for the aforementioned things.  Officiating girls lacrosse isn't exactly the most fulfilling of careers.  People do it to supplement their incomes.  It is now my only job, my professional outlet.  I need to get back to interacting with people, inspiring people and being inspired, motivated.  This is not the life that I envision for myself.  I want to make a difference, I want to be thinking about grand schemes and unimaginable ideas.  I am talented and capable.  Yet instead, I am sitting in a room, writing somber blog posts, trying to get my medicaid sorted out, and wondering what is next, if anything. 

Sigh... I am capable of so much more, and I've done so much more... 

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results... then I am definitively insane...  ;) 

Solar Street Lamps

So the main project that we are focusing on right now is solar street lamps for the city of Makeni. In looking at the three projects that I came back from Sierra Leone with this one seems to be the most attainable at this point.  Granted there is an awful lot to do between now and instalation, including sorting through Sierra Leone's entire governmental apparatus.  But as it is, right now it really looks to be the most feasible.  The brick project requires a lot in terms of expertise, local business infrastructure, and time in country.  It is also a commitment for a longer term production process.  The solar street lamp project on the other hand is a one-off endeavor with a definite start, end, and result.  This I think is best for setting up this business endeavor in Sierra Leone.  Lessons will of course be learned during the process that could easily be used to set up a better production scenario in our other endeavors.  It also can be a solid revenue generator in a shorter fixed term.  Source the lamps, ship them, install them, done.  It's obviously much more complicated, but not like the brick project's open-ended scenario including local production facilities, local sales teams, local distribution networks, local management, and permanent staff.  It is a huge commitment that needs time and planning.  By focusing on the lamps, we can work through the planning of the bricks at the same time without as much risk.

The Lamps are an intricate process as well though.  We have to source the lamps and the poles and ship them to Sierra Leone, where they will have to pass through customs and the entire African shipping process.  From there we have to arrange transport to Makeni and storage for them.  Local labor and materials will be needed for the installation and setup.  The lights themselves are easy to assemble and put up, but the poles would be more difficult as getting them set permanently in the ground brings challenges in a city that still shows some of the effects of war. 

All this is coupled with the governmental aspect of the project.  This would be an open bid through the governments procurement process.  Which I would imagine is a road that will have its share of winding turns...  Also financing the project will be quite delicate.  There would be some advanced governmental payment for the contract.  This would then need to be balanced with the down payments and extensions of credit negotiated with suppliers.  We may need to stagger the delivery and installation of the lamps in order to be able to balance the whole project.  This of course is not the way we'd want to do it as it would cost more on the whole in both money and time, but if this is what allows us to get the contract done, then it would be worth it to establish the company and its credit.  If we do a good job, there will be more cities looking for lights.  Have to start somewhere.  We will see...

But on the whole it seems like a good place to start.  Straight forward, one-off, deliverable project, with a good revenue upside.  With this one done, we could fund the brick making project, an internet/office facility in Sierra Leone, and set up Newburgh so we could run the diaspora funding network from there and then some local programs as well.  Giddie up!!    

Clean Me Up!!

So the other night I spent a nice evening working with the people of Safe Harbors on the Hudson (as well as other community members) to help plan a cleanup day for Newburgh.  Obviously, as you've probably gotten from my recent posts, Newburgh has some serious issues, garbage and a general culture of disrepair being among them.  Safe Harbors has decided that on May 7th (tentatively) they will organize the local community members and organizations to spend the morning trying to change some of this.

The meeting went quite well, there were about ten people there and an infinite number of ideas.  A lot of progress was made and it felt quite good to get back involved in this type of thing.  Un/self employment (never mind malaria) can bring about a decent malaise or disconnect that stagnates you.  I still don't feel as sharp as I was, but it was great to get back involved in a planning/strategy session. 
 
There are countless things to do, from getting volunteers, to sponsors and partners, to dumpsters and slogans.  But the room seemed to be motivated and involved, so I don't doubt that something great will come of it.  For my part I will be working on an educational aspect to the day and also on getting local colleges and students as well as a few environmental institutions involved.  As well as myself!!  Which will be nice indeed!!

Synthesis

So what is the plan!?  How is it that all of a sudden we can simply add a new country and a new city such as Newburgh (for a bit more perspective on Newburgh you can read this article).  I have put months of specific effort (and years of indirect effort) into the prospective work in Sierra Leone.  Things are possible there right now.  What has to be developed at this point is the holistic entity that will be not just this endeavor, but an entire organization.  I am trying to find a way to use these two locations in conjunction with both each other and with the bigger picture.

The key insight to it all is to see what the over arching goal of both this project and an organization.  Despite my passion for Sierra Leone and its people, this was never solely about this country.  It has always been about broader goals, a broader learning curve on society, and the systemic way that we order ourselves.  Poverty is a big part of this.  We live in a Capitalist society that has certain values and is achieving certain outcomes.  These outcomes show their faces in both the 'rich' and 'poor' worlds.

