Coach Yourself to Productivity

Here's another piece of advice from Aled Davies who has been featured quite often on this blog. Taking a slight discourse from his usual discussions on how to to improve communication, Aled's focus this time is on productivity (specifically, Coaching Yourself to Productivity - Accomplish more in less time). Have a read and stay on top of those deadlines!

On a daily basis I can get overwhelmed by the amount of information I need to consume, decisions I need to make and outputs I need to deliver. I’ve noticed how easy it is to become susceptible to the evils of overwhelm; conflicting priorities, task-creep and intolerance. The secret, I’ve realised, isn’t to get more done in less time, let’s not confuse productivity with busyness here. The secret is to actually get less done.

I bet that sounds counter intuitive to you, right? Getting less done? How can I get less done when I’ve got more to do each day? That did occur to me and that’s when I realised I needed to re-programme my mindset and find a strategy to support this belief, otherwise my current working habits would lead me to burn out.

The three biggest factors that contribute to ineffectiveness are distractions, die-hard habits and reactive thinking. So let’s deal with the biggest first.

Distractions

The biggest distraction is technology. Before I lambast the technological advancements of the 21st century, I’ll admit technology has helped to create radical efficiencies in the way we work but many of these efficiencies actually contribute to our ineffectiveness. Email, SMS, mobile phones and social media are all perpetrators of the distraction culture. We allow ourselves to be distracted by these culprits and use peculiar rules in our minds to justify these distractions; “I’m waiting for an urgent call, email, text etc..”; ”If I don’t take this call, read this email or check this text message my boss will get really mad…”; “this might be the call I’ve been waiting for…”. Ring any bells, pardon the pun? I accept that there are urgent matters to attend from time to time but if you live your life on that precipice of urgency then there’s got to be something wrong.

To beat the big distraction requires 3 disciplines;

1. Solitary Confinement -Turn off Outlook, mobile devices and any notifiers, divert all calls to voicemail. Put your mobile device out of physical reach (the physical habit of picking it up to check will be too strong to resist if it’s on your desk in front of you – habits are that strong.)

2. Task Selection – Focus on one task and one task only until it’s complete. Selecting which task to work on is simple. Only work on mission critical tasks that are directly connected to outcomes and move you closer towards goal achievement. You should know exactly what these tasks are and how they contribute to your outcomes and goals. The very last thing you do at the end of each day is to line up the three mission critical tasks for the following day, so that you know exactly what you need to do when the clock starts.

3. The 50-10-50 Rule – Set a watch or clock in front of you and for 50 uninterrupted minutes work on one task only. When 50 minutes is up, get up from your chair, take a break do something different but only for 10 minutes. Then back at your desk for another 50 minutes and work on the same task until completion. I know what you’re thinking. ‘Hold on, I’ll never complete this task in 50 minutes’, right? Then let me remind you of Parkinson’s coefficient of inefficiency which states that ‘the amount of time in which one has to perform a task is the amount of time it will take to complete said task.’ If you’ve got 5 days to complete a task, you’ll generally take 5 days to complete the task. If you’ve been given an immovable deadline of 1-hour for the same task, you’ll get it done in 1-hour, I guarantee. Set yourself immovable deadlines, become the master of your own deadlines and work to those deadlines, you’ll be surprised as to how focused and effective you can be.

Update

On Friday we had our first mentor-mentee session, and I'm glad to say that it went really well! It was great to see most mentors showed up. Again though, I must stress that these sessions are purely for mentor-mentee interaction. If for any reason no mentor in a group is able to make it on a given day, please ensure you let your mentees know so they don't end up waiting.

You may have noticed that during the mentor-mentee session, Christiana and I were meeting with mentees from last year. We are working with them to produce a stage production of Meshack Asare's The Cross Drums, our course text for this year. On the 12th of February, we'll be holding a script development workshop at Databank. It will take place between 10am and 12pm in the Boardroom. You're more than welcome to come along if you wish. You're also welcome to take part in the development of the play itself, but remember your priority should always be on your current mentees.

As usual I'll be back with more updates as they come... enjoy the week!

We've been reading...

