Camara Rwanda

The guys left on Monday 3rd of August around 00.30 in the morning. They took their flight back to Dublin and as planned I slept at St Paul’s, the hostel were my team stayed for the last two weeks. I meant to spend one more week in Rwanda, travelling on my own, visiting a few more places and getting to know new people.

But instead, the same Monday at noon I had a meeting with Eddy, the CEO of Camara Rwanda. He told me about the necessity of the local branch to grow up: Camara Rwanda had just taken off a few months ago and the first deliveries of PCs to schools (and trainings) took place during July, when the Irish volunteers came over. It was a successful beginning for Camara Rwanda: the volunteers from Ireland (and also Eddy) really did a great work and the word of mouth among other schools in the Bugesera District also wanted Camara PCs. On top of that, a new container full of computers was on its way to Dar Es Salaam (and therefore Kigali), so more work for Camara Rwanda would be coming soon. Camara Rwanda’s hub needed to be set up and consequently more people were required in the staff!

Camara Education has a “hub” in every country where it operates. In these hubs PCs are stored, refurbished and prepared to be sent to schools. The last part of the process that was taking place in Dublin and Belfast for the last few years from now on would be done in Kigali, in the case of Camara Rwanda. Eddy needed a hand to do so, and he offered me to stay as a member of the team. During that 20 minute meeting with Eddy, we talked about my work in Camara Rwanda, my duties and my responsibilities. Moreover, he offered accomodation in his place. Obviously I could not reject such a great opportunity!

The following picture galleries and texts will give you an idea of what’s been going on at Camara Rwanda for the last two months. Enjoy!

• Visits to Schools.

Before Camara computers can be delivered to schools, the first step is obviously making contacts with them. The standard procedure consists of a visit to the candidate school in order to interview the headmaster (principal), check out the room which is supposed to have the PCs and give advice in regards the way the computer lab should be set up: normally schools need to make a proper electric installation, improve security and ventilation conditions, buy/build adequate furniture… Once the lab is ready, the school fill in an application form and only then they can purchase the computers. After bringing the PCs to the school, normally another visit takes place in order to make sure there are no technical problems and then the trainings are arranged according to the school’s calendar.

These pictures were taken in the Kirehe district, a remote area close to the Rusumo border with Tanzania. Thanks the the VSO volunteer Sonya Fay, I could visit a number of schools and headmasters and let them know about Camara. During my trip we visited some schools in Nyakarambi, Nyaribuye and Rusumo sectors. In order to get to the schools, we had to take mototaxis through non paved roads. It is worth to say the landscapes were stunning!! But it is also true that after one hour of motorbike oneself ends up covered in dust!

VSO (Volunteer Service Overseas) is an NGO based in UK. They send off volunteers to different developing countries. In Rwanda, VSO has community of around 50 volunteers, most of them focused in education matters. Sonya works for the District of Education of Kirehe in Nyakarambi. In the pictures below, a few moments when visiting Rugarama Primary School. Rugarama students won a prize on Science experiments among many other East African schools. The headmistress (a lovely woman) wanted to show us the whole school. The students were even ready to do a demo of their science experiments!

In Nyakarambi I also met Andy, another VSO volunteer who teaches English at Rusumo Primary School. He also runs the library of the school which, by the way, was recently decorated very nicely by students, teachers and VSO volunteers.

Other times both Eddy and I have headed to schools together in order to fix technical issues, meet more headmasters and check future computer labs. On the right, Eddy is configuring a printer at Gihinga Secondary School. Gihinga is located in the Bugesera District, where Eddy made the first contacts and Camara started its operations.

The last group of schools I’ve visited belong to the Adventists. They have very nice Primary and Secondary Schools, and also an Institute of IT and Management. Last Wednesday I had visited the schools in Gitwe. The Vice Director invited me to came in to some of the classrooms after a nice lunch at his place and he looked pretty keen taking pictures of me and his students!

• The Hub

The Hub is the heart of every Camara branch. Inside, local volunteers help in refurbishing PCs to be sent to schools. Like in Ireland, our volunteers are the engine of Camara, without them, the whole Project would not be possible! At the beginning, Eddy and I were the only ones refurbishing PCs… our facilities were empty of people! Piles and piles of CPUs were waiting to be processed… In the last but one picture of this set you can also see Claude, our guard. Although he only speaks fluently Kinyarwanda and he had no experience with PCs, so far he has showed deep interest in computers, and now he is able of installing Ubuntu, knows the inside parts (hardware) of a PC, and his typing and English have immensely improved!! Claude also makes sure everyday our tea program for volunteers is always ready, and even makes sure there is nice music playing inside the hub! (Look at his speaker -last picture of the set-, it is pretty cool and damn, sounds really loud and well!)