Could this be Newburgh?!?

What is really the difference between poverty in Sierra Leone and America/Newburgh?  Some, including myself, would argue - a great deal.  Poverty by American standards is very different from the poverty found in most of the rest of the world.  But I would also say that there are a tremendous amount of similarities, especially on a personal level.  To a person in Newburgh, when they look around the world they see, they are at the bottom of the income ladder.  They are by most social measures at the bottom of society.  The poverty of a place like Sierra Leone is so far away and out of site it may as well not even exist.  All they can see is themselves, their situation, their "poverty", their mental state.

Or maybe this is Makeni?!?

It is not much different in Sierra Leone, they know little of the Western world.  A few products, stories, and movies.  But spend a few days there and you quickly realize that they have no clue, just as we really have no clue about their lives there.  They simply do what they must each and every day to survive.  But this poverty is relative.  There are so few people with anything around them that they know little of the nothing they have.  In their head's, they may even seem better off than the poor in Newburgh.  When everyone has nothing, what is there to be make you think you have nothing? 

But either way, both groups of people are left to struggle.  This is what I find unacceptable.  As friends of mine buy new clothes, talk about summer vacations, the difficulties of their work... those without the means to eat, live, and do, simply embrace the struggle that will come from that day's effort just to survive.  This is poverty, this is evident all over the world.  It must be studied, it must be understood, and it must have a solution found for it.   

Why to expand this process rests in the delivery of these goals and services.  Sierra Leone needs money, expertise, knowledge, and effort, as does Newburgh.  In order to set up an organization to help both places, we need both the means to deliver services, and services to deliver.  By the two locations working together we can provide local comparative advantages that can be capitalized upon by both.

The key to all this is to brainstorm through a process that provides for both places.  The American operations can provide knowledge, expertise, research, and money for work done in Sierra Leone.  Projects can be planned, managed, and even in some cases executed, from America, for delivery in Sierra Leone.  Local products from Sierra Leone can be shipped to the US and administered and sold in America to supplement local projects.

This is not a novel business model.  But it does start to get interesting if being done by a revenue generating non-profit focused on "maximizing local socio-economic outcomes" rather than just maximizing profit.  This means that in Newburgh, we don't always hire the 'best, most experienced' person for the job, we hire the right person.  We hire a person that needs the opportunity and is capable of seizing it, and we make training and teaching work skills just as important a part of the projects as the jobs.  A "socially thick" development model.  Our organization will be about doing business and making money, but it is more so about emboldening local populations with usable and transferable knowledge and skill sets - hiring potential, not achievement.

So what businesses will we be getting into?  This is complicated, and a question that is yet to have an answer.  You can make money in Sierra Leone doing virtually anything.  It is an entrepreneur's heaven.  But making money in Newburgh is different.  Anywhere in the US you have to come up with an original idea or at minimum completely reinvent an old one for non-profit inner city implementation.  The US market is totally saturated, no regurgitation of proven ideas allowed.

Competition??

This is a short list right now:

• Brick making in Sierra Leone.  The money would need to come from the US, but there is then a huge opportunity for revenue generation.  The kind that could fund project upon project for the foreseeable future. This project also opens other opportunities that surround this, transportation, contracting, etc.
• Sierra Leone Diaspora Funding Network.  This project would be managed from the US, and then implemented in Sierra Leone.  Providing for both locations.
• Solar street lamps in Sierra Leone.  This project would be managed from NY and implemented by the operations in Sierra Leone.
• Internet and learning facilities.  This is applicable in both Sierra Leone and the US.  It is thought to provide the front of the office space for revenue generation.  Training classes could also be added on top of this.  
• Sale of artisan goods produced in Sierra Leone for sale in NY.  This can also be expanded to be done online, with distribution from Newburgh. 
• Obtaining old used goods (such as welding/carpentry tools, clothes, computers, etc) and shipping them to Sierra Leone for donation/local sale.
• Fruit processing in Sierra Leone.  In time the products could be sold within the US, again with distribution in Newburgh.  That is a long way away though.  For the time being it would be a local operation in Sierra Leone. 
• Verma composting (with worms).  This has a tremendous upside in decreasing organic waste and is viable in both locations.  Selling the castings as fertilizer is also a revenue generator.
• Makeni Athletics Facility.  This is strictly a charitable endeavor and thus will take time. 

This list is still missing a good deal.  Newburgh has yet to truly be explored and realized in terms of what opportunities exist there. Hopefully that will happen over the next several weeks as I get further ingrained in the city.  But time will take us there, and a bridge between two impoverished worlds will become both apparent and a reality... 

Fast Forward

So here we are today and things are very different from originally planned.  By this point right now I was going to have things here in the US set up, a non-profit, a source of funding, etc.  We were going to have operational plans in place for Sierra Leone, and would be waiting on the district council to get things started.  I would have been talking about when to go back and how best to handle getting things there set up and moving.