AU Summit Expected to Focus on Ivory Coast, Sudan
allAfrica -- The 18th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union (AU) will hold in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 27 to 28 January 2011 under the banner of shared values. This decision was taken by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union to have a common understanding of the values that Member States of the continental organization share and which should guide their actions toward greater unity and an integrated Africa.The Ministers of Foreign Affairs or other ministers or authorities designated by the governments of Member States who form the Executive Council will review the draft Declaration on the Summit theme "Shared Values in Africa: for greater unity and integration" before it is sent to the AU Assembly...

Showing US leadership through innovation in foreign assistance
ONE -- If you caught the president’s State of the Union address a couple of nights ago, you’d know a big part of his vision for America was focused on innovation and competitiveness. “Our success in this new and changing world,” Obama said, “will require reform, responsibility, and innovation.” He presented a bold plan to create jobs and grow our economy through reformed education, more efficient government and investment in science and technology. It was an inspiring speech that called upon Americans to “do big things.” But this talk isn’t new. Throughout government, we’ve been seeing a lot of these principles put in practice by many agencies and programs, including those working on foreign assistance. The State Department, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have all put a premium on becoming more efficient, effective and transparent in their support for poor nations and are embracing innovative ideas to save money and make a bigger impact...

Global governance in a changing world
Huffington Post -- This year's World Economic Forum meeting in Davos is focusing on the challenges of global governance. Are international institutions capable of addressing today's problems in light of recent shifts in global power? What will these institutions look like when emerging powers such as Brazil, India and South Africa have a seat at the table? Recent elections to the United Nations Security Council give us a glimpse of the future. For the next year, Brazil, India and South Africa will all sit on the 15-member council, and all three aspire to become permanent members. How will they conduct themselves? Of particular interest to me, will they join efforts to defend human rights? There is reason for both hope and apprehension...

GTUC, India to establish African IT Institute in Ghana.
GNA -- Ghana Telecom University College in collaboration with the Indian government have concluded plans to establish an Indian-African Information Technology Institute to cater for member countries of the African Union. Apart from creating indepth knowledge in information Technology, the Institute would also delve into the areas of health and education as major components of accelerated development in the continent. Mr Harish Arora, Counsellor of the Indian High Commission, announced this when the Indian and College delegations called on Vice President John Dranmani Mahama at the Castle, Osu. Mr Arora said students of the Institute would be universally accepted on account of the intensity of the courses and appealed to the Government of Ghana to support them with adequate infrastructure to bring the project into fruition...

Great news for book lovers in Ghana!

I was linked to this post through a post on Accra Books and Things. It comes from Geosi Reads, a blog chartering the journey of a book addict. Apparently, www.ghanalibrary.com is starting an eLibrary service (something I have attempted to do on this blog). It seems interesting, although the scheme itself doesn't start until tomorrow. Have a look:

Just after work yesterday, I passed by Akuafo Hall of residence only to see one of the biggest good news for any person who loves books. Right at the porters lodge of the hall, I picked up a small leaflet from the front desk.

The leaflets said:

‘Hurray!!! Students. Get unlimited access to over 500,000 books on www.ghanalibrary.com. Download on your laptop, pen drive, copy or print over 500,000 books spread across all subject disciplines; medicine, humanities, computers and IT, law Business, Agriculture, Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Literature, journals and articles, education, etc, used by other university students all over the world.’

In fact, I should say I could not hide my excitement about this news as I was much particular and keen about the books on literature. Surely, there lies my sole interest – Literature.

Below the leaflet were the steps to follow:

1. Buy your e-library scratch card for GH15 at your Ghanalibrary vendors at Porters Lodge(Hall Residence), On-the-Run, SRC Offices.

2. Visit www.ghanalibrary.com

3. Register with your ID number and your e-library scratch card pin number, and enjoy the very best of 500,000 academic textbooks and literature spread across all subject disciplines.

After going through the steps, I was eager to purchase the e-library scratch card there and then. I consulted one of the men at the porter’s lodge and I was told that the cards would be in by Friday. I am hoping to get myself a copy when the cards are finally in. I see the whole project to be an interesting one since access to books would be much more easier and cheaper. I am only hoping that most of the contemporary books would be available to download.

