UHMG's GeNext Campaign is not just about advocacy for smaller Families

On Christmas day, my family decided to drive to the village to spend the day with the old people (grannies). Very cheerful lads there who are counting nine(9) children to themselves and all alive including my sweet mother. Church time: At church, half of the holy place was filled with children aged between 1 - 14 years, all lively  and happy running up and down shouting. One thing that amazed me, very few or none of these kids looked sick or malnourished. With the a few friends I gone with, an argument about small and bigger families with many children started. So many issues were put into perspective including the GeNext campaign on TV, Radio and Social Media. After church, I logged onto Twitter and what do I find,  a debate about GeNext. I missed that debate.

The GeNext Uganda Campaign
advocates for smaller families

The GeNext Campaign is an advocacy program being run by Uganda Health Marketing Group (UHMG) with an objective to convince and recruit young men and women to become activists because it is their “right” to be able to live a good life. And to live a good life in this context means that they have the “right” to have small families; or be a member of a small family. By having or being a member of a small family, they will be able to have a good education, can go on to be trained for better jobs, have more money for food on the table, will be able to ensure the quality of life for their children, will see a better and stronger Uganda, etc. 

Very well thought program but I must say there are major bases that are not covered in this campaign namely; targeted audience, communication medium and culture.

The audience targeted in this campaign is young adults and these seem to be people in a semi-urban or urban place based on the medium of communication being used. It should be noted that actually big families are in the rural areas and these big families are as a result of ignorance about family planning measures and lack of accessibility to family planning and birth control facilities. The people in urban places have access and capacity to acquire birth control and family planning facilitation and on top of that, they face a challenge of the cost of living in urban areas. Due to the mentioned reasons above, urban people would be compelled to have the small families GeNext is advocating for. There is no need to campaign for that here.

I see fancy adverts on giant billboards, social media and TV with healthy looking youth acting to be in frustration for lack of jobs. Let me get something clear here, I do not think advocating for a small family will find me the job that I need urgently unless we want to assert that being a GeNext advocate is the job itself and on top of that, having small families does not necessarily mean the children shall have enough food, good education etc when the facilities to provide the good things are not even there. Where would they come from anyway if you do not have the people (population) to work and avail the facilities? We also have to keep it in mind that Uganda has not reached the level having technology to provide the good facilities in question.

Thirdly it should be noted that Uganda has got a history of one of the strongest cultures in Africa or even in the world. From the African tradition, having a big family was held with a lot of pride and some families actually perceived it to be some sort of “security”. A big population, could also be passed as national resource because that way the country will be assured of  available and cheap labour to enhance development. China today is the best example I can give. The only challenge should be to avail measures of finding enough resource for the growing population but not entirely controlling it. The rural Ugandans have the strongest cultural attachments and for as long as they are not a target in this campaign then I find it a waste of resource.

UHMG argues that in the GeNext campaign, they are primarily targeting young adults because they are adaptive to change. I get the point but all of us need to remember that UHMG is a “Health Marketing Group.” I hope all of us understand what this means. On top of having health campaigns, UHMG also has a range of products on sale majorly aiming at family planning, STI/STD and HIV infection prevention. I do not think I would be wrong if I passed the GeNext campaign as a marketing strategy. Here is how I connected the dots.

Based on the medium of communication, I have come to notice that this campaign targets urban youth and majorly youth in schools and those out of school looking for jobs. This is because they are the working class of tomorrow and they are the ones with or shall be the ones with the capacity to buy the range of products they sell. Someone who has been educated automatically understands that a small family is the way to go because of the increasing cost of living in Uganda. So this shall compel the person to have prevention measures of controlling birth which leads to a big family. How does one do that? Simply use condoms, contraceptives, moon beads, etc the very products being distributed/sold by UHMG. The campaign is not targeting rural people because they do not have capacity to buy “O” condom or Injectaplan and that is understandable because like any other marketing or sales person, why would I go to a trade area where I have no mileage.

I want to conclude saying that if this campaign is genuinely about advocacy for smaller families then it should have started from my home village.

Til next time!

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Who will kill Golola Moses?

Golola Moses pauses with his Belt at Hotel Africana

I know I should not be writing about Golola because to almost everyone who knows about the first "El Classico" before the real one on Saturday night and what happened probably doesn't want to hear anything anymore or would love to really know what it is that Golola Moses is and has been up to. Personally, I didn't know Golola Moses until early 2010 when  he became an internet sensation with his motor mouth. Golola Moses a  self-proclaimed Champion Kick Boxer of Uganda and now Africa. With a string of wins in the ring, it is mostly his ability to talk at high speeds, volume and outlandishness which made him a web sensation but the question was; Can he actually fight? or Can he still fight? Its until today that actually most of us realized that there is a GOLOLA MOSES and a Moses Golola if you know what I mean. Golola made himself. Social media built GOLOLA MOSES. The media that built him shall be the one to kill him. For the first time in Ugandan history the whole country was glued to TV for a little known sport to many but only because of the fighter's motor mouth and social media.