Fast Forward... two months later...

I got off the plane November 23rd, two months ago yesterday.  A lot has happened since then.  Malaria, gastro-intestinal infections, reactions to medicines, liver, spleen, and kidney issues, imaginary frogs... all sorts of fun stuff.  So what.  Where are we now and how close are we to getting things done.  In the last few days I have been trying to get myself back into the game.  Yeah, I'm not the strongest or sharpest I've ever been, but again... so what.  Poverty doesn't care if I'm sick. 

So I have been trying to pull some things back together.  I have sent out some emails trying to see if I can keep everyone interested pull them back together.  I have spoken briefly with Yapo and touched base with Ikenna in Sierra Leone.  Yapo has been supportive under the circumstances, but as I said, poverty doesn't wait for anyone - least of all me - and there is always an undertone of urgency there.  He is looking into the projects that we have discussed with the district council and where things stand.  He also seems to be trying to get his head around a computer training and internet project there in addition to possible donation situations.  Our junk, is VERY usable there.  Agricultural equipment, welding, tailoring, carpentry tools are all needed in the country and are mostly free of import duties.  Obviously, our old computers - too slow 18 months later - are just fine for basic computing and internet work there.  

So as it is, the options just continue to mount up.  It comes down to feasibility and logistics.  Are there the means and is there the will here to get things done.  This is something that we will have to explore.  Setting up a non-profit is not a simple endeavor, nor is it free.  Especially without money or a job.  Right now we/I am looking at multiple pathways both for here and Sierra Leone, for both myself personally and the goals we've been looking at.  Multiple options to diagram in another post...  But I will say this... the easy way is always easy, the hard way is always hard, which way is always more rewarding?     

The Heart of the Dilemma

I guess what it really all comes down to is that I am up against a seious dilemma. I came here to spend three months walking through the country learning, and looking for opportunities to help facilitate what people here want. I also wanted to raise awareness of life here in Sierra Leone and Africa in general. The last part I feel I have completely done at least for the people reading this.

As for the first part, I havn't walked anywhere. I havn't even taken my hammock out or set up my stove yet. This was going to be my way of meeting people and learning. If I don't get some of this in I will feel as though I would be coming home defeated, or somehow having not having fulfilled my purpose. As for the identifying opportunities, I have identified more than could possibly be feasible to work on now. So in this sense the trip is a smashing success.

The issue that makes all this a dilemma is that I have realized that there is little I can do from here under these current conditions. I have no funding, I have no resources to pull from, I do not have an established team here, and I do not have functional connectivity here to the information that could help me circumvent most of these issues. I am prepared to walk, not to make a business run and excel. My partners here think I should go back to the US early and set things up there, including funding. I see exactly where they are coming from. I have wanted to stay here and get things here set up. But realistically this could take months of unpredictabilty that I am both not prepared for and not so certain I would last through. The machines "should" come in January, right when I should leave.

So what do I do? The cost of an early trip home is a lot, hundreds of dollars that I would have to put on a credit card. And I still want to get some hiking in. I have to at least get up Mount Bintumani - the tallest mountain in West Africa. I also have the possibility of a grad student from UCONN that has been contemplating coming in mid December to join me on the hike - which at this point would be a very welcomed scenario. I am realizing that this would be a better excursoon with a partner to hike with. But the social scientist in me just liked the methodology of the single hiker walking into a village!! Reality.

So again, what do I do? If I leave early I will feel like I've cut myself and my trip short in some way. Almost like I've given up. But at the other end, I've learned so much, and actually can probably do more in the long run if I head back to the states and make some things happen there that will benefit things here. There also is the frustration deep down inside that I feel this was getting the best of me. Logic can make you feel like you're making a good decision, but the heart and the soul don't lie. What if I'm just trying to find a way out of this scenario right now?

I feel that I have made such a sacrafice to come here, even to the point of accepting in the back of my head that I may not come back. I have given a piece of me to be here to try to help people that say they want help and opportunities. But at the same time they do not seem willing to make simple changes or alterations, nevermind sacrifices, in their daily lives. I don't mean to sound like a martyr, but as David (a Brit expat that works here in a cushy position) came out of nowhere and said to Lindsay and I yesterday that he would NEVER do what we were doing here. Wouldn't even think about it for a second, NOT ONE (his emphasis). Yet I am here doing it, on my own, with just some cash in my pocket. Most people wouldn't do this, and I'm not doing it for myself, but for other people. I guess I'm just frustrated that these "other people" don't seem to appreciate it. I know, different cultures. But don't tell me you want help if you're not willing to partake.