Steps forward in mental health

You may or may not know this, but Databank Foundation's main focus areas are Leadership Development (of which the YLMP is part) and Mental Health. I came across this post on the NGO News Africa blog which got me thinking about brain drain and its consequences. Here's an excerpt:

The issue of health in Africa is big news. Billions of dollars are spent annually, to fight diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, water-borne parasites and TB. These issues are rightly being targeted in efforts to improve the health of Africa, but one of the next challenges must be to change the attitudes regarding mental health across the continent. Psychiatrics is a specialism which African healthcare has tended to overlook.

In Ghana, government spending on mental health services represents just 3.9% of the total health budget (the equivalent figure in the UK is 12%). This funding is shared between Ghana’s three psychiatric hospitals, which are all clustered in the south of the country. There are only four psychiatrists currently practising in the public sector, all of whom are based in the south.

A serious lack of education also exists. A report published in the International Journal of Mental Health Systems found that 81% of community pharmacists in Ghana gave ‘inadequate education’ as their reason for not being involved in psychiatric treatment. Consequently, BasicNeeds, the foremost mental health NGO in Ghana, are working within a challenging environment.

BasicNeeds operates in the rural Northern regions of Ghana, and in the capital, Accra- where we visited the quarterly outreach programmes at Mamprobi and Kaneshi polyclinics. These clinics allow for outpatients to be reviewed and given medications, as well as providing an opportunity for new patients to see the psychiatric team for the first time. Demand for these services is high; when we visited the clinics, queues were long and resources stretched. Despite this pressure, we witnessed a careful approach being taken by staff, with a great deal of empathy and care being shown to each patient.

I find it phenomenal that there are only four practising psychiatrists in the whole of Ghana. As a psychology graduate, this news is particularly disturbing. Mental illness is as real as the flu or heart disease, and we need psychiatrists just as much as we need doctors or dentists. I sincerely hope our lack of adequate numbers of professionals in this area is not due to brain drain. If it is, we as a nation, from the government down to Kofi on the street, have some hard questions to ask ourselves.

You can read the rest of the article here.

Reminder: Mentor-mentee session this week

Morning folks! Just a quickie to remind you about our first mentor-mentee session this Friday. It'll take place at Kinbu (classroom 3D) at 3pm. Remember that these sessions are purely for mentor-mentee interactions; we haven't planned any activities so kindly ensure that at least one mentor from each group will be able to make it. These sessions will be ideal for you to work on your Appraisal Forms if you haven't started already. If you've not seen our schedule for the term already, you can have a look at it here.

See you Friday!

Mini Seminar: Overcoming negative peer pressure

On Friday we kicked off the term with a Mini Seminar about overcoming negative peer pressure. The session was aptly led by Terry Mante; CEO of PEDNET (Personal Development Network), author and social entrepreneur. Terry has written three books; Winning with Confidence, Attitude is Everything and most recently, It's a Big Deal.

The session began with an open question: What is peer pressure? We got a few responses; it was interesting to hear people's different takes on the issue. Terry's advice on dealing with negative peer pressure revolved around three main points:

1. Refuse to conform
2. Recognise the consequences [of your actions]
3. Realise your contribution

He pointed out that for the most part, the problems that arise from negative peer pressure do not stem from the pressure itself, but because of the person being pressured. If you know who you are and are confident within that, it becomes difficult for anyone to pressure you into doing something you wouldn't normally do. Don't be afraid to stay true to who you are, and always remember that you were created with a purpose!

If you'd like to know more about Terry Mante, you can follow him on Twitter or visit his blog.

Expectations and contributions of political youth activists

The Daily Graphic run an article last Saturday (15th) I'd like to share with you. Below is an excerpt; you can read the article in full here.

Youth leaders of the four main political parties in the country have taken a common position on matters affecting their welfare and called for a holistic approach towards addressing them.

Taking their turn at the 62nd New Year School at the University of Ghana, the youth leaders, representing the National Democratic Congress (NDC), New Patriotic Party (NPP), Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the People’s National Convention (PNC), argued that issues concerning the youth globally were similar.

Their topic was, “Youth and multi-party democracy: Expectations and contributions of political youth activists”.

A Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, Mr George Lawson, said youth agitation had been a world-wide problem which could not be tackled by governments alone.

“It is a concern for all of us,” he emphasised, saying that the current government had given due attention to technical and vocational education and training as part of efforts to equip the youth with skills and knowledge.