The presence of GOLOLA MOSES in our vocabulary  these days proves how strong social media can be. The same Moses testifies to have been through all walks and works of life to survive ranging from being a night watchman to a pit-latrine digger. Before the social media craze about him, no one knew him except his brother and village mates back in Masaka.  "I and my family grew up in the worst poverty Life that one could ever experience to an extent that our home became a reference to poverty. Everytime they wanted to talk about poor people they stated being as poor as the Golola's family" - Golola Moses once stated in a TV interview.

Personally, for someone who has risen from ranks as low as poverty reference to heights of demanding a pay of 30million I think deserves credit for working so hard.

So what is Golola Moses?

Having been all sorts of things and having all sorts of titles, Is Golola Moses a kick boxer, a boxer, wrestler, Voices Specialist, Actor, or a toilet digger? One thing for sure is that he has tried many things to make it through and after realizing what he can do best, he fails to find a hand that can hold him and show him the path to the stardom. The few who have done that have proven that they are interested in making money through him and just walk away. The show down on Friday night clearly showed how Ugandan events management is still wanting and how people can exploit fellow humans to make their way through and just walk away.

So why did Golola fight in an International bout?

Like I mentioned earlier, Golola made himself, the media has built him. However, the media has built him in a different capacity as of what he actually is. Golola is a person who is very passionate in sport (boxing/kickboxing)  but has missed out on having a hand to prepare him for international exposure. The media and social media particularly has  too lied to us that he is actually one who can get into a ring and do something extraordinary by a flick of a finger. For the first time, Golola Moses and his fans faced reality. Personally I tweeted, "GOLOLA is beating Moses" and later tweeted "The Golola I know was not in the ring tonight." For his ability and works of getting to an extent of bringing an "International" fight home would have been historical if the people in charge had actually been as passionate as Golola is.

On top of being passionate like any other person fighting for survival, Golola clearly knows that it is his mouth that can make him earn a living not kicking boxing. So for him to risk and put his life on the line to life taking elbows and kicks in the groin was only to do what the country expects/expected of him and all this was built by social media on him.

So if you are a kick boxer, why the chicken fight and wrestling antics in the Ring?

The chicken fight we saw in the ring on that night, is not something that can actually be used to say that Golola is nothing of a kick boxer. He is a kick boxer but here is the reason why he was not a kick boxer that night. One day to the fight, Golola and Nagy's management sat and agreed to fight Mua Thai kick boxing. I do not think in the wildest thoughts of Golola he even knew what that was. If its the case then we would have seen him atleast do stance of Mua Thai. When Nagy was performing his ritual, Golola was busy trotting in his corner and later jumped cheering his fans when they played the Buganda anthem after. If that was his ritual performance, then no problem.

You are a fighter not a promoter of the fight, period. The other motor mouth we have had in sporting history was Cassius Clay better known as Mohammad Ali but I do not think he was as vocal as this towards his fights and not loose talk by the way. 60% of Golola's life was spent on the media talking and calling  on people to come in numbers and witness a record bout in his favor which was to later turn out otherwise. There is no sports man who can ever perform when he doesnt have time to settle and train. It was the role of his managers to set out the time and days when he would address press conferences and say what ever he has to say but not  the way it was then.

Thirdly, after calling on all his fans he soon realizes that there is alot of expectations from the fans he promised something he could not deliver. When he arrived in the ring we could clearly see that the humble Golola Moses was actually now in the ring, not because he was concentrating on the fight but because he had the pressure on him to deliver something heavier than him. "If you are to come  for the fight, please come early and watch the first round, that is when I will finish Nagy because am not paid for over time." Whatever he meant there but those were his words.

The  Friday night fight to me was the biggest hoax/scam that ever happened to Ugandan sport. It was nothing but a castle in the air built by Ugandan media that almost took the Life of our most dearest Golola Moses.

We Love you GOLOLA MOSES and we also love Golola Moses.

Til next time!

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Uganda to host ICT for Africa 2012 Conference

For the 4th consecutive year, ICT for Africa will harness Africa’s developmental potential in the global ICT network. The 2012 conference heads to Kampala, Uganda between March 21st-24th, where local and international experts will investigate the crucial role that ICTs will play in the continent’s development.  Long considered a technological laggard, Africa’s rapid uptake of Information and Telecommunication Technologies (ICTs) has highlighted the massive role the continent will play in the global digital revolution.
The dissemination of mobile phones has entrenched the continent as an emerging market with enormous potential for growth, while the innovations seen in e-banking, e-business, telemedicine and e-learning indicate a level of skill that is comparable to that seen in the developed world.
The ICT for Africa conference harnesses the knowledge of ICT experts and academics while generating new insight through the exchange of ideas and sharing of innovations. Hosted by the prestigious Makerere University Business School and sponsored by the NSF, ICTID, the African Society for ICT, the ICT University (USA), PC Tech Magazine (International) and UNHRO, the 4th addition of the conference offers a fertile opportunity for cross-continental debate in ICT innovations.
The event offers a four day exposé of Africa’s role in powering developments in mobile telephony, cloud computing and service-oriented software. Africa’s potential for becoming a future powerhouse of ICT innovation will be examined in the context of green computing, which the conference prioritises as an ethical output of ICT growth.
The conference is chaired by specialists from regional and international universities, including Prof. Victor Mbarika (Southern University), Prof. V. Baryamureeba (Makerere University) and Prof. Waswa Balunywa (Makerere University Business School (MUBS), making it a vibrant platform for debate that is both local and international in scope.

