Work, work, work.

It's been a busy few days; much of our time has been spent creating our final report to our host organization (TPSF, the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation). We met with our hosts again on Tuesday in Dar es Salaam until late into the evening, then spent much of Wednesday driving back to Tanga.

Thursday and Friday were spent working on the report. Even with varying experience writing in English, each member of the team is producing well-written, ready-to-include material. We're up around 55 pages so far, we're going to do an "organizational checkpoint" on the paper this afternoon to see what we need to move around for better flow.

We plan to have our final version done on Tuesday ... we'll send it to a colleague in Dar who will print the reports for us ... and then we need to convert the information in the report to a set of charts for a presentation on Thursday. (Wednesday, we drive back to Dar es Salaam.) Friday we'll have a debriefing with the local IBM team, our friends from Digital Opportunity Trust, and then have a dinner with all the subteams and all the host organizations (and will have about 10 minutes to present highlights of our work).

Yesterday, we spent the day at the Casa della Gioia orphanage here in Tanga as our "service day" while on assignment. Members of our team helped prepare lunch, clean, do laundry, shine shoes, and lots of other tasks, mostly working side-by-side with the kids. After lunch, the kids put on a singing & dancing show, we talked & asked & answered questions (for example: this orphanage takes kids no matter their religious affiliation; the local Muslim orphanages take only Muslim children), and we gave them some things they had requested for the orphanage. What a great day. We provided the funds for lunch, and they opened their home and their hearts to us.

A 14-year-old girl (great singing voice, fluent in both Swahili and English) said in closing, "As you have given to us today, may God give to you." You can't ask for a better benediction than that.

Here are a few pictures that I was particularly happy with from the day:

Garland and Sister Sofia before lunch.

Sister Sofia and two of the 36 kids there (ranging from age 21 days to 21 years). Plenty of love & hugs for everyone.

Garland and a sleepy friend.

Beautiful singing & speaking voice, 14 years old. And great at slicing tomatoes.

Radka succeeding in wearing out one of the kids playing, then became a makeshift pillow.

Ying Ying and Marta communicating in the universal language of "tickling".

I think malaria would have been easier.

Sorry for the relative quiet over the past week ... all will become clear.

On Sunday, we explored the Amboni caves and the sulphur springs near Tanga.

This is the crocodile we knew about in the sulphur springs. I'd bet he (or she) had friends.

Look! Someone dropped a handbag in the sulphur springs!

On Monday morning (the 22nd), while we were meeting with a company that takes plastic and turns it into bags, tarps, etc. I started feeling bad ... feverish, achy, chills. I texted our host and said, "I need to see the doctor."

Before we go any further, I'm finally feeling better. I rejoined the team on Sunday night when they returned to Dar es Salaam, and I look forward to closing out the remaining time with them at full strength.

Getting from where I was on Monday to where I am today, both physically and health-wise, has been a bit of a journey.

The doctor did some blood work on the 22nd and told me that, without a doubt, I had a mild case of malaria, from the Plasmodium falciparium parasite (there are a few different parasites; this is the least desirable). He said that the lab work also showed a bacterial infection. He put me on an anti-parasitic, a combination of two antibiotics, and something for the fever (and nightly sweating sessions ... I actually squeezed water out of the bed linens).

Tuesday morning, I get a sore throat, and swollen glands. After starting the antibiotic. Still sweating. Still achy. And these strange sores start coming up on my right hand and my left foot.

Tuesday afternoon, more sores, and the aching is getting worse. Local Tanga doctor thinks it could be a reaction to the medicine, but isn't sure. Wants me to continue with both. I feel really awful.

Wednesday, no improvement. So in the evening, I consult with my family doctor (of 28 years), a friend who's an MD, and I decide it's time to get checked out in a larger city. IBM has a service that arranges for me to be seen in Dar es Salaam (where we were returning on Sunday anyway, I just got here Thursday evening). Nairobi was the other option, but it presented even greater travel, logistical, and visa challenges. Much thanks to our host, Phil, for making a special trip to Dar to drop me off, and to Theo for meeting us at the clinic on Thursday evening in case he could help.