An NPP activist, Mr Yaw Buabeng Asamoah, said the party had used young people to advance its cause in the country. He said there was the need for the introduction of what he called “centre politics” so that “we can focus on issues that matter to all of us”.

Mr Asamoah urged the youth to keep on using their thumbs till they were sure of the right policies and programmes they were satisfied with.

Fighting hunger with ideas from Africa

A great article from VOA News:

As population growth, resource depletion and climate change strain the world’s food supplies, a new report highlights solutions from some unexpected places. Sub-Saharan Africa harbors most of the world’s hungriest countries. The report from the Worldwatch Institute, a Washington, DC-based environmental group, however, says the continent also is home to a wealth of ideas that can help the world fight hunger and poverty.

Here in one of the largest slums of Africa, Danielle Nierenberg, a researcher at the Worldwatch Institute, said there's something surprising and hopeful. "We've met with some great women farmers who are doing this really innovative way of growing food so they don't have to buy anything from the market."

These urban farmers in Nairobi are growing vegetables just outside their doorsteps using nothing more complicated than old sacks filled with soil. What they don't eat, they sell, and use the revenue to put their children through school.

Back in Washington, Nierenberg said it’s not what she expected from a neighborhood plagued by poverty. "It’s a slum. It’s depressing. It’s crowded. It’s dirty. It’s noisy. But these people are finding ways to make their lives better."

With half the world’s population living in and around cities, experts are increasingly looking to these kinds of ideas to feed malnourished city dwellers - not just in Africa, but around the world.

Martin Luther King Day

For Martin Luther King Day we have a special guest post from Elinam Adadevoh, our Programme Manager. Enjoy!

In honor of the life and service of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (a civil rights activist), we have posted one of his famous speeches and perhaps one of the best speeches ever given. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Dr. King once said, “Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?”. In 1994, Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act which encourages Americans to volunteer on that day. Each year Americans use this day to serve their communities. I encourage you all to serve your community not only today but throughout the year. When we serve others, we are contributing to making the world a better place.

To read a transcription of Dr. King's famous "I have a dream" speech, click here.

We've been reading...

Nigeria's top banker wins international recognition
BBC -- Nigeria is frequently cited as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, but its central banker has won two international banking awards. Mallam Lamido Aminu Sanusi has been named as the Central Bank Governor of 2010 for both the African continent and the entire world, by the prestigious Banker Magazine. The editor of the magazine, Brian Caplen, says that few candidate names generate an overall consensus on judging panels, and yet, when it came to finding the best global central bank governor of the year, Mr Sanusi was chosen unanimously. The 49-year-old was appointed head of the Bank of Nigeria in June 2009. He has been praised for salvaging a crumbling Nigerian financial sector, including implementing reforms that have put Africa's most promising market back on the map for global investors...

South African university receives international award
SA Good News -- The University of the Free State in South Africa has been honoured with the award for Best Practice in Higher Education in 2010 for its fresh approach in promoting racial harmony and academic excellence. The award, presented by the World Universities Forum, is based on a strict set of criteria, including innovative curriculums; quality of research projects; and student services. The forum said the award recognised a number of positive reforms at the university over the last year following a culture of "racial division, student failure and academic stagnation". Campus-wide student integration, reinvigorating academic culture and nurturing the most promising young students through the vice-chancellor's prestige programme are among the innovations made, according to university spokesperson Lacea Loader...

Southerners in North Sudan fear future after break
Washington Post -- The young mother of three bids her neighbors farewell as they pack up and leave the Khartoum slum where they have lived for years to return to their homeland in south Sudan, jubilant at the imminent realization of their dream of independence. But Ajak Majak is not joining the celebrations - she's staying. The 27-year-old Majak says she can't leave the north for the time being. Her kids are in school and she has a decent job. In the meantime, she's deeply afraid of attacks by northern Sudanese angry over the south's imminent secession. She has locked herself in the safety of her home for the week of voting in the independence referendum that began Sunday in the south and among southern Sudanese in the north...