Our first volunteers started to pop in August and now they show up everyday. They brought life to Camara Rwanda! Thanks to them, Eddy, Ali (our Technical Director in Africa who visited us for one week), Brian (a former volunteer of Camara Uganda who helped out with his programming skills) and I, many improvements and changes have been done to the Camara Rwanda hub: now we have a very nice team of volunteers who are 95% autonomous when it comes to refurbishing PCs. They open PC boxes, they blow the internals of the PCs, install Camarabuntu + Wikipedia, they check every single PC in order to ensure our quality standards and finally they label and put all PCs ready in the database of the inventory! On top of that they have already started teaching hardware to the “newcomers”. They even create their own badges!! A new eWaste management program has also begun and trainings on Word Processor, Spreadsheet and Presentation will start next week!! Some of them will be teachers for our schools! Amazing, isn’t it?

Our volunteers first of all blow and clean the internals of the PCs. By doing so, we make sure that no dust will damage the machines.

Afterwards, they remove the hard drive and they put it inside one of our “Camarabuntu Installation Stations”, in order to install Ubuntu OS + Wikipedia and educational packages.

After this, they put a hard drive which is ready back inside a CPU without hard drive.

Now it is time to check a whole PC, label parts and boxes, do the inventory and put it inside the Check Out room!

After one day of hard work, it is time to count PCs!! And leave everything tidy and ready for the next day!

A new day comes and more CPUs are waiting to be refurbished!

Our eWaste Management program. Two volunteers are our “eWaste Management Officers” who make sure the program runs appropriately and raise awareness about eWaste among other volunteers. So far, in Camara Rwanda we demanufacture broken PCs and parts and we separate the waste in plastic, metal, glass, paper, electronics, batteries and ink cartridges. Not bad, eh?

Some pictures of the Irish volunteers.

Our office! A bit tiny for the two of us working at the same time…

Below you can see pictures of our “peer 2 peer” table. In there, our volunteers get training on hardware (now our teachers are also volunteers). After 5 days of training, they are able to tell every part of a PC and they are able to mount one from scratch! They become really experts!

• Our Volunteers.

The following set of pictures is a small homage to our volunteers. Kate, one of my housemates, has taken some nice pictures of some of them. She is a volunteer involved in several projects in Rwanda, but has also offered to help out Camara Rwanda by writing a newsletter and carrying out some trainings on Open Office.

The first local volunteers came over around the third week of August. Since then, the word of mouth has been extremely efficient: so far we have around 130 volunteers in our records!! This became a problem since not all of them fit in our facilities at the same time, so they had to be divided in weekly groups of 12 people. We have waiting lists to come in until December. There is even a guy from Uganda -Robert- who heard about Camara Rwanda and came to volunteer with us. He shows up every day!

In exchange for their help, our volunteers get free training on hardware, ubuntu installation and basic administration and basic networking. In the near future, trainings on web design and Open Office will also be offered. And, of course, we thank them every day with some tea and bread!

Aloys
Eddy’s cousin. He sang in a hip-hop band in Kigali alongside his brother some time ago. Now he and Amani (below) are waiting to start college in January. He would like to be an architect.

Amani
One of our firsts volunteers. He shows up every afternoon!

Jean Aime
He is our “PC Refurbishing Coordinator”. Studied accountancy for 2 years.

Wellars
He is waiting his course of IT to start. In the meantime, he gives a hand in Camara while getting some experience with computers. He has just become our “Resources Manager”.

Kamali
He just passed the hardware test last week. Now is learning how to install Ubuntu and Wikipedia and the whole process of refurbishing PCs at Camara Rwanda.

From time to time, we try to look after our volunteers organising special events. Last one took place at Amahoro Stadium: we invited around 20 volunteers to watch the Rwanda – Egypt qualification match for the South Africa World Cup. Although Rwanda lost, we had a great time!

• Container #2 offloaded!

The following collection of pictures was taken around 3 weeks ago. Camara Rwanda container number 2 was shipped in summer from Belfast to Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania. From there it reached Kigali. In order to be offloaded, we asked our volunteers to give us a hand. Gratefully, some of them waited until late in the evening to do so. In around 1 hour and a half 220 boxes were offloaded and properly stored in our facilities!! Thanks a million guys!

• Life outside Camara.

It is true that Camara Rwanda takes almost 100% of my time here in Kigali, but there is always some moments to relax and chill out a bit. At home, Eddy lives with his fiancee, Nadja, although she is in Belgium at the moment. They also had two puppies, Alain and Sami who had brought some funny moments so far. Unfortunately, Alain died a few weeks ago after getting some digestive disease which the vets could not find out.

The house is quite big and there is also place for other housemates. Penelope and Thomas were the first guys I met. She is Australian and he is from Switzerland. Both decided to move to Rwanda for having a long term life plan, perhaps for two years o more. Thomas is a geek of golf and Penelope loves cooking. Both are a nice couple and from time to time we meet up for dinner. Kate is the last incorporation at home, she is from Massachussets and, as commented above, she is involved in several projects with HDI (Health and Development Initiative – Rwanda). You can have a look at: http://hdirwanda.org/. And she will soon be a Camara Rwanda volunteer, writing a newsletter and carrying out trainings on Open Office!