I show up and they do a battery of blood tests. Two doctors come in and say, "You don't have malaria, and you've never had it. What you have is ... (wait for it) ... "hand, foot, and mouth disease". Ewww.

Before we go still further: this is completely unrelated to "hoof & mouth disease" (animals only, not zoonotic), nor is it "foot-IN-mouth" disease. I am expecting a sudden, subsequent outbreak of the highly contagious WD, Wise-ass Disease - often spread through social media - to afflict many of my friends, particularly fellow Wabash men and fraternity brothers (it seems to be partial to y chromosomes). WD is recurrent and there is no known cure.

The doctors say, "We can give you something for the sore throat & the discomfort, but this has to run its course. You should start feeling better on Sunday and be completely cured - and immune to this virus - a few days after that."

Apparently this is a relatively common disease for children. It is significantly less common for adults, not common in the US, and tends to hit adults a little harder.

I will spare you any photos of my hands, feet, or throat. Suffice it to say: not pretty.

I spent the rest of Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in my hotel room, sleeping, trying to stay hydrated, and eating things from room service that I think my throat can handle. Fortunately, I've had no "stomach trouble" (as it were). It's not a diet plan I'd recommend, but the pounds have just flown off. Seriously.

Finally, though, the body aches are retreating. I'm sweating less when I get the sweats. My hands and feet are less sore (and still not pretty). I went to meetings yesterday and today.

I appreciate the wonderful support of the team - here and back home - making sure I've had what I need to get better.

I'm ready to get back in the game. Lots to do.

A "small world" story here in Tanzania.

Last weekend, each person on the team got a local cellphone and SIM card, graciously provided by our hosts. We had gone to the local Airtel shop (IBM customer and cellphone provider) and activated our phones; the activation process apparently hit a couple of snags.

I called the customer service number, spoke with a man named Julius, and was having trouble communicating that we had, indeed, activated our numbers - with all our passport information - at the shop the day before. I asked if I could hand my phone to one of our hosts (Mr. Mlaki) and maybe he could explain more clearly (and understand & communicate back to me) what the problem was - and let me know if there was any additional action I needed to take.

They spoke for a few moments in Swahili, and I heard him say, "Mondari? I know that name. Julius? Is that you?" It was his nephew.

Of all the customer service agents at Airtel, I got my host's nephew. Small world, indeed.

Over lunch the other day, one of our hosts was happy to talk about the realities of doing business here as a farmer, and to share some family history.

In 1874, his 12-year-old grandfather ran away from his large family in India, contacted a friend working at the docks, and stowed away on a ship going to Mombasa. After arriving in Mombasa, he walked seven days to get to Tanga, and eventually became the postmaster here. He owned camels, and ran the Tanga-Mombasa route as well. He earned & saved enough money to bring his family from India to Tanga.

While our hosts's father also worked as the postmaster here, our host is a teak farmer. He employs people from the local villages to work on the farms. Average wage for a laborer in Tanzania is around 70,000 TZS (Tanzanian Shillings) a month; that equates to $43 US.

Our host provides several benefits for his employees because it makes business sense to do so - he can attract & retain workers, and it reduces theft. He pays 5,000 shillings a month (around $3, the cost of a goat, the weekly cost of the cellphone service we have here, 1/2 the cost of a hotel meal, or 5x the cost of a small bottle of water) to provide healthcare for the worker, his or her wife or husband, and up to three children - after they have worked for 90 days.

If someone requires medical care (dental care is "not so big here"), they would see the medical professional at the local dispensary, then would be referred to the district or regional hospital as needed. Ambulance service in a city (such as Tanga) is transport only, and is likely unavailable outside the cities. Without insurance, it's "pay as you go".