Case in point: I said to myself this morning, I will ask them to get prices on the other bricks in the market and what we could charge for our bricks. I was very adament about the need for this and about the urgency I thought it had. I made a mental note, if they come back they are serious, if they don't then I should start thinking in different directions. It is 9 o'clock at night here, Kaps just got in. I asked him how his day was. He answered about random other things. Then I asked what he'd heard about brick prices. He gave me some blah blah story that didn't add up and kept changing. He'd talked to someone, but then was on the internet. He said something about talking to the machine company. No then it was the brick company he talked to, but he would find out more tomorrow. Oh, so you spoke with someone? So how much did they sell bricks for? Oh, well I blah blah blah... He didn't REALLY call anyone. And Yapo said he would call me later and let me know. I spoke to him at 12, and nothing since. Their entire tone and demeanor has changed since yesterday. Like they realized this was going to be hard. Why should I spend my day fighting with a computer virus, and all the other things life here is for an opotu, when the people here are not willing to change their daily agenda enough to help their helper? If I do all the work, how am I "helping". And if I'm not helping, what am I doing but telling?

So do I stay and see unpredictable projects through? Do I leave and go on my hike? Do I get an earlier flight and hit Mount Bintumani while I wait? No matter what happens I'll feel defeated unless I stay the whole time I'm supposed to. But sometimes it is in defeat that we find our path to victory...

"Rather than advance an inch it is better to retreat a yard... ...when to great forces oppose each other, the victory will go to the one that knows how to yield." - Lao Zi

Different world

So I wanted to touch on a few things from yesterday's meeting that illuminate business here. Obviously it was difficult to carry on a meeting with one person, and the oldest most senior one, sleeping. More important though were the differences in his business ideology and that of the others as well.

Firstly, there was a lot of respect for the laborers - hard work. Obviously in Western business culture education, experience, and management are valued more wage wise. Kevin showed a lot of respect for diggers, and brick carriers, and Kaps didn't think a supervisor should be paid more than the machine operator. This is refreshing to see as we in the West seem to have lost sight of the value of manual labor in our lives. Kaps actually didn't even really see the value of a supervisor. "Why should you pay someone to just stand around and watch everyone?" There is a logical sense to that statement. But it was as if the concept of a site supervisor made no sense. I had to spend a good 10 minutes explaining why a supervisor would be needed. There would be 17 workers to supervise on site with only one machine running, and this would increase with more machines. Digging, sieving, mixing, moving, operating the machine, dealing with supplies, curing bricks, loading/unloading, shipping, a cook for lunch, etc. It is not a simple process, and someone needs to know how to do it all, they need to know all about bricks, they need to be able to organize it all in their head, and to motivate people to work at a high level. Every minute we would not be producing is 4 bricks missed. A lag here, a lag there, mixed soil isn't ready, whatever, and production would be way down. It all has to run fluidly. But having a person to make all this function smoothly didn't make a whole lot of sense to him.

He also wanted to cut out workers. The company that makes these machines has a specific tried and tested method for producing the maximum number of bricks. They work in over 50 countries, and have a brand to uphold. They WANT anyone producing there products to be giving them a good name. Kaps had little interest in their well tested staffing, he wanted to just cut down workers. Hire less pay more. I started to get feelings of hierarchical thinking, jealousy perhaps at the wages. There are no salaries yet for board members, only workers... He just didn't seem to like anything he was hearing. He thought we were going to pay to much. He wanted to pay 5000 Leone a day - $1.25. According to Yapo, minimum wage is 15000. Now I know everyone isn't paying that, and there does seem to be a lot of variance in "minimum wage" concepts here, but I want to do things legally. I also wanted to pay taxes, and into workers social security funds, etc. This saw apprehension from him for the most part.

He also struggled with the concept and way of running a business. He wanted to be able to give away, or sell bricks below cost. I said, we can't do that, we can only give from excess revenues (profits). We can use our donations in terms of bricks if we wish, but we can't be a brick charity. It was as if the entire concept of running a business to make more than we spend - and to do it meticulously - was a completely foreign concept.

This is going to be a tricky situation, we have to be able to be sustainable. And our costs after this exercise may not even make the project feasible. I will have to crunch the numbers today if a computer is functional. But Kaps didn't think we could charge for each brick what we would need to cover our costs of production. That is partially because he seemed to value these specialty bricks little more than hand made clay bricks. Yapo saw it completely differently and thought we could charge a premium. But it is a struggle amongst them.

The result today though is that we will have to stall signing any kind of agreement and look much more directly into the numbers and what the market will bear. I knew it!! But I just couldn't get them all to see the value of making a list and sitting down and going through every number. For two and a half weeks I have been trying to get the list I gave them filled out with costs, and to all sit down, but nothing. In today's meeting, we started to talk about the equipment and still had no figures. Yapo made one call, left for maybe 15-20 minutes, and came back with a list!?!? Over two weeks of telling me it was done, was being done, some things weren't here in Makeni, blah, blah, blah, and then in 20 minutes they get one done. This is the way it is here, this is what we're up against... :-/

A New Partnership

So I went back to the council today, hammered out the final aspects of the partnership with the them. They are going to pay for all aspects of the machines and the trainer coming here. We are responsible for running the training, managing the company and brickmaking, and putting what portions of any profits are not reinvested into the development of the company towards the development council's development projects. All the money will stay with us in trust until a project is ready to break ground. I don't know about you, but I am quite happy about that deal, should it all come to pass as agreed.