New law to protect Congo indigenous people
IRIN -- The Republic of Congo is set to become the first country in Africa to provide specific legal protection for its indigenous peoples. Members of the Baaka, a minority indigenous tribe in the Republic of Congo"We are looking forward to the adoption of this law because we know it will change many things, especially with regard to our emancipation," Jean Ganga, chairman of the Association for the Protection and Promotion of Indigenous Peoples. Almost seven years in gestation, the government-backed bill was passed by both the senate and national assembly in late December and will take effect once signed into law by the president. Indigenous people, some of whom are known as Pygmies, make up about 10 percent of Congo's population and live in almost all regions of the country...

School meal makes learning possible for ambitious Haitian girl

A great post from the World Food Programme:

Marie Anika, 8, says she’d like to work in a bank when she grows up. She has never actually been in one but her aunt has told her about banks and she thinks they sound interesting.

For the moment, Marie Anika is living with her parents and her sister in a tent where their old home used to stand before the earthquake. It is located on a small hill overlooking the Ecole Rosalie Javouhey in Port-au-Prince. The earthquake claimed the lives of 21 pupils and damaged or destroyed many classrooms.

Like most of the students, Marie Anika does not always get to eat at home – there simply isn’t enough money for that. That’s why she so looks forward to getting a daily hot meal at school.

“It would be terrible if we didn’t get a meal at school,” she said. “I really wouldn’t like that”.

The basic ingredients – rice, beans and oil – are provided by WFP as part of its contribution to the Government’s Programme National de Cantines Scolaires (National School Meal Programme).

The religious order that runs the school tries to add some meat, fish or vegetables. The preparation is all done in a small, tin-roofed kitchen in the back yard.

With cholera a real threat, the children are made to line up and wash their hands with soap and water. The food is served by school employees, with some help from the children themselves, between 10 and 10.30 each morning. After saying grace, the girls eat sitting at their desks.

The rations are delivered to the school by non-governmental organization BND, one of 25 local and international partners that assist WFP with the school meals programme in Haiti.

“They’d simply be too weak to study if they weren’t able to eat something at school,” says the principal, Sister Bernadette. “It’s important for them to have a meal here, most of them come from very poor families”.

WFP’s target is to feed more than one million school children in the current school year in Haiti. Children also sometimes receive take-home rations to share with their families.

Coming soon: Better viewing from your mobile

I realise that quite a few of you like to check our blog on your mobile phones while you're on the go. I also realise that current settings do not make phone viewing very pleasant. I'm pleased to let you know though, that Blogger is working on the situation and templates to optimize mobile viewing will be available soon. I'll be experimenting; any feedback would be appreciated!

Thank you for your patience!

Five months later, the World Cup brings new hope to SA

South Africa and football governing body Fifa have unveiled a 2010 Fifa World Cup Legacy Trust aimed at boosting education, health, humanitarian activities and football development in the county following the successful hosting of the first Fifa World Cup on African soil.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust was unveiled by Fifa, the South African government and the SA Football Association (Safa) in Johannesburg on Monday.

Making good on its pledge to ensure that the country continues to benefit from the 2010 World Cup, Fifa has injected US$100-million into the legacy trust. The trust will be administered by international auditing firm Ernst and Young, while trustees from Fifa, the government, Safa and the private sector will evaluate projects for investment.

Projects aimed at benefiting the public will be submitted to the trustees for review and will be selected in the areas of football, education and development, health care and humanitarian activities.

As a first project financed by the trust, Fifa purchased 35 of the World Cup team buses and a fleet of 52 vehicles, which were handed over to SAFA for transport of their regional teams.

You have outshined: Blatter
"We've achieved our goals with regard to the successful hosting of the Fifa World Cup event, and now remains a difficult but most important task - to ensure a lasting legacy and to build world-class national teams at both youth and senior level," Fifa president Sepp Blatter told journalists in Johannesburg on Monday.

"This is also a reward for South Africans for having been such great hosts," Blatter said. "In 2004, when we took a decision to give you the right to organise the World Cup, you were still a young democratic republic, but you've outshined in delivering a great event."

President Jacob Zuma said Monday's occasion "enables us to proudly look back on 2010 as the coming of age of our young nation".

As part of the bidding process for the 2010 World Cup, Zuma said South Africa had signed 17 guarantees with Fifa, and undertook that these were to be used as a catalyst to meet the developmental needs of the country.