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Can Technology Really Save Us from Climate Change?

Entrepreneurs and investors are making the most of the world’s excitement about clean technology, hammering out innovations in every energy-related field. Many of the projects show great promise for helping to meet the greenhouse-gas limits discussed at the recent UN climate summit in Copenhagen, but few people grasp this disturbing reality: Even if energy innovations have a lot of potential, they might not be deployable until it’s too late. History shows that most of the technology breakthroughs need decades to make it to the mass market.

To cut global emissions in half over the next 40 years, as scientists recommend, clean technologies must be rolled out on a vast scale. In the past, they have taken 19 to 30 years to achieve wide use, say researchers at the UK think tank Chatham House and the patent-search firm CambridgeIP.

To be sure, powerful new market forces are at work: Governments beyond Europe are set to impose limits on greenhouse gases, and companies in a range of sectors are searching hard for ways to curb emissions. But technology deployment always takes time.

That is particularly true of energy-related inventions, which tend to get into big trouble on their way out of the incubator and into the marketplace. Entrepreneurs scrounge for capital, investors struggle to manage the risks of emerging technologies, patents get bought and sold but not necessarily used, and incumbent energy giants hesitate to give up their existing equipment.

Since irreversible climate change is already upon us, there isn’t time to sit and wait years for great innovations to wend their way toward everyday use.

A Moore’s Law for Clean Tech?

With the stakes this high and the outlook this unclear, businesses must begin making better clean-tech investments immediately, especially given the length of time before implementation. Looking at the slate of possible solutions, inventors and investors alike need to understand more quickly how much carbon emissions can really be abated and which innovations will be most effective at addressing the problem in the least amount of time.

In our work with an array of energy-related companies, we’ve become envious of the immense benefit the computer industry derives from a simple insight dating to 1965: Gordon Moore’s conjecture that the number of transistors on a chip, and thus its processing speed, would double every 18 months. Moore’s law, as it is known, is far more than an uncanny prediction. It is a pillar of high-tech industries, allowing entrepreneurs, investors, corporations, and governments to bank on the relentless acceleration of computing power. Microsoft, for example, factors in the arrival of next-generation processors when developing its ever more complex software. In other sectors, companies as diverse as Boeing, Pfizer, and Goldman Sachs rely on steadily advancing computer power when they develop new products and strategies.

That’s exactly the confidence level that businesses and governments require to respond to global energy challenges. They need a conceptual framework that would predict the pace of clean-tech innovation and deployment—taking full account of the maddening lag between the two—as well as reveal which technologies promise to do the greatest good on the fastest schedule. A clean-tech equivalent of Moore’s law could pave the way for more-focused innovation, more-efficient use of capital, and more-realistic regulations. It also could aid investors and governments in their efforts to decrease key technologies’ time to market by spurring, for example, joint manufacturing initiatives, cross-licensing agreements, and tariff exemptions.

Source: Harvard Business Review

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Do we know who we are?

During my course at University, one of the course units was English Grammar/Language. Under English Language there was Communication Skills and during this they taught us how to prepare for interviews. So, a panel of judges[lecturer(s) or even students working in groups] would sit and ask you questions in front of the whole class. I prepared myself for the session and here I was bright and ready. First question; "Can you briefly talk about yourself?" asked the Lecturer. I stayed Angaazi. Totally caught off-guard, I did not see that coming. What was I supposed to say? That I am Cedric? They already knew that. Is it because I didn't/don't know myself? Of course I know myself but anyways I did not answer.

Some months back while on national duty in Fort-Portal Kabarole (western Uganda), the president visited and while addressing thousands of people he put emphasis on youth doing things that economically empower them, he later asked the leader of the Youth group of the district to identify what they needed in the group and he would be ready to assist in a way possible. When the youth leader stood up to give his speech, he asked  for a brick baking machine. He was heavily criticized by his colleagues and they actually threatened to sack him as their leader. "Of all the things in the world, is that the best you could ask for?" asked one of his colleagues. Personally, I don't think he asked for something wrong.

On my analysis he could have been right because may be he asked for a brick baking machine based on his individual desires and not the group's desires/needs. Our country Uganda, over the years has been known for being good beggars(dependency on donor aid) and in some instances the donors actually ask us to say what we want. But I think our leaders ask for what they want as individuals and not the people they represent, or even when they beg basing on their people's desires/needs they have got personal interests aside to cater for, something that has left us behind as a country.

Our leaders not being able to plan well for the people or groups they lead is not because they have these so many demanding things as family men or clan leaders but it is because of two things. One is that we are not defined as Ugandans, secondly; thinking for others is not something that people have had since their childhood and through their youth stage. Uganda is lucky that a slightly big chunk of the population is composed of youth and who are educated youth at that. So the future is bright for tomorrow if we can know who we are and what we want.

