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Computing in Rwanda? 56

Posted by Cliff from the coders-in-the-cradle-of-civilization dept.
gehel asks: "In September I will be going to Rwanda, working for a year in a developement project as a Computer Science guy. I'm leaving with an association that doesn't have much experience in sending CS guys over there, but I'm sure some Slashdot readers have some experience in that field. For all those who know Rwanda or Africa better than me, or for those who have been working in developement projects: What should I be prepared for? What would you bring with you to go there? How do you think we can bring Computer Science to a developement project in Africa, without creating too much dependencies on the North? What are the typical failures of such projects?"
"I don't know much about what I am going to do there except : I will be based in Kigali. I will be working (at least partly) as a sysadmin with existing computer installations (most probably Windows based), I will do some teaching (mostly in system administration), and I might work a bit to help creating a new radio station. Finally, I'd like to add that I am proud to be doing this as a service for my country."
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Computing in Rwanda? More

Computing in Rwanda?

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  • Power, Heat, People (Score:5, Informative)

    by gbrandt ( 113294 ) on Friday July 29, 2005 @07:00PM (#13199072)
    A few notes from my visit to Ghana:

    1. you and your equipment will find the heat incredible
    2. power is unrealiable at best, brownouts and black outs are common and will last from 5 minutes to 5 hours
    3. watch your stuff! You are in an extremely poor country and will be viewed as quite rich. Many people will have no problem helping themselves to your 'wealth'. (of course thats true everywhere, but there are WAY more poor people in Africa).
    4. DO NOT sit in an office all day, every day, get out, see the country and/or continent. Africa and it people are amazing.
    5. Remember, people here are from a different culture, watch what you say and do until you know better.

    That should cover the first little while :-)

    Gregor

    • Good start! (Score:4, Informative)

      by Roadkills-R-Us ( 122219 ) on Friday July 29, 2005 @07:31PM (#13199231) Homepage
      In addition...
      1. Be careful of strangers unless in public (e.g., be wary of taxis); see #3 above.
      2. You will find a lot of hospitable, giving people; they may be a bit offended if you reject their hospitality. This can conflict with #1 here, but that's life.
      3. Finding a local mentor will help immensely.
      4. Expect to not be able to find a lot of things you can easily get here, such as PopTarts.
      5. Talk to a travel bureau about clothing, etc.
      Caveat: I haven't been personally, but have several friends who have been within the past year. These suggestions are based on their stories of their trips.

      • Re:Good start! (Score:3, Interesting)

        by infonography ( 566403 )
        You have a few things they don't have and neither will you when you get there. Google.

        Before you go reseach research research. Also pick up a copy of Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle. It is a well considered look at what a tech should face when suddenly being denied Tech. There are resources for getting you power, clean water and other things that are quite simple to do. If you do your research then you may be able to make due on much less then anyone thinks possible. They have all the

    • Re:Power, Heat, People (Score:2, Insightful)

      by takeya ( 825259 ) *
      2 medical notes:

      look into getting extra-immunized against diseases that are widespread (and even not so widespread) down there.

      find the local hospital and remember how to get there.

      Also, if the power is unreliable, make sure you bring a lot of books, or extra long life batteries for your laptop. And a UPS for any desktops you have there, the last thing you want happening is some bad data loss.

      • Re:Power, Heat, People (Score:4, Informative)

        by itwerx ( 165526 ) on Friday July 29, 2005 @09:43PM (#13199889) Homepage
        look into getting extra-immunized against diseases that are widespread (and even not so widespread) down there.


        And be sure to get started (i.e. visit your local travel health center) at least 6 months ahead of time, (a year would be better) as some immunizations and whatnot require multiple doses with a long waiting period in between. You do NOT want to get your visa denied just because your missing some stinkin' vaccination... :)
        • My brothers last trip to Africa landed him malaria. He was prescribed immunization pills before hand, but stopped taking them because they made him sick.