Jeremy is librarian from New York who spends almost all his free time playing the saxo and the clarinet. He came over to Rwanda for one month in August after setting up an NGO called Parade of One (http://www.paradeofone.org/) the aim of which is to bring art and music outside US and Europe. Parade of One meant to commemorate the 15th aniversary of the Genocide by bringing saxo music to the streets, bars, clubs and hotels of Rwanda. He stayed at Eddy’s place. During this time, he performed in Kigali almost every day, but also outside the capital, like in Butare or Gisenyi. I attended three of his gigs and they were great. Jeremy was always on fire!

A few views from the balcony of Eddy’s place. We have the airport just in front of us. Fortunately, the air traffic is not much, but seeing an airplane landing is always an experience!

One afternoon at Lalibella, a nice Ethiopian restaurant.

The 26th and 27th of September were both Eddy’s and my birthday. What a casuality! We celebrated them together and blowed a 59 candle cake (26 + 33). 33 more years will have to pass until I blow the same candles!

Finally, enjoy some pictures of our last housemate. He is Frankie (aka “The Little Dude”). He looks very cute although he is very brave and can even bite Sami!

Since I will stay for a long period of time in Rwanda, more posts with fresh news will be posted soon. Stay tuned!

Graphical report of July 2009.

Hi to everyone!

After a loooong wait, here you have some pictures of the trip during July. Enjoy!!

Ian (left), Fiona (center), Eoin (right) and Cathal (behind) posing at Auverge La Caverne, the first afternoon of our adventure once in Kigali. Such a lovely photo, isn’t it?

Once in Kahama, half way to Mwanze. We got on pretty well with the staff of the hotel. In the picture, Marcos (left), Maria (behind), Celestini (the cook, 2nd from the left), Eoin and another member of the staff.

One Sunday at the Mwanze market. The woman accepted to be in the picture in exchange for some shillings. In general people do not mind when it comes to taking pictures with them. But I have noticed that it is some sort of ‘muzungu’ thing that sometimes is not wellcomed. That is why you will not see many pictures in this post with locals posing. Some tourists do not understand this concept and take pictures of people without asking first. If you ever go to Africa make sure you respect the privacy of the locals. However, the funny part of all this is that children are usually pretty keen with pictures! (look below! the photo was taken at the ‘Serengeti Garden’ in the Serengeti Hotel, in Mwanze. Ebrahim, -also known as “KCool”, a student of St Augustine- took Monica and I for a stroll around Mwanze that day)

The Lake Victoria from the Mwanze shore. Some kids were playing in the water with improvised boats. Unfortunately, lake Victoria is fairly dirty and swimming is not recommended at all. But those guys do not seem to have any problem! Inside those far rocks, a german bunker was settled during the 1st World War.

Typical soda shop in the streets of Mwanze. Pretty cool, by the way.

At St Augustine University at night.

Our ‘advanced’ class at St Augustines’. Some of our students were Teocratias (IT responsible of the university, on the left), some university teachers (Jisaba -on the back, between Eoin and myself-, Neema -the lady sitting on the right-, and others), the librarians (sorry, forgot the names!!) and Father Venance (sitting on the right, usually more busy with the cellphone and not very focused on our lessons!!)

One afternoon visiting Sister Hester (who has been working at St Augustine for 3 years). It was our first team picture. From left to right: Gillian, Eoin, Cathal, Fiona (in front) and Ian (behind), Sister Hester, Maria, Monica, Aoife, Marcos and Fintan.

At Hussein’s, a very cosy bar close to the university. Hussein started the bar a couple of months ago and was always very happy to see us. I have to say his meals very more than delicious: rice, chicken, fish soup or fried tilapia… and one or two Kilimanjaro (beer) filled our bellies more than once! There were usually other locals too, and even some Masai. In the picture, Maria holds some fresh Tilapia that Hussein got specially for us. He was very proud inviting us into his traditional kitchen to show off with his fish.

Hussein and I posing for a picture.

Last night in Mwanza. It was party time at Villa Park!! The best night club in Mwanza. It was funny to listen some typical songs of back in the 90s.

Cathal made some friends that night!

The following day, on our way back to Kigali. Again, we stopped at Kahama. In the picture Fintan and Maria, on their way to book tickets for the bus of the following day to the Rusumo border, between Rwanda and Tanzania. None of the streets of Kahama are paved but they are fairly crowded even after dusk.

At the Rusumo border. Technical stop to sort out our passports and visas, rest a bit, take some pictures and hire another bus back to Kigali. Notice the sign on the right aiming for no corruption!

Maria, Marcos and Eoin waiting for the visas and passports.

Kigali landscape at 6 o’clock in the morning. This time we found accomodation at St Paul, a hostel run by nuns, very close to town.

Teaching at Ruhuha. This was our first classroom to be set up in Rwanda. We had some electric problems and some of the computers had to remain off during the lessons.

At Nyungwe National Park. One Saturday we