I would call it late to tell our grand fathers and fathers to have a definition of themselves and know what they want. But for the the youth, I must say we must have something that defines us. Have something that they can use to define you is what can help youth be better than the elders of today.

In an ICT or call it a dot com generation where everyone has a platform to build a Life or a career but unfortunately  many of us do not know how to go about that. I asked one of my friends why he tweets and facebooks so much, the only answer he could give me was that he is building social capital. Fine, let it be social capital but is it physical? Its you to answer that if you are also in this category.

'Til next time

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I will take you to the Beach and Buy you Fish

"When we grow up and make money, I will take you to the beach and buy you FISH" said Kate(not real names). My high school sweetheart. We wrote &  exchanged lots of mail and I am certain I still have them stored somewhere in my high school archives.

There was a teacher who used to do part-time teaching at both our schools(Kate's & I). So, every time mail was delivered from Bweranyangi to the information prefect (Newton Baguma), I was sure that her letter was amongst the mail. Newton beat me to that post by 4votes by the way. 

During the last the month of my HSC level, the last I could have about my friend was a letter that clearly narrated how I had been such a nice friend and destined for great things in this world. "You are such an adorable friend, God will bless you in all your deeds and you are destined for great things in this world. I will miss you." read part of the letter. I kept it to-date and promised myself to look for my friend.

For all the things we had ever talked about I wonder why the FISH thing kept clicking in my mind. The imagination of that fascinated me. Did she promise me that because she imagined it could be the best thing for us that could not be availed then until we grew and made money? or It would be one way to ask me keep the friendship until we met again and got the social fun to ourselves eating FISH at the beach inclusive?

Six(6) years down the road, I get a request on Facebook, View profile I clicked. Familiar face, I accepted request. Thank you Facebook. Thank you Facebook and Thank you Social Network.

Even before the Internet, social networking existed. Its true that social networking is when a person uses already existing contacts to meet old friends,  new people as potential social or business links. Such links, in turn, will help expand future connections. Small and local businesses can even do this simply by attending community events or participating in trade shows. Am glad that the Ugandan corporate generation is taking this trend especially in attending community events.

I realize that it is not always about how you leave each other but what you leave in each while you leave. The promised FISH has kept me thinking about a person for all these years and led to finding the ever good friend of mine.

Til next time..!!

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Is that all that social media can be?

In the communication context, when someone mentions "MEDIA", the 1st thought is radio, newspaper and TV. When someone mentions "SOCIAL MEDIA",  the 1st thought is Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. BUT... Is that all that social media can be? 

Media comes from the English word medium, a way through which one can communicate with the other in form of letters, posters, emails, public meetings, etc. There is also mass media whereby you communicate with a large number of people, it includes TV, News, internet etc. Today, social media is often understood as a group of new kinds of online media, which share relative characteristics. These are mostly web-based and mobile technologies(means) that are used to turn communication into interactive dialogue. The characteristics are; participation, openness, conversation, community and connectedness. So, in this sense the basic forms of social media are social networks like facebook, wikis like wikipedia, podcasts like Apple iTunes, content communities like Flickr, del.icio.us, Youtube  and micro-blogging. A best example of micro-blogging is Twitter. 

“A good way to think about social media is that all of this is actually just about being human beings. Sharing ideas, cooperating and collaborating to create art, thinking and commerce, vigorous debate and discourse, finding people who might be good friends, allies and lovers – it’s what our species that has built several civilisations on. That’s why social media is spreading so quickly, not because it’s great shiny, whizzy new technology, but because it lets us be ourselves.” (Antony Mayfield. 2008, What is Social Media?

From all the above, do we see the in-thing of social media as a recent discovery or an evolution of means of communication over time? If we are to go back to the African Tradition, on a social note, people used to interact in the most perfect way. This would include elders telling stories around a fire place, traditional dances to celebrate harvest, birth of a child or arrival of a long gone son of the soil. People really shared much during that time especially in-terms of personality and living an exemplary life. Putting that aside, when it came to communication there were use of drums played for different purposes or occurrences. For example in the kiganda culture the sagal’ agalamidde drum was played if a prominent person would be visiting a village or to inform the community that he would be visiting. In most communities, they played drums to inform the community about a death, birth of a child, local brewing of alcohol etc. But then in relation to social media today it is had to differentiate which one was a DM(twitter message), email, SMS, blog, tweet. Much as communities then were able to differentiate what each type drumming the message or information it passed on.

It is from this I tend to understand that actually social media is not a recent discovery but something that has evolved over time dating way back during the times of the African traditional society. People then sang to communicate each other, they danced to communicate to each other and please note they did not dance to earn money like today. If I am to remember when we were still young, during the Christmas season there used to be a choir which would move house to house singing Christmas hymns to pass on a message that Christ is born. But all that has gone away and the best we get the these days is a Christmas song shared on Youtube, a poem shared on facebook, a picture of baby Jesus born uploaded and shared on Flickr.

Yes, social media has evolved but we should not forget that it is much more than web based tools and materials shared to communicate to each other. Much as Chameleon, GNL, Mun G, or Angella Kalule of the Katitiki fame sing for money, there is much information shared through that and so much more.