We also registered a company today. "aibia". It is first registered as a CBO (community based organization). This makes us able to provide services for the council here locally, while not forcing us to undertake all the difficulties and monetary constraints of full NGO incorporation. Once we are in a position to do that, then we can simply change the designation and keep all the assets with the company. We filed the cbo registry today, will pick it up tomorrow. 24 hour company registration (and only because the 2nd administrator that must sign it was out today).

I also have offered Yapo a position as the local manager of this organization. Everything is happening very fast, and it may seem impulsive. (I keep waiting for "the catch", but it hasn't come yet). This decision about Yapo though is something I have thought about. I feel that I can work with him, and that he can do a good job. He is a young guy, training to be a lawyer, but he has a good business sense. He is currently managing some projects for a few local NGOs, he has worked as a supervisor for a more traditional brick making operation, and also worked for the same development council that we are working with now. He understands their side, he understands a bit about bricks, and he understands the local environment. I feel that he will be a good fit.

I have yet to talk to Kaps about this, but he and Kevin are very much focused on ChildHelp. The track will give them a great opportunity. They are very committed to their work and I see them as being on the board of directors for aibia, and handling a good deal of the community projects we will undertake. I couldn't have gotten here without them, they are special people to me. I have to make the right business decisions. I am not sure how to handle this culturally, or if I should even be worried about it. I hope they didn't want to manage it. They are both very good facilitators. I think their strengths are perhaps more in aid and charity work then construction management though. But I will discuss it with them this afternoon and make sure we are clear.

Now to write a letter of introduction for this new company: aibia

They haven't eaten all day...

Hhmmm... Can't figure out what to write for the title. I'm hungry. But not as much as these kids I'm staying with must be. I came home and usually there is food cooking or ready. Not today. No money was left for food today, so no food was to be had. They havn't eaten all day. They needed 7000 leones, $1.75 for all ten of us to eat. I gave them 10000, and it was like the alarm at the firestation had just rang. They all scatered, some for water, some for food, some to get the fire started. They were hungry, but with no complaints. This is life, their life. As the one person here said, we eat when there is food. Up to now there has been plenty, but not today... And now as I write this, it is raining. They cook outside over a fire, now they cook outside in the rain... Insult to injury...

It seems wrong to write about the other worries of my day now, but I will as it is one of the main things i'm here to do. Oh.. And pouring now!!

So I started early this morning. Straight to reading how bricks are made. Fun stuff!! ;) but whether I like bricks or not, I want to help, I want to rebuild, and this makes me a brick man for now!! I went over to the expat hangout again today. Its the only place with power, and I can blend in as if I'm a hotel guest. Pretty much only white contract workers there - to expensive for everyone else.

I spent the day reading about this machine we will hopefully get and taking this information and turning it into a business plan/costing sheet for Kaps and Kevin to research this week. We've got to get someone in here that knows how to make bricks though. It all has to be just right. They seem to think we can just make it happen, but we need expertise. And that is exactly what it is all about with this type of thing, its not whether you can do it, but whether you can get people together that can. I'm trying.

Otherwise it was like little England today. I was surrounded by bright white brits baking by the pool, and english premier league football (soccer). I wish I was surrounded by american football!! No such luck.

Very interesting these expats. Always talking about how great the "package" is. Here for short high paid stints. Not for a cause, not to help - at least much more than themselves. Not all, but virtually all. And not all brits here, but virtually all.

Africa minerals is building a single use train line from their Tonkolili iron mine (aparently will be the biggest iron mine in the world) straight to Freetown. No one else will use the train, only them. And it's immense. Looks like they are building a full interstate highway. And that's actually what the locals think. They think they'll get to use it. Nope. It is strictly so Africa Minerals can take down an entire mountain set, cart it to port, and ship it off to the highest bidder.

They've brought in workers from all over the world, even others from Africa, but don't seem to be using much from Sierra Leone. Rumor has it they will provide 11000 jobs, but I see few so far, I'm sure they will come. They will pay laborers to mine for 5000 leones a day - $1.25 - and then they will sell the iron for billions and make lots of people in the UK and wherever very rich. Taking Sierra Leone's resources and leaving only a few dollars behind for the people while they watch football and drink imported beer. There is something wrong with this, at least to me...

I am going to make this happen!

So yesterday was a very productive day. I got up early and headed out to see another brick factory a little ways outside of Makeni with Yapo. He's a quality young guy, in university for law, long way to go, but working hard. He used to work at the development council so knows a lot of the ideas and people.