          If he had finished his presctiption he probably wouldn't be stuck with malaria for the rest of his life.
          • If he had finished his presctiption he probably wouldn't be stuck with malaria for the rest of his life.

            Interestingly, they've recently sequenced the malaria genome (don't have an article link, sorry) and discovered that 64 of the genes are useless "bits" that are flipped randomly with every generation. Apparently this is how it escapes detection by the body's immune system - every generation is a "new" critter.
            Even more interesting is the fact that they figured out how to "freeze" th
            • I call your bluff.

              If the genes are "useless" as you say, they don't code for proteins, in which case the cell appears the same to the immune system. Our immune system targets proteins primarily, not DNA. That's why some drugs are good against a plethora of pathogens, because they share characteristic proteins.

              So in summary, I think you made this up. Or you heard it from someone likewise uneducated in biology.

              The problem with slashdot is its primarily for computer nerds, instead of chemistry nerds, so che

              • If the genes are "useless" as you say, they don't code for proteins, in which case the cell appears the same to the immune system.
                Who says they can't code for proteins and still be irrelevant to the normal operation of malaria? When I said "useless" I was referring to the physical functionality of the malaria. Obviously they are very useful as a "cloaking device"!

                And you obviously didn't Google for it (though admittedly I didn't either until goaded by your less than genteel response) since I found referen [google.com]
      • Oh, forgot to add this:

        find the local hospital and remember how to get there
        Many third world hospitals are truly horrible. You may get better care from the friendly local ex-patriot veterinarian. (Really! Ask around when you get there...)

  • Don't forget.... (Score:1, Offtopic)

    by telstar ( 236404 )
    Make sure to look up Junis [slashdot.org] when you get over there.

  • have you thought this out? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by linuxbert ( 78156 ) on Saturday July 30, 2005 @01:29AM (#13200657) Homepage Journal
    Please do not take this the wrong way. I admire anyone who goes out of their way to lend their skills and talents to people in need, but.,.

    Do you know any of the recent history of Rewanda? 10 years ago a large portion of the population was brutally hacked to death with macheties. "computer science" projects are, in my opininon, right at the bottom of the list fo things Rawanda needs. I undersatnd that there is a legitamate need for IT people to support aid agencies, and their work, but I doubt there are any projects that will benifit the people directly.

    My 2 pieces fo advice are:
      1. learn french. it is one of the most commonly spoken langauges in Rawanda.
    2.Read the book "Shake Hands with teh Devil" by Romeo Dallaire
    This book provides a brief history of the genocide in Rawanda, as well as valuable insights into how the people live.

    Radio is highly influential and accessable in Rawanda. Computers are not. modern technology will likely do little to help the average Rawanden's conditon to improve. Linux will not change their situation. Use your talents and skills to solve problems. Dont use fancy solutions - keep it simple and make it work.

    Most of all, good luck in your journey, and stay safe.
  • 1. Power is a problem. Buy an extra laptop battery if possible.

    2. Computer parts are probably more expensive in Rwanda than at your friendly NewEgg etc, etc. (see 1.)

    3. Internet Connectivity is lkely to be way slower than what you're used to. 256 kbps is all that I have here.

    4. Try and see if you can get language-localised distros - I know that we've been using localised ones. Fonts and localised FF and OOo supplied by the Government!

    5. Be prepared to meet a LOT of esoteric older hardware. Be ruthless - but

  • Man... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Uber Banker ( 655221 ) * on Saturday July 30, 2005 @06:21AM (#13201256)
    ...don't go to Rwanda. There are lots of great African countries, but most of them don't have a recent history of genocide. It was 10 years ago - you think that's a long time - well all the people that did it are still there, the same psychology that led up to the genocide still exists, and most perpetrators were not imprisoned.

    You may have "done some travelling" but you're about to choose one of the most troubled and dangerous countries on this planet - its not a week in Mexico.
    • most of the African countries have an recent history of genocide.
      • Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • Where do you get this ridiculous statistic? I live in South Africa myself (not related to the topic, just to establish I do have some (limited) local knowledge).