‘Til next time...!!

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Rudimentary Technology Vs Modern Technology

It's 1836hrs and am still thinking about my stint yesterday at on of the car garages in Kisekka market down town Kampala.

Like any other normal day, I started it with the usual Kampala traffic jam and drove to one of the offices on Entebbe road. I parked somewhere behind Talenta house and entered the office. One hour later, I found the car clumped by people claiming to be Multiplex officials. "Officer, this car defaulted parking fees on 20th April, 2011." one of the officials claimed. As we argued, I realized that one of the tyres which had a clump was flat and after threatening to open a case against these guys, they quickly removed the clump and offered to meet the expenses of repairing my tyre. Quickly I headed to the tyre center. At the tyre center, the mechanic tells me the shock absorber is faulty. He quickly convinced me to drive down to Kisekka to for a replacement.

Reaching Kisekka market, the attention diverted from my faulty car to the kind of technology deployed at different points in the market. From the rudimentary technology of hitting the hell out of gadget to be loose to the modern state of the art technology of assembling and disassembling gadgets.

But later, this mechanic tried to remove the tyre and he realised there was nut which he had no spanner to remove it. Immediately he thought about a chizzel and hammer to cut the nut off the screw. On the second hammer, he broke thE wheel stud and the nut stayed their. I wondered couldn't this guy think about any other means?

He then suggested we go the people who do welding to burn off the stud and the nut. I lost one stud off the wheel. From such an experience, I wondered why didn't I run to city oil tyre center and have my tyre done and set off for my journey early. Going to Kisekka wasted alot of my time.

You could argue that kisekka is cheaper but I think the time wasted while there covers up for the money thought to be "SAVED."

I appreciate the works in Kisekka but if they could only think of upgrading their technology then life would be easy and Kisekka market would be the biggest and modern motor repair village in East Africa if not Africa.

Til next time.!!!

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A day out with a Radio & Television Technician!

Happy mid-month to you all.

Yes! The silence was due to increased work load on my desk and more sites to monitor. During the past week my home theater system got a fault. I sat down all sad with no clue on where I would take it for repair. I have the warranty cards but the thought of transporting it back to Kampala just made my hope for my darling to recover fade the more.

Two days after the half death of my darling home theater system as I walked out of my apartment, I bumped into my neighbor. "I miss the ABBA music that I have been waking to up these days what happened?" she asked. "My system got a fault and I don't know where to take it for repair" I sadly replied. She quickly told me about a technician around the trading center who repair all kinds of electronics. "This guy is the one who fixes all my gadgets once they are faulty." she emphasized.

I went back inside the house and packed my system ready to go to the techinician. She helped me with her car so I could transport it easily to the place. With her directions to the place I got there. There I was all panting to get my system into this guy's kafunda. "Officer nakwakyiira(Officer you are welcome)" he said.

After presenting him with my faulty system I started to look around his workshop. I saw a range of devices from flash disks to flat irons. etc the list is endless. In this town, this technician repairs computers, mobile phones, radios, sub-hoofer systems, DVD players, flat irons, keyboards, motorcycle wiring systems, plus many other things I could not even easily identify.

After seeing all this, my question was, How on earth is this guys able to have knowledge to get all these devices fixed?. I was so worried for my device. I decided to cancel all my plans and see how this guy would fix my system. 

One, he looked so unsettled attending to several things at once, opening all sorts devices and fixing spares with so much energy. My heart started to pump faster, I was so worried it would be the last time to see my darling. "Officer, I don't want to waste much of your time, please leave me with your contact I will call you when your system is fixed." He humbly suggested. I said I would not leave until my device is repaired.

He did repair it. I it was clear he was not sure of the fault but it got fixed. 

Me: What is the Fee? I asked as I packed it again. 

Techinician: 55,000/= only.

Me: For what expenses?

Technician: Your system is big sir it took alot of my space here.

Me: I told him I will only give 20,000/= for your service after all you did not install any spare. Did you?

Techician: You can give me want sir but that is I my fee.

I paid and left but I really want to know which technical school trains students to be experts in fixing all these devices or else this technician is just conning people of their small savings me inclusive.

Til next time.!!!

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Zipping and Unzipping: How could I have known?

Today 11:33am, I was reading from Collins D. Mugume's blog and I remembered something that I need to share. Like earlier mentioned by Albert Mucunguzi in one of his blogs, the year 1999 was a year most of us got to know that some of the things actually existed and were of some interest.

That year in Ntare School I think Computers had just been brought to the school and some of us really wanted to have a feel of the TV and deck(VCR) like devices which displayed somethings we did not understand. I hope  the use of the word we will be accepted by all who get the matter in this story. Am talking to you Albert!

Albert Mucunguzi, Josh Twin, Timothy Matsiko, Matthew Rubatsimbira, Samson(residing in Africa House), Davis Arinaitwe, Sam Kacungira, Osbert Twikirize, Micheal Babigumira and Patrick Amwiine were some of the few common figures in that tiny room. I remember we would crowd at the entrance of that room but Albert and Josh had the best skills of being inside first even if they were at the back of the group crowded at the 1 meter wide entrance. Their struggles are evident today, one of the young ICT Entrepreneurs that we have in Uganda today. Well done Ms Mwebaza Winfred you did a job.