But anyway, we went out and saw a dilapidated, run down facility that obviously hadn't been used for months. Yapo says its about bad management. Given what the council chair said, I would agree. Sounds like bricks are a hot commodity. That factory had 1.5 million Leones in bricks rotting away unsold (3000 bricks). Roof falling down, machine rusted. Sad. Money and investment just sitting there wasting away.

So from there we went and bounced around till we could find computer facilities to write up an official letter of introduction for the Bombali Development Council. We went in to hand deliver the letter to the chairmen. I must say, he and I have developed a good repore. As he said, there arn't a lot of people out there like me... Business minded people looking at development from a not profit place. We have the same goals.

So it is from this point that we moved forward. First thing he did was to bring up a plan he had been working on for the Sierra Leone diaspora living in Europe and the US to make small donations back to the country. They have been working on a website to allow people to see exactly what their village has or does not have and allow for fully transparent donations. Names, amounts, earmarks, etc all visible online. What he wants from me is someone that is not here, not african, to manage it. He wants it so that when a project is ready to start, only then does the exact amount get sent to SL. Very interesting to hear a man of his stature saying such a telling statement. He trusts me more than his countrymen.

Anyway, we did not get much further than saying I would be interested, but he and I will get back into it Monday. Monday, is now the day that I will be registering a company here in Sierra Leone. Maybe walking lion, maybe something else I'm working on. The weekend will tell. But the company will be opened to build bricks and then expand from there. And the $45k machine is actually 5 machines. Much more to get started, but such a good opportuntiy. Can't pass it up.

The arrangement that we have come to in conversation is that 50% of the profits will go to development projects and 50% to reinvest in the company. Now I will have to get into the specifics of it all as in the beginning we may need more for the business than we will in the longer term. And this is just for the bricks, if we expand from there into other endeavors we then can use the money as we see fit, but which is along the same lines anyway. But I will say that I am a bit nervous about a preconceived split as some control is lost. We will have to establish that the business must be sound first and foremost. Then, we can give back.

All that being said though, the gist of what has happened here is that I have walked into a man's office who is in a position of power, and he's liked what I have to say. He wants to work with me. But the key to all of this, is that not only does he "get it", but he is the President of Sierra Leone's uncle. Yes, uncle, and he wants to introduce me to the president. He has already told him about me. Wow!?! This is a great deal of pressure all of a sudden. I H.A.V.E to get it done. I am now on record. It is to late to turn back... and it is also everything I want to do. I AM going to make this happen, there is no other option. ;)

Making Progress

Things moving along quite well. Got the gamechangers proposal in today. Finally got on the internet. 3 hours to do 30 mins worth of work.. So we just decided to put it in and role with it.

Otherwise, we have been doing a lot of opportunity hunting. Yesterday we went to an old war-time looted jam factory. we will be looking into the viability of getting it up and running again.. Not holding breath!! Then today was about bricks and building materials, sounder footing as reconstruction requires construction, requires materials.

Othewrwise, local custom scenario is going well, but food has bothered stomach last couple days. Got a little frustrated at speed of movement today, but think it was more of a spillover from connectivity issues and trying - and not succeeding - to be connected with friend/architect. Then some other issues involving land rights that seemed concrete as well.

But anyway, moving forward. My idea for a corporate structure based on for-profit efficiency and not for profit revenue usage for the biz and community benefit are going over well. Most people talking investment are looking at profit for their pockets, not jobs and local development.

otherwise, all is good, i should start walking Thursday, with a head start Wednesday.. Let the adventure begin...

Oh, yes, and i should have you all know that i killed my first mosquito today. I know i know, i don't kill anything... Except for usage (such as food) for self defense.. Mosquitos here kill. :-/ but i did at least not take it lightly... obviously still thinking about it!!

Gamechangers Extended Deadline

So I must say that this is lucky for us.  I have not heard back from Kaps yet regarding the costing or the areas of emphasis that he would want to put into the proposal.  They are of course in the beginning of their school year there and I'm sure he is quite busy - not to mention with sporadic internet access. 

The deadline has now been extended to October 31st.  This is actually fabulous for us as for two reasons.  One I will be able to go to Makeni, see the specific site where the project will be, and go through a proper planning/proposal process.  It also fits well into my initial itinerary.  I can spend a couple days in Freetown, then walk to Makeni.  This should put me there around the 25th.  We'll have a few days to work on the project and then get it submitted properly.  The second thing is that the two days before I leave there is a conference in NYC put on by Architecture for Humanity (the co-sponsor of gamechangers) that I will be attending.  Therefore, I will be able to do some networking with decision makers as well as benchmarking with others in the field.  It can only make the project's planning, proposal, and chances of success that much better.  Big development, and well received...

