Africa Camp Graz – Part 2
Notes from Africa Camp Graz 2011, 26.11.2011 in Graz. List of topics here. As there were parallel sessions I could only attend half of them.
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Teeth for Africa – http://www.zaehnefuerafrika.com/en/
“Dentist family project”, started in 2006
1 hour from Arusha, in the Kilimanjaro region (Tanzania) there was a lack of dental health care
They took all dental care and other medical equipment they could get in Austria, put it in a container and shipped it to the local dispensary in Uchira
Worked together with local people to build up dentist surgery
Taught local technician to build tooth-protheses
Surgeries initially done by specialists from Austria – 3 family members are dentists – but since October 2011 there’s a local dentist
Several sponsors – university clinic, other dentists, dental companies
Cooperation with Med-Uni Graz
- students can have an internship in Uchira
Local dentist & technician are working together in the mean time and everyday dental care is working ok
Treatment is not for free because people have to get a salary, rent for rooms, …
- depending on salary of patients
Supporting the project – on the homepage
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ICT4D – (what to do with) IT and mobile phones in “developing countries”
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Laafi – rural hospitals in Burkina Faso – http://www.laafi.at/
Since 1994, 14 members, financing health projects in Burkina Faso
Costs are covered by donations and
Usually 1 hospital for an area with 10.000-20.000 people
Many duties
- medical care in the hospital
- awareness about hygiene in the villages
- family planning
- pharmacy
Burkina Faso has a national initiative to supply all areas in the country with hospitals – but there is no state budget for it; but the personnel is sent to hospitals which are built by other initiatives
Laafi
- looking for projects
- working with village community and medical personnel
- co-financing by the village community (20-30%)
- local companies, local resources
- control and evaluation on the spot
- sticking to reliable project partners
Several projects in Burkina Faso
General medical situation very basic
Budget
- 1/3 Laafi calendar
- 1/3 private supporters
- 1/3 institutional donations
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Social Media for NGOs
Prezi-presentation at http://prezi.com/npk3rwlixuks/social-media-fur-ngos/
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Further material online
Resources at the Afrika-Camp site: http://www.barcamp.at/Speakers_AfrikaCamp_Graz_2011
Arabian Spring – a social media revolution – Prezi: http://prezi.com/hsdnvfkq_k7g/arabischer-fruhling-eine-social-media-revolution/
Social Media in Africa – Prezi: http://prezi.com/wumvtu_gvmdx/social-media-in-afrika/
Africa Camp Graz – Part 1
Notes from Africa Camp Graz 2011, 26.11.2011 in Graz. List of topics here. As there were parallel sessions I could only attend half of them.
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Micro Credits as a measure to extend capitalist production
In the mean time more than 100 million people received micro-credits; counting all members of the family there are soon 1 billion people affected by microcredits
More and more institutions are entering the market (becuase they see the possibility for profit) which results into competition and more focus on profit than on information and assistance
Interest rates become higher and more and more people are not able to pay back the microcredits
- many cases for this (India, suicide of farmers)
- social pressure to pay back loans
- sometimes physical force is used to pay back loans
People receiving microcredits often don’t make the step to become independent entrepreneurs and therefore become workers who have no option, only to sell their work force
–> Extension of the capitalist production circumstances
–> People become dependent on private companies/NGOs/institutions and not the state anymore (social system)
–> Makes situation of the people worse, not better
–> The assumption that “social capitalism” works is wrong, as soon as there is competition, the companies who don’t care about social standards win – in general and in our current system
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Mojoproject – www.mojoproject.org
Started as building project TU Graz – connected with ITHUBA
– Mojo fullscale stodio – not for profit
– Mojo architectural studio – for profit
Trying to improve the situation by providing education
Active in South Africa & Tanzania – 2 schools each
Building schools in townships & rural areas
- Also important who runs the school
- Focusing on educating women
- Integrating young local men in the building of the schools – teaching them crafting skills on the job
Planning, building and also raising money themselves
- student project as initial kickstart – half year of a lot of work
- need project partners – universities, NGOs, companies, many sponsors
Open for additional projects from other organisations
Final aim – local people learn building skills and can act independently
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Learning from the slum Kibera – from a land use planning perspective
Taking lessons from Kibera to architectural planning projects in the West
- slum in Nairobi
- ~1 million inhabitants
Hierarchy of space
- 1. public spaces for all
- 2. public spaces for private activities
- 3. spaces for reaching other places
- core elements – living space and courtyard
System that emerged without architects
- Partition between public and private spaces much more logical & natural than in the west
- clear borders between private and public – also athmospherical
- small clusters of private spaces gathering around public spaces
- spaces spiraling from public to private spaces
Systemic approach – inside vs. outside
- clear “rules” that distinguish places inside and outside these different spaces structures
- addition of structures from North to South
- Kibera as an “island”
Public space as more flexible entity – created and changed based on community input
No strict partitions as in the West – no more fighting fore public space
Learning from “slum cultures”
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