He provides porridge in the mid-morning for them. "Well-fed workers are more productive."

For every thousand trees a worker plants, the worker gets 10 trees for their family. It takes around 15 years for teak trees to mature; many of the workers will wait 3 or 4 years and turn the tree into charcoal to sell. Yes, teak charcoal.

He had tried several payment methods ... daily, weekly, and monthly. Each presented challenges, including the risks of traveling with a lot of cash. Daily was a lot of work to manage. If he paid weekly, the employees would often not show up for work for 2 days after payment because they would be out drinking. If he paid them monthly, they would often not have money for food at the end of the month. So he settled on a hybrid model: he pays them 50% of their wages weekly, and then the other 50% of their wages at the end of the month.

Payment is very technologically advanced. In my previous post, I mention that there are cellphone "shops" in each village where one can recharge (with usage credit) a phone, and transfer money. Employers can usually pay money in at a cellphone outlet, then transfer that (for a fee) to the cellphone of a worker using SMS text messages. The worker can then withdraw that money as cash, or (in turn) transfer (again, for a fee) funds to the hair salon or the fruit & vegetable stand. The cellphone company gets the use of the money while it's held in the accounts. It's called M-Pesa (mobile-money) and you can read more about it here.

Land is often farmed without holding title to it. The government owns the land but will sell a 99-year leasehold (UK model) of the land to an individual, and then expect payment of 4,200 - 5,000 shillings (~$3) a year per acre as a land use tax. The only reason someone would (and would want to go through the Byzantine bureaucracy to) get a title to the land is if they needed to use it as collateral for a loan. Even microfinance loans require some kind of collateral.

Business is good for him, and for farmers like him. Treating employees well seems to be a global constant for getting good results.

#ibmcsc Tanzania

"How much does a goat cost?"

OK, so it's not a usual question from an IBMer in a meeting (as my colleague Al Prior pointed out with some laughter). More about that exchange later.

Internet access has been a challenge, and that is part of the reason for a delay in posting this blog entry - other parts include availability of time, being just a little weary from travel, and needing some time to process all I've seen, felt, heard, and experienced since my last entry.

On Wednesday, we departed Dar es Salaam for Tanga. We expected a 9-hour journey by bus; it ended up being 10 hours. I could say that the time flew by, but it did not. After traveling ~2 hours up the Bagamoyo Road, we discovered that a bridge (or perhaps the approach to the bridge; not sure) was out. We had to turn around, go a fair portion of the way back to Dar, then cut west to get to the motorway. The road conditions alternate from paved, supporting up to 120 kph (80 mph) speeds, to bone-rattling potholes for miles at a time, causing our driver to regularly change sides of the road to avoid holes that could have damaged the bus (even crawling along). There is a bright side to this journey (that we will make twice more south, and once more north): it affords an incredible view of life in Tanzania at eye-level.

The land is quite flat at the Dar es Salaam start of the journey, is dotted by valleys with streams (with people farming nearby, bathing in the streams, and populated by brilliantly-colored red birds), and  becomes increasingly hilly - even mountainous off to the northwest - as we approach the port city of Tanga. The soil went from a dusty red to a Georgia-clay color, to a rich brick red, to a brownish red.

Villages have various combinations of a few common elements:

• A cellular phone tower (with electricity, of course, while the homes around it did not)
• A store where you can transfer money via cellphone (more about that later)
• A hair salon
• Food stands with tomatoes, peppers, cashews, oranges, coconuts, passionfruit, etc.
• Structures (homes) made of sticks and mud, occasionally from blocks of mud formed into cinder-block-sized elements
• Speed traps - sometimes a police presence with a battery-operated radar gun, often not.
• Chickens (often), goats (ubiquitous), cows, turkeys, and ducks (rarely) roaming the side of the road, sometimes being tended by herders, sometimes not. One cow had a meeting with a semi; it appeared to have ended not well for either of the parties.
• Subsistence farming, or occasionally larger planted fields.
• A school (kids in school uniforms; school is available but not compulsory)
• A mosque & perhaps a madrasa

There are rows of shops in some of the larger villages, and perhaps a gas station with a restaurant nearby.