Education 'a life-long investment': Zuma
"Being a developing country, we wanted the tournament to be about more than just football," Zuma said. "We wanted Africa's first World Cup to be a continental showpiece that was owned by all Africans, and we wanted it to leave a developmental legacy. We achieved our goals," he said.

One tangible legacy that had to come out of the World Cup was education, Zuma said, adding that the One Goal Education Campaign should not be seen as having been a once-off promotional campaign that died with the World Cup.

"Linking soccer with education takes the beautiful game to the youth and ensures its future. The game of football is in the main played by the youth, and education is in the main about investing in the youth, and therefore to put education as one of the key legacy projects is very important."

Zuma said education was a life-long investment that could break the chain of poverty in the country and in Africa.

"We want the children of Africa to remember the first Soccer World Cup on African soil as one that planted the seeds of true universal access to education and a better life."

(Source: BuaNews - Nthambeleni Gabara)

Mini Seminars this term

Morning all! It's that time of the year again... our first Mini Seminar of the year looms just over the horizon. As you know, this term also comes with our first mentor-mentee sessions. Exciting times! I want to give you a quick overview of this term's schedule. Most likely we'll be getting copies with more details to you individually as time goes on. For now though, here's what you can expect this term:

Friday 21st Jan - Mini Seminar: Overcoming negative peer pressure
Friday 28th Jan - Mentor-mentee session
Friday 11th Feb - Mini Seminar: Sex-Sense & Relationships
Friday 18th Feb - Mentor-mentee session
Friday 11th March - Mini Seminar: Managing your personal finances
Friday 18th March - Mentor-mentee session
**Wednesday 23rd March - Appraisal Forms due

Each Mini-Seminar and mentor-mentee session will take place at Kinbu and will start at three o'clock. Communication with your mentees is important at all times - especially so with the mentee-mentor sessions. Remember to plan ahead so at least one mentor in your group is able to meet with your mentees each session.

Africa: Open for business like never before

Here is an excerpt of an article from Africa - The Good News, a website I have found to be a great resource over the years. It was written by Carol Pineau, a film producer, director and journalist. She talks about various entrepreneurs - including our own Ken and Keli! - and how they have contributed to the African society. You can have a look at the whole article here (although it is slightly repetitive, it's worth the read).

Africa's new generation of entrepreneurs show extraordinary ingenuity. They are determined visionaries who find solutions to seemingly impossible challenges and strive to succeed against all odds. Not only are they pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps. They are pulling up an entire continent as well.

The stories of Africa's entrepreneurs are the stories of Africa's heroes. While the media focuses on adversity, they are missing another great story: that of Africa's entrepreneurs who are busy getting down to business.

Take for example Ken Ofori-Atta and Keli Gadzekpo, founders of Databank, an investment group in Accra. The two are ivy-league educated Ghanaians, had top jobs on Wall Street [and with KPMG], but left in the early 1990's to return to Ghana and be part of building the nation. A few years later they launched Epack, Ghana's first mutual fund, which invests in more than half of Africa's stock markets and averaged a whopping 60% annual returns since the fund started.

One of their friends, Hermen Chinery Hesse, a software developer creates software specifically produced to withstand hot and humid climates. He is now launching a new business, Black Star Line, an African version of Paypal, and already has several million dollars backing his venture.

Nearby is Kingsly Awuah-Darko, who came up with new wire transfer technology that is faster and more versatile than existing services. The company, Money Systems International is giving Western Union and Money Gram a serious run for their money. Awuah-Darko explains that with newer technology he was able to leapfrog past long-established competitors to a far more functional and versatile system. The company started in 2002 with about $700,000 transferred that year. Within five years, the total in transferred was over $140 million. Awuah-Darko predicts within the next few years his company will be transferring over a billion a year.

These aren't just Africans solving African problems. Databank's E-pack and other investment services have helped Africans invest in Africa's markets, but also allowed international investors to get into the high-growth phase of Africa's nascent markets. Chinery Hesse's software is good for computer users in Africa, but also for those in any hot and humid climate. Black Star Line will help Africans to buy and sell products [and] also facilitate individuals and companies from all over the world to trade with Africa. Money Systems International doesn't just help Ghanaians in the diaspora to send remittances back home, it also helps Pakistani diaspora, Afghani diaspora, and more.