So, One day(It must have been a Saturday) I sat down to use one of the computers. I clicked, clicked and clicked in an effort to explore and see any interesting thing I could find. I right-clicked on a  folder and saw an option "Zip Folder".

Please take note of the word "ZIP". On seeing zip, I was trying to relate that zip with the zipper on our jackets. Ha ha ha ha!!! I went ahead and selected the option, off it went zipping the folder. It must have been a big folder coz it showed a slow progress of zipping and in the due course, Ms Mwebaza appeared. She took time to see what was going on the screen."Who has done that?" she asked. All eyes went my in my direction.

"Do you know what you are doing?"

"What is Zipping?"

"Do you understand what you are doing?"

No answer was given to any of those questions. The worse was yet to come. She asked me get up and ordered me out of the Computer Room. I was red carded. "I should never see you here anymore" she emphasized as I marched out.

From that time I learnt that it was not good to just click anything without learning what it could do. The expulsion from the Computer Room created a lapse in my interaction with computer.

One year down the road, during my form four vacation I attended a computer class and the first question I asked was the meaning of zipping. I got the explanation. The tutor also advised me to always read and use the help section of any application that I would ever use. The following week I did not go back for computer class. I have learnt almost all the computer I know through reading tutorials and help sections of applications.

Surprisingly, I was in University for 3years but there is no single tutor or lecturer who ever stood to advise us to use the help sections. Maureen Agena is witness to this. The tutors for some programming courses may be advised to use tutorials.

My question is! Are the help sections of applications relevant to usage of an application or not necessary to most us who love clicking to see what will happen. "Kuteera Omukishaka kureeba ekiraarugemu"

See you all after the Cranes Win!!!!

We Gooo We Go!!!

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Radio Stations! Are they doing any better?

Okay!!.

So how has everyone been? Am back after some bit of silence. I took time to read all my fellow IT geeks' posts and blogs especially Albert Mucunguzi, Maureen Agena, Josh Twin, Stone Atwine, Simon Kaheru, Evelyn Namara to mention but a few. I like your posts Evelyn by the way especially the Tweets. *wink*

Straight to our topic today, Radio Stations. Are they doing any better? I woke up this morning, unusual time (3am) and for the first time in around 12months my bed room had radios station sounds escalating from there. Tuned into a radio station(name reserved), there was great music being played. The DJ really took his time to keep the Insomniacs awake but to my shock there were people calling in to say hello to there friends and loved ones and then there was this one which made me laugh my head off "Nindamusya n'omukyaara wangye owunyin' aha" literally meaning "Am also saying hello to my wife who is just next to me". For some reason I wondered, did this man call only to say hello to someone next to him? Okay! Let's call that too much Love.

Time check 6:30am, Announcements started. The anchor read, read and read lots of announcements but most of them were death announcements, performing last funeral rights, thanking people who were there for them when they lost their dear one plus others in that line. To my dismay, there was no announcement that may be announced that today is for example a market day in a certain place, traders in cereal will be at a certain collecting center so whoever has cereal could move there and sell off his or her harvest. After the announcements, they played a song by Eminem ft Lil Wayne - No Love then, an advert of Eddie Kenzo being in the area over the weekend killed my ears with a shout from the other end, "Abaaaaannntu be Mmbararaaaaaaaaaaa kye mwaasaba embaazzi kibuyag' asudde. Anti tubaletedde Eddie Kenzo ......blah blah" meaning "People of Mbrarara, your prayers have been answered. We are bringing you an Eddie Kenzo concert... "

I thought these radio stations in the rural areas are set up to target the interests of the audiences that they serve. How was my Grand mother supposed to get the lyrics of No Love? Playing rare music was not bad but my point here is, are the many radio stations in Uganda addressing the interests of the community? These radios are not only supposed to be there to broadcast Walk to Work Demos, Kayunga riots etc but also address the key issues that will make the rural person earn some income not an Eddie Kenzo concert that will make him spend even more on watching someone who is singing lyrics that we do not understand. Stamina, Super Power, My Miss .....zig gigigig gid gid.....!!!!

Access to Radio, one of the easiest ICT tool to-date has been made so cheap that even the cheapest mobile phone has radio so my thinking is that access to media tools is no longer a problem. The remaining task remains to disseminate the relevant information to the rural people to improve their livelihoods.

So, who should make sure that the relevant information is passed on to the rural people? Is it Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) or Uganda Broadcasting Council (UBC)?

That is not to be answered by me. Am just a digital native putting out what I see and where I feel there is a gap.

Uganda today has the biggest number of radio stations in Africa. More radio stations than even in South Africa but I do not see them doing the best of what they are supposed to do in improving the livelihoods of  our people.  I think they are concentrating more on accumulating revenue and remitting to URA in form of Tax the money that is not being accounted for. If they have decided to be so business minded and putting aside the emphasis on service delivery then let us see medicine delivered to the health centers or the call rates being reduced further or even the cost of kerosene at that. Tax paid should may be translated to that and not buying a 2010 model Land cruiser for my MP who gave me a packet of salt to find his way to parliament. Mis-allocation of resources is what am talking about here.