The women, often carrying large, unwieldy loads of a bucket, bags of vegetables, or boxes balanced perfectly (and unheld) on their heads (while walking) have vivid, colorful clothing. Men appear more plainly dressed.

We stopped for a couple of "comfort" breaks and lunch (including a comfort break at the side of the road just for me).

We got to the hotel just before 7PM, got checked in, had a nice welcome drink (that had passionfruit juice in it: yum), dropped our bags in our rooms, and went to the restaurant for a buffet dinner.

While we had internet access when we arrived, there was apparently a power failure (they happen occasionally throughout the day) at the internet service provider in town, and we lost connectivity for about 18 hours.

Thursday was spent with some local government leadership (hospitality is huge here - so welcoming) and then our local hosts. We had lunch overlooking the Indian Ocean, learning so much more about the realities of business - and life - here (including the aforementioned cost of a goat - about $3). Dinner was with the larger team back at the hotel.

We spent Friday morning at the Tanga Port (part of the Tanzania Port Authority), hearing from their leadership about the infrastructure challenges faced, and how they are moving things forward by frank dialog with all the stakeholders in the Port Improvement Association. Lunch at the hotel (we placed our order around 11:45 it came to the table close to 2), and then time to work individually and as a team, trying to put together our observations so far, and plan our recommendations. We went to a (the) local grocery store and open market (fruit & vegetables on the right, abbatoir on the left, chickens and a bunny in cages in the middle), and also picked up our weekly recharges for our cellphones (about $3.10 for 210 minutes of domestic voice, unlimited SMS, and 1.5GB of data). I hope to get back to the city market (and look through the local library) and take some pictures to post here.

The number of flies here - everywhere, especially while dining outside - is surprising and comes as a shock, being accustomed to very different situations at restaurants and hotels. People here just take it in stride. They spray the room for mosquitoes (and other crawlies) at turn-down service. The air conditioning in the rooms is "essential" for us Westerners; the difference between needs and wants, however, is not lost on me having seen so much this week.

I had some stomach issues yesterday (much better this morning) so I did not join the team for dinner last evening, opting to sleep a bit and stay "closer to home".

I will create a separate entry - perhaps by the pool in a bit - to relate some family history shared with us by a local farmer. Moving & fascinating.

Thank you for your interest ... I'll stay in touch.

#ibmcsc Tanzania

Jumping in with both feet

It's been a whirlwind few days. The hospitality, generosity, and friendship from the local hosts and the rest of the team make this very enjoyable.

Sunday, we had a meeting with Theo Mlaki and Phil Mogendi (two of our hosts from Digital Opportunity Trust) to recap the conversations we had with our organizational hosts at the Saturday night dinner.

Radka Zahradkova and Bwana Mlaki

We went to lunch at Break Point, and then continued a long-ish drive to the cultural heritage sites at Bagamoyo (which means "I leave my heart here". This was where slaves - many of whom had seen the sea for the first time - were loaded onto a dhow and taken to the markets in Zanzibar for sale. They were not sure if they would ever see land, their land, or family again. Most did not.

The local guides whom Phil arranged were knowledgeable and happy to answer our questions.

We toured an ancient mosque and ruins at the Kaole site, and walked around a several-hundred-year-old Baobab tree.

Walking to the Baobab tree

We saw the place where rebels were confined and hanged; at stark contrast was a group of musicians and dancers not 100 meters away.

Dancers and musicians at Bagamoyo Beach

We ended our exploration that day at the point where so many started theirs; the first port that was built there for the slave trade.