Changing the game

So yesterday I finally got my part of things back to Kaps regarding the Gamechangers proposal. Its been a bit tricky with visas, vaccines, and car accidents.  I went through the other proposals and the requirements and pulled out the relevant concepts that we need to discuss in our proposal, and sent this to Kaps.  It was also accompanied by a checklist that we'll need to hit on, a really bad sketch of the facility concept so he would have an idea of what I meant, and then the proposal itself (one blank, and one with my thoughts in it).  The big thing that we will need is a very rough costing for it and his organization's information as they would be the key applicant.  The rest can go from there.  Not much left to do.

No jokes please...  ;)

I also wanted to take the time right now to discuss what exactly this project means, and why to do it.  Many people may be looking at this and saying, "why build a track in Sierra Leone, don't they have more pressing needs?"  When we look at things through our eyes, in industrialized society, we think of sports as "fun and games".  But sometimes we lose sight of what sport can be in terms of a tool for bettering the community.  Of course a lot of people have heard of the rationale that sports will keep kids off the streets and focused, but it is still easy to lose site of this.  This concept however is a huge part of this project's appeal.  But that is not the only part.
















In less developed countries such as Sierra Leone there are completely different concepts of many different aspects of life - sanitation, hygiene, personal dedication, motivation, goal setting, etc.  The education system there is entirely lacking, and many children need to work instead of going to school.  An athletics facility and program can go a long way towards providing a FUN way for children to learn many aspects of life. This facility can do many things:

• Teach goal setting
• Teach "hard work"
• Teach a regimental approach to goals through specified and disciplined training programs.
• Provide rewarding outcomes to generate self-esteem
• Teach teamwork through relay activities and other team sports on the main field.
• Promote avenues for both boys and girls, children larger or smaller, faster or stronger.  
• Teach basic hygiene through shower and changing facilities (rare in the area)
• Promote healthy lifestyles
• Provide a sports/recreational facility for local schools
• Offer clubs for local youth and adults
• To give people something to do...

The bottom line is that there are virtually no opportunities for young people in the area.  A facility and club environment like this - through sport - can teach a great deal of things about how to find success in life.  Sports are a tremendous teaching method.  They are fun. Sitting in a classroom is not generally fun for a kid, running around tends to be more so...

Team work, a little self-esteem... from a developing country.

So no this is not a leisure enterprise or a fun thing to do.  This is a specific and well intentioned project to help develop an area of the third poorest country in the world, that has very specific and well documented intents, and is based on a major reason why I am what I am today.  I was a undiagnosed dyslexic who couldn't really read even into the second grade.  But despite continual educational struggles, my athletic abilities gave me a personal source of confidence that allowed my other capabilities to find themselves.  Now I have a masters degree, have dabbled with doctoral studies, and have had success in the business world.  I never would have gotten anywhere without athletics nudging me out the door.  I assure you, I am not alone or special in any way, I just had the right opportunities and support.  Just as we would like to provide for these children. 

Sure, I know, some people think that efforts and money could be used in "better" ways.  As an academic minded person trying to map out the most ideal pathway to development in a place like Sierra Leone, can empathize with this line of thought.  An athletics facility would not be my first academic thought for developing "the community" there given its dire lack of general education and jobs.  But the bottom line is that if the funding is out there, if Nike and Architecture for Humanity want to put up some money for the project, I see no reason not to go for it...   

Another Day

(This post was written on Thursday the 23^rd).

Malaria in Africa

Got the rest of my vaccinations done. Second time around for Hepatitis A/B, and then Yellow Fever and Typhoid. Simple as can be, except of course again for the nurse's complete and total disbelief in my view on Malaria. Wait!! You mean drugs aren't always the greatest thing ever?!!? Nope, I am not going to knock down my immune system with chemicals and synthetics just so that I don't get a disease that the drug doesn't even really completely negate. Oh, yeah and then there's the side effects as well... Bottom line, if I don't take drugs, pills, antibiotics, or anything else of the sort because they always bother me or make me sick, then why on earth would I start doing so on this trip!?!? Logic to me, but not to a lot of western medicinal practitioners. I will be eating well, getting exercise, doing chi gung an other preventative energy/medical exercises, trying to get decent sleep, and working to minimize stresses. This is the best way of PREVENTING disease and fighting it off if it does come to you in my opinion.  I usually get sick when I start listening to what other people think is best an stop listening to my own body... Plus I have insurance for an emergency.  If I do get sick, which I figure may very well happen, then I will be covered.

Malaria in the world

Ok, so enough preaching!! Vaccinations went well, a decent amount of soreness, but otherwise all good.  Then it was on to the Gamechangers proposal and getting my visa situation set up. I also got a good “putting in my place” by my stepfather. You know one of those conversations where you've been going, going, and going, and some one just sort of verbally slaps you back to reality? I needed to hear it. I'd been trying to do way to much, and needed to let some things go and focus on the things that were directly important to what I had going on right here and now for this trip/project. Many thanks...