2011 years down road after Christ, the information is more than enough, Communication channels & means are so present and for the Technology, I would say  it is appropriate. The question is where are we failing?

Til next time, I will see you on the next post.

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Fibre Optic Installation in Uganda.

Happy Easter to you all.
Feels good to be able to sit down and scribble a small blog for my readers. After a long huddle of work, I decided to run back home and relax, see my mother that I had not seen in quite sometime.

On my way to mbarara, as I drove home listening to some country music on a wet highway, I noticed some hardworking men were busy burying a black thick wire in a trench.
Being a digital native, I could easily notice they were installing fibre optic cable. From the time Telecom companies as well as government started embarking going fibre, I have taken keen interest in the development of this ICT advancement. 1km into the drive I stopped to greet these humble Ugandans who are greatly contributing to the development of the country.

My arrival at an installation point did not look unusual to these people. They looked to be used to numerous supervisors who stop over to see what kind of work they are doing.

I noticed that the trench in which they were busy burying the cable was as shallow as a gutter dug to give way to stagnant water.

Excited by my arrival, these humble citizens were very free to tell me which company they were working for and the owner company. of the cable. Hoping for much from a young an energetic "supervisor", they quickly started narrating to me how they are suffering. Hectic work, poor feeding, no drinking water, poor accommodation, lack of treatment and having little information on what they are entitled to as labourers.

It was so evident that these people who are playing a very big role in overturning the development of the country are "MISERABLE."

Having said that, people of Uganda should not expect a functional fibre optic network if the people installing it are that miserable. We shall have a miserable network as well. My call goes to the labour unions to intervene in such cases because it is not only about the cable but the people of Uganda. Suffering Ugandans at that.

For now I remain Cedric Anil. I need to catch some sleep now.

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My 100 Truths

Putting What ICT is today aside, I felt that should tell you the 100 truths about Cedric Anil. New year, new resolutions and new solutions as well as much to expect from "What is ICT Today?"
Here we go;-

1. Last beverage: Coke

2. Last phone call: Rhonah, was worth it

3. Last kiss: My mum.

4. Last song you listened to - Got to Luv - Sean Paul

5. Last time you cried: Been while Dont remember

HAVE YOU EVER:

6. Dated someone twice: Hell no. Ngenda Maaso

7. Been cheated on?: Yeah, not a good feeling. I no longer sign agreements in principle.

8. Kissed someone & regretted it ? : No.

9. Lost someone special?: Yeah, all people that have lost were so special.

10. Been depressed?: Yeah, after listening to story by one of my married clients.

11. Been high?: Of course. Next question

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS:

12.Brown

13.Red

14.Blue

THIS YEAR HAVE YOU:

15. Have you made new friends this year: Yeah, I make new friends each day

16. Fallen out of love: Yes...and it was really really bad.

17. Laughed until you cried: Yeah, I do that every time my friend Carol is around me.

18. Met someone who changed you:Jesus Christ but I wish I could see him physically that day.

19. Found out who your true friends were: True friends?? I don't know what that is supposed to mean. I can't be in my friends' hearts to see who the true one is.

20. Found out someone was talking about you: Yeah, but that doesn't matter.

21. Kissed anyone on your friends list: Yeah, plus enough of what follows.

TRUTH:

22. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life?: The ones who know me in real life

23. How many kids do you want to have: Enough kids to make my wife make as much noise that my mum made while bringing us up.

24. Do you have any pets: For what!

25. Do you want to change your name: Yeah, from Cedric Anil Muhebwa to Cedric Anil Muhebwa

26. What did you do for your last birthday: Slept all Day..

27. What time did you wake up today: 5am..Not a good feeling to be awake at that time each day.

28. What were you doing at midnight last night: Talking to Nicholus about Life

29. Name something you CANNOT wait for: Do I really need answer this.?

30. Last time you saw your father: Last Month

31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life: Nothing.

32. What are you listening to right now: Love I miss

33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: Yeah, he talked alot of nonsense. 

34. What’s getting on your nerves right now?: Marriage & Divorce Bill

36. Whats your real name: ..Check out my profile. Mmssssttwww!

37. Relationship Status: In a relationship.

38. Zodiac sign: do you really need this??..Ok. Virgo

39. Nicknames? Ced, Cedek, Kyendes, and my GF calls me Kaswt

40. Most visited webpage? yesuahuriire.com

41. Nursery: Masaka Nursery
    Primary:  Blessed Sacrament, Hill Road, Kitunga to mention but.....
    Secondary: Ntare School, 4 memorable years

42. Hair color: Ofcourse Black

43. Long or short: what do you mean exactly. Next question

44. Height: Not sure but taller than 5'6

45. Do you have a crush on someone: Yeah. but only me can tell how hard I have crushed

46.Liked a friend that of the same sex? Yeah only Personality.