Boats for commercial travel to Zanzibar

Monday (yesterday) was full of information and education for us. We started with another briefing and Q&A session with David Sawe (IBM Tanzania General Manager) then were collected by our host organizations for briefings by them and more insight into their businesses and their challenges. We learned a lot about the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF), they provided a nice lunch, and we went mid-afternoon to the Tanzania National Business Council (TNBC), part of the Prime Minister's office.

Our hosts and other meeting participants have the patience of Job with our learning cycle and all our questions.

We got back to the hotel a little before 6 ... I had a glorious twenty-minute nap ... and then dinner (seafood pasta) by the pool with my team, summarizing all we had heard & learned yesterday, and planning out the tasks we have in front of us today. There is *so much* opportunity here that could be enhanced with skills transfer, education, and modest budgets.

Time is at a premium for us here ... I find the mornings a good time to reflect and write; the evenings are time for trying to clear my mind just a little before getting to sleep. I think the anti-malarial medicine is giving me odd, vivid dreams. Like the one last night where I was singing with Barbra Streisand, having been to a garage sale with my friend Harvey Mallory and watching a tornado off in the distance.

Lots on the agenda today, including some time at the IBM office to print out some of the reference material the organizations have given us. Tomorrow, we leave for Tanga and the opportunity to work with some of the organizations in the region & districts. We will be back in Dar es Salaam twice more - once for our midterm reviews, and once again at the end of our assignment (which will approach all too rapidly).

I saw the news about the explosions in Boston. My US team from there are safe, and I hope the same is true for you and your loved ones.

#ibmcsc Tanzania

Arrived safely!

Great travel day – had an entire middle-section row to myself on the Newark-Zurich flight and was asleep within 15 minutes of takeoff … woke up just in time for a croissant and landing. Easy connection in Zurich, met with Christian and Radka, and got on the flight to Nairobi & Dar es Salaam. Met Birgitte on the plane.

There were only 29 people left in coach on the Nairobi-DAR flight. We had hoped to catch a glimpse of Kilimanjaro on the flight, but it was a) too cloudy, and b) too dark.  We were met by one of our contacts here, processed our “temporary assignment” visas (to go along with our visas we obtained in the US), collected our luggage, and got on a comfortable minibus for the ~20 minute trip to the hotel.

The people here, without exception, have been friendly, outgoing, and very gracious hosts.

Christian, Radka, Birgitte, and I agreed that we’d take 10 minutes to drop off our things, then meet downstairs for a beer. There’s a nice pool-side bar, with a German soccer match on the telly (just for Christian, I think) where we enjoyed a couple of Kilimanjaro beers while talking about families, food (and our shared love of garlic) travel, aging (gracefully), some goals for our project, and got to know each other better. Face-to-face is so much better than conference calls.

Technology: The wireless internet is not zippy. It will, generally, support VoIP connections, so I’ve been able to check in back home and let people know I arrived safely. I’ve set up my router with the wired connection in the room (who doesn’t travel with a router?) and have a) a secured wireless connection (at least to the point that it joins the wired link) and b) somewhat better speeds.

The hotel is clean & comfortable. It’s nice to be unpacked, and it was great to sleep in a firm bed last night. I woke up at my usual 4:30-ish, and heard the call to prayer (in the rain) around 5AM.

I don’t know if it’s the climate, the foods, the spices, or what – yet  - but stepping off the plane brought back distinct memories of Singapore and KL. If it’s food, this is going to be a tasty trip.

Today we have breakfast, briefings, banking, (and, ending the alliteration) getting local cellphones & SIM cards. Tonight is a dress-up welcome dinner to meet folks from our host organizations. Expect pictures.

Speaking of … here are Radka & Christian at the airport in Zurich:

...and here are the four of us (adding Birgitte and Rob) on the short fuel stop in Nairobi.

More to follow after today’s adventures. Looking forward to seeing this bustling city in the daylight. Apparently we’re next to the fruit market; if I understood correctly, 1.5 kilos of passion fruit will cost well under $2USD. And I’m expected to bargain them down from that J

#CSC Tanzania

It starts today.

2:09 A.M.; have been up for an hour - just like last night. Trying to get an early jump on jetlag (it usually helps on trips to Asia & Australia.

I've been 99.9% finished with packing since Saturday. Occasionally I'll think, "You know, I should take ... (a baseball cap. an extra pen. some notecards. more business cards.)" and I can easily add them. I'm taking 4 sets of clothes in addition to what I'll wear. A small pharmacy "just in case". More technology than existed when I started at IBM 25 1/2 years ago. My Nikon digital SLR, a couple of lenses (including my big zoom lens) and a good flash. Chargers. Connectors. A few snacks. And the 11.5 pounds of tchotchkes IBM asked me to take "if I had some extra space" (ha). This may be one of the 2 times I've ever had to check a second bag, but it's a discardable one ... unless it's full of prezzies coming home.

I'm vaccinated against typhoid,  and start the malaria prophylaxis this morning. Had my last allergy shot for 5 weeks yesterday. Still have the cough from my mini-flu two weeks ago, and it gets a little better every day.

My team at work has been terrific on picking up items to cover in my absence.

First flight at 12:15 today (getting to the airport way early to participate in just a couple of calls before I disconnect): first stop Washington DC, then Zurich, then Nairobi (just a quick stop), then Dar es Salaam tomorrow night at 8:05 local time. Then some sleep, and a weekend full of meetings, and getting over jet lag.

Can't wait!

Let the travel begin.

15 days to departure!

Things continue to progress toward the IBM Corporate Service Corps adventure in Tanzania.

Received my passport back from the embassy in under a week, and I'm now "official".

The main team has been distributed into three subteams, each of which will work on different projects:

• Tanzania Meteorological Agency
• Recycling sisal fiber
• Creating Public / Private dialog & partnerships

I'll be working on the Public/Private part, helping business associations and businesses work effectively with public & governmental organizations. There's been a fair amount of previous work done on this topic globally, in Africa, and even some in Tanzania; a lot of our preparatory work will help us to avoid reinventing any wheels and learning from what has (and has not) worked elsewhere. My colleagues on this subteam are from Australia, Brazil, the Czech Republic, and the Philippines, and we bring a combined 50 years of IBM experience with us.

We're now having weekly meetings for each of the subteams, as well as our overall preparatory meeting for the entire group. Our preliminary workplan is due next week.

My team (and my colleagues) continue to be tremendously supportive. I'm blessed to have this opportunity, and to have so many people supporting my work ... they each contribute to its success.

More to come ...

#ibmcsc Tanzania

Continuing preparations for Tanzania #ibmcsc

As part of getting ready to be gone for a few weeks, I've done the usual things:

• Checked with my doctor (will get some shots & things to take with me in the next couple of weeks).
• Sent my passport off (today) to get my visa. I'm a little unsettled when my passport isn't where I know it should be - in my computer bag. It'll be back soon.
• Reading, reading, reading about Tanzania and the work we'll be doing (more about that in a future blog).
• Started culling items from my calendar (my cullendar?) for the time I'll be away. My team is stepping right up to help.
• Getting used to the features of a new camera. The Nikon D2x served me well, but it has been replaced with a D800. All the lenses, flash, & accessories work with the new one.
• Thinking about which bills (I write only one check a month) need to be prepaid.
• Drafted the note to friends & family with all the details about my itinerary and how to reach me in an emergency.

... and today, I am opening my blog.

My plan is to use this for more in-depth writing than just a Facebook update or an Instagram picture. I'm still not sure what to expect with regard to connectivity there ... but I'm resourceful.

I will start posting pictures here at some point, and will also link to colleagues on my team who will be in Tanzania as well.

Please excuse some frequent updates & edits while I get this going.

For some background, here is information about the Corporate Service Corps in general, and some information about the great work done by the previous 9 teams sent to Tanzania.

Zaidi kuja haraka! (More to come soon!)

#ibmcsc Tanzania

Test posting