        There are 49 countries in Africa. Several (possibly even most) have had a civil war or an armed uprising against colonial rule at some point in their history. Many of those countries have been relatively peaceful for decades though (peaceful != democratic or uncorrupt, which is not what I'm trying to say. I'm not saying that all African nations are
        • Add Burundi to the list. More to the point, a better question is "how many countries have been ravaged by civil war?" - genocide covers ethnic fighting but political fighting has claimed just as many lives throughout all parts of Africa. From post-independence to today ie. Mozambique/Angola/Uganda/Burundi/Rwanda/DRC/Congo / Chad/CAR/Sierra Leone/Liberia/ICoast/Nigeria/Sudan/Somalia/Ethiopi a/Eritrea....... just making a not so quick point! And yes it evidently paints a bleak picture - but reality is reality
          • a better question is "how many countries have been ravaged by civil war?"

            This is quite correct - I did actually note that most African nations have had a civil war or colonial uprising at some point.

            I agree with you when you say that it is a bleak picture, I'll be the first to agree, I was really just objecting to the sweeping statement that is so often made - that all of Africa is engaged in barbaric war and there is no hope at all. I apologise if I sounded a bit evangelical about it.

            Also, I did forget Bur

  • Come back alive (Score:3, Informative)

    by putko ( 753330 ) on Saturday July 30, 2005 @07:20AM (#13201365) Homepage Journal
    He's got info: http://www.comebackalive.com/df/dplaces/rwanda/ind ex.htm [comebackalive.com]
  • People are saying Rwanda is for the gorillaz, but
    Sierra Leone sounds the most nuts: [hrw.org]

    "Witnesses describe the existence of distinct units known for committing particular crimes, like the Burn House Unit, Cut Hands Commando, and Blood Shed Squad. Some of these squads had a trademark way of killing such as the Kill Man No Blood unit, whose method was to beat people to death without shedding blood, or the Born Naked Squad, who stripped their victims before killing them. The closer ECOMOG forces got to rebe
  • Don't worry too much. Rwanda is a beautiful country. The climate is really nice in Kigali. Be sure to plan a trip to see the gorillas. It is quite expensive now for us Muzungus but still worth it I think.

    Power is 220v (often running below that). You will need to set the UPSs accordingly.

    You won't be able to get too many conponents there so bring the pieces you need or plan a trip to Nairobi.

    There is a little talked about wireless internet service from the telecom so ask the IT folks there (There was 1
  • I have been there 1998 and lots of things were different than I would have thought. Feel free to contact me directly (elbrecht [at] informatik [dot] uni-bonn [dot] de), as I will now spare details and stay brief:

    - I expected old hardware, but as everything had to be imported, old hardware was rarely floating flea markets like here. I found recent stuff of pricey brands.

    - Take a laptop with strong battery if you can, as that is good to work with and cheaper than a UPS. Also cheaper to ship.
  • Finally, I'd like to add that I am proud to be doing this as a service for my country.

    Wouldn't you be more proud if you did this service entirely voluntarily instead of as part of a compulsary military service?
    Anyone in the western world with some skills (in about anything) can voluteer to do some work in Africa or elsewhere.
  • So there's a fork among these posts. Political vs. practical. I was in Rwanda a year ago so I'll try to answer your questions and dispel some myths. Rwanda: Genocide - yes, horrible, absolutely stupefying. You'll see remnants and reminders of what happened. But it's over. The people want to move on and build their economy so projects like this are desperately needed. The government, led by former Rebel leader Paul Kagame, has one of the most progressive policies in Africa - built in large part on strengthe
  • I would check out the Swedish African Museums program at www.samp.org their web site is absolute crap, but the director Elisabet has connections all over Africa and she would be able to put you in contact with people who have implemented various and sundry IT projects.

    Jacob

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