47. What do you like about yourself: The true me.

48. Piercings: Had an injection sometime back

49. Tattoos: Am dark  tatoos wouldn't look nice on me.

50. Righty or lefty: Lefty and very proud of it.

FIRSTS :

51. First surgery: Appendicitis.at 8years

52. First piercing: Injection at immunisation. am sure I cried.

53. First tattoo: On my thigh. used thorns way back 1996

54. First best friend: My mum. man that woman carried me for nine months. she still does carry me.

55. First Sport: Soccer 

56. First pet: Pet??...oh yah Simba R.I.P my dog. Villager killed it for biting a  neighbour.

57. First vacation: Not had one.. but I think I need one..to freshen up.

58. First concert: UB40 in Ug. Memorable

59. First crush: Oh..yeah!!! Joan I know u know this coz it was on you.

60. First alcohol drink: Uganda Waragi

RIGHT NOW:

61. Eating : No

62. Drinking: Nothing, but waiting for 5pm to catch a beer.

63. I’m about to: Run out of Office

64. Listening to: So, repetition is allowed?? . Next question

65. Waiting for: Climate Change in my Pocket, am broke.

WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OTHER SEX?

69. Lips or eyes: Eyes, they tell everything u wanna know about someone.

70. Hugs or kisses: Hugs have always been my trademark. Marion Kevin knows this.

71. Shorter or taller: Short or Tall as long they get the job done.

72. Older or Younger: I have come to discover; A bit Older. Younger  need lots of time and emotional investment.

73. Romantic or spontaneous: Spontaneously Romantic

74. Nice stomach or nice arms: Nice stomach where a child will grow well once pregnant.

75. Tattoos or piercings: Tatoos. they look sexy depending on where they are put

76. Sensitive or loud: Sensitive. Have had enough of Loud I think.

77. Hook-up or relationship:Relationships. Hook-ups are dangerous

78. Trouble maker or hesitant: Trouble maker, its interesting to live such a Life

HAVE YOU EVER :

79. Kissed a stranger: Yeah!!..

80. Drank hard liquor: Yeah!!..and managed to stagger home.

81. Lost glasses/contacts: Dont wear any

82. Had sex on 1st date? That's personal, but whats the harm in it? ...yes i have.

83. Broken someone’s heart: Yeah!!..I was told I did although I hadn't noticed.

84. Had your own heart broken: I expect the worst in every situation including heart breaks. So, not an issue. but yes my heart was broken. I just remembered Julie did break my ka heart.

85. Been arrested: No. Hope to never be

86. Turned someone down: yap!..quite a number and I dont regret anything.

87. Cried when someone died: Yeah!..Princess Diana..was young but did cry for her.

88. Liked a friend that is a girl: I like all my girl friends.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

89. Yourself: Very much

90. Miracles: Sometimes

91. Love at first sight: Very much.

92. Heaven: Oh yeah..

93. Santa Clause: Santa Clause?...is it this guy they say puts on red with a white beard??..Hell NO.

94. Kissing on the first date: Why not!.. I Live one day at a time.Life is short

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:

95. If you could go back in time, how far would you go? I would go back to Campus. The 3years in Nkozi still seem like a dream..memorable times just. 

96. Is there one person you want to be with right now: The one who wants to be with me Right now

97. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time: No. Emotional Attachment is hard to divide.

98. Do you believe its possible to remain faithful forever: Forever?...only to God.

99. Wish you could change things in your past?..yah!!..quite a few but past is past..Life goes on.

100. Posting this as 100 Truths: Silly.. why would I waste my time to lie on 100 damn f***kin questions.

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Africa Internet (and Mobile) Entrepreneurs' Conference 2011

PC Tech Magazine in collaboration with PearlRichards Foundation- Ghana is organizing a one day conference on the new Media and entrepreneurship in Africa. The conference titled, Africa Internet (and Mobile) Entrepreneurs' Conference 2011 (AFRIEC 2011), seeks to showcase the innovative use of new media – internet and mobiles – by entrepreneurs to address the socio-economic and development challenges in Africa. This year’s theme is "Re Building Africa through Internet Enterprises and mobile innovations." The conference has three interrelated objectives, namely:

•  To offer participants an opportunity to share, discuss and learn from individual career experiences and profiles of African Internet and Mobile entrepreneurs.
• To educate participants on how to use Internet and mobile resources and applications to support and promote their creative ventures.
• To educate policy makers on how they can harness the potential of the Internet and Mobile innovations for youth empowerment and job creation.

The conference will take place on Friday, March 04, 2011 from 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM (GMT+0300) at Africana Hotel, Kampala, Uganda. This conference will bring together a blend of academics, practitioners and policy makers in the area of ICT for sustainable development and innovative mobile solutions for Africa. AFRIEC 2011 will encourage open minds, critical thinking, self-examination, creativity, and sharing ideas. We invite you to join us and look forward to welcoming you to the Africa Internet (and Mobile) Entrepreneurs' Conference 2011. We believe your invaluable experience and insight, together with the academia, practitioners and policy makers of Africa will add to what is an invaluable discourse for Africa. We have no doubt it will be a challenging and thought-provoking, as well as an entertaining, experience.

Co-Conference Chairs
Richard Boateng, PhD and Albert Mucunguzi

Register at eventbrite.com 

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