As for the Gamechangers proposal, I have been through a number of other proposals and have a pretty good feel for what they are trying to do. I have pulled out key points that we will need to address in our proposal and the project itself. I will send these points to Kaps for his evaluation on what they think could be done there, and how best to structure the project. Lots of work to be done, but not so much that it is insurmountable. Two weeks, and all we really need is the theoretical side of the project for the proposal. So I'll finish up a report on it with some key points worth hitting on for the proposal and we will go from there.

Off and Running!!!

So on Friday I got an email from Kaps in response to my questions regarding the athletics/track facility for Sierra Leone.  This is a really busy time of year for them as school is starting so it is greatly appreciated!!  They're doing good work down there...  :)

His answers really put the project into perspective and were exciting!!  They have land to build on.  They had to pay a small amount for it so the family there could live, but they have it... and they sent pictures (check them out below).  This just made it all real for me.  I must admit that through my whole upbringing and a lifetime of learning, you can't help but hear apologetic rumors of ineffectiveness in regards to Africa.  I always think of them as ways to make 'us' feel like there is little we can do - things said or read in countless academic and journalistic articles claiming Africans say and promise all sorts of things that they can't deliver..  things said that make it easier for 'us' to ignore things the less fortunate.  I try SO hard not to listen, in fact make it a point to ignore them.  But even within me there was a part deep inside of me wouldn't let go and allow myself to get too excited about the possibilities here without more concrete information.  Once I saw the pics, it became real.  I knew that not having property was an automatic disqualifier.  But we do!!  So time to get off and running!!

Just picture it.. leveled off, a smooth dirt track running around it..

So here is the information that Kaps passed on to me:

• There are small playgrounds in the Makeni area where kids can play football/soccer, and there are three "mini-fields" for sporting events which are owned by Catholics (I am not sure the relevance of this ownership statement yet though, as nothing more was said, but it may be that it is tough for non-Catholics to use, we'll see)
• There are Physical Education teachers with the ability to train people in athletics, but there is no encouragement, no precedence for kids to see success through, and not facilities to impress with.
• They started a girls sport team and got many people to come out, but funding was a problem, and the government does not have much to offer in terms of support. 
• All of the clubs are part of schools and they are not for sports, only entertainment, etc, and over once school is finishes. There are not usually costs associated with these clubs.
• He says Child Help has the personnel to do this project but they are not really equipped to build a facility like this due to not being "financially equipped".
• Kaps believes that they could hire the expertise for designing such a facility (this also could be assisted by Gamechangers if I have read their guidelines properly.)
• His answer regarding the track surface was all about cost, lets do whatever we can at low cost and do the best job possible to be sustainable in inclement weather (Gamechangers may be able to help).
• And finally, they feel they could put together this plan even given this short time frame.  

...a small set of bleachers on the far side between the trees...

Given Kaps' response, I started looking further at the Gamechangers funding guidelines and also pulled out some other proposals that had been submitted.  I haven't gotten too far into the other proposals, but I sketched in the basics for the proposal.  They ask for:

• A Projeect Description to start with that should be 300 words or less.
• A total project cost
• They also allow space for a project video
• They want to know about the organization, a description of it (Child Help SL), and their website (300 words).
• Information about the project location right  down to latitude and longitude.
• Contact info for the organization.
• Project information such as the location/neighborhood and details of it (150 words)
• They then ask three very key questions, yes or no:
• "do facilities need to be constructed or upgraded at the project site?", if yes, then how (150 words)
• "Does the project require further architectural/design assistance?" How? (150 words). 
• and "Would this project benefit from the assistance of construction professionals?" How? (150 words)?

...competitors getting ready for their race...  ;)

That's all they wanted, short and to the point, with very little space for details.  This is a very good thing that lends well to our situation.  These last three questions are key, basically given that one of the two main entities sponsoring this project is Architecture for Humanity (who deal with building and design of sustainable structures) these questions could be seen as a way of asking if you need help with the design.  Given the types of organizations that are applying for these grants (they stipulate that only non-profits from within the specific country can apply - no foreign firms) they must understand that many of these organizations will not have very good access to the latest design and building practices/professionals.  This, to me, in addition to the brevity of the proposal they require means that they are not expecting completely finished project plans that are ready to be built.  It would seem that they are expecting, or at least anticipating some interest, in additional help from them to finalize a project.  This is exactly what we need.  They want a local organization to have an idea and organizational infrastructure put together so that a project like this could be done.  Then they can come in and assist in making the project happen both financially and practically.  Sounds good to me. 

There are quite a few other proposals from all over the world there though and for many different types of things.  It was always a long shot, but I will be very happy to put together a proposal for this and submit it.  At minimum it is the foundation for a project like this that could either stay as is with other funding or add additional components to garner more financial attention.  There is still a great deal of work to be done, this post just addresses Kaps' thoughts and the funding proposal guidelines.  Next time I will get into "what they are looking for" and what other proposals are trying to do to address Gamechangers' needs.  They leave you such little space though that the proposal will have to be exact and succinctly address the social wants, the competition, and our capabilities all in one little space... ;)  It is due October 6th.