What is most impressive about today's entrepreneurs in Africa is their determination not to be stopped by even the most insurmountable road block. Ask most people to put a nail into a plank of wood and they will ask for a hammer. If there is no hammer, most will give up. Ask these entrepreneurs and they will say, "Here is a rock, there's a brick, I have my shoe."

Read the entire article here.

Off-grid power solutions in rural Kenya: Pt 2

Here's a great article from the New York Times. It's a bit long so I've posted it in two separate parts like they did. It's a great read though!

**Update: Check out the corresponding picture slideshow here!

“There are many small islands of success, but they need to go to scale,” said Minoru Takada, chief of the United Nations Development Program’s sustainable energy program. “Off-grid is the answer for the poor. But people who control funding need to see this as a viable option.”

Even United Nations programs and United States government funds that promote climate-friendly energy in developing countries hew to large projects like giant wind farms or industrial-scale solar plants that feed into the grid. A $300 million solar project is much easier to finance and monitor than 10 million home-scale solar systems in mud huts spread across a continent.

As a result, money does not flow to the poorest areas. Of the $162 billion invested in renewable energy last year, according to the United Nations, experts estimate that $44 billion was spent in China, India and Brazil collectively, and $7.5 billion in the many poorer countries.

Only 6 to 7 percent of solar panels are manufactured to produce electricity that does not feed into the grid; that includes systems like Ms. Ruto’s and solar panels that light American parking lots and football stadiums.

Still, some new models are emerging. Husk Power Systems, a young company supported by a mix of private investment and nonprofit funds, has built 60 village power plants in rural India that make electricity from rice husks for 250 hamlets since 2007.

In Nepal and Indonesia, the United Nations Development Program has helped finance the construction of very small hydroelectric plants that have brought electricity to remote mountain communities. Morocco provides subsidized solar home systems at a cost of $100 each to remote rural areas where expanding the national grid is not cost-effective.

What has most surprised some experts in the field is the recent emergence of a true market in Africa for home-scale renewable energy and for appliances that consume less energy. As the cost of reliable equipment decreases, families have proved ever more willing to buy it by selling a goat or borrowing money from a relative overseas, for example.

The explosion of cellphone use in rural Africa has been an enormous motivating factor. Because rural regions of many African countries lack banks, the cellphone has been embraced as a tool for commercial transactions as well as personal communications, adding an incentive to electrify for the sake of recharging.

Off-grid power solutions in rural Kenya: Pt 1

Here's a great article from the New York Times. It's a bit long so I've posted it in two separate parts like they did. It's a great read though!

**Update: Check out the corresponding picture slideshow here!

For Sara Ruto, the desperate yearning for electricity began last year with the purchase of her first cellphone, a lifeline for receiving small money transfers, contacting relatives in the city or checking chicken prices at the nearest market.

Charging the phone was no simple matter in this farming village far from Kenya’s electric grid.

Every week, Ms. Ruto walked two miles to hire a motorcycle taxi for the three-hour ride to Mogotio, the nearest town with electricity. There, she dropped off her cellphone at a store that recharges phones for 30 cents. Yet the service was in such demand that she had to leave it behind for three full days before returning.

That wearying routine ended in February when the family sold some animals to buy a small Chinese-made solar power system for about $80. Now balanced precariously atop their tin roof, a lone solar panel provides enough electricity to charge the phone and run four bright overhead lights with switches.

"My main motivation was the phone, but this has changed so many other things," Ms. Ruto said on a recent evening as she relaxed on a bench in the mud-walled shack she shares with her husband and six children.

As small-scale renewable energy becomes cheaper, more reliable and more efficient, it is providing the first drops of modern power to people who live far from slow-growing electricity grids and fuel pipelines in developing countries. Although dwarfed by the big renewable energy projects that many industrialized countries are embracing to rein in greenhouse gas emissions, these tiny systems are playing an epic, transformative role.

Since Ms. Ruto hooked up the system, her teenagers’ grades have improved because they have light for studying. The toddlers no longer risk burns from the smoky kerosene lamp. And each month, she saves $15 in kerosene and battery costs — and the $20 she used to spend on travel.

In fact, neighbors now pay her 20 cents to charge their phones, although that business may soon evaporate: 63 families in Kiptusuri have recently installed their own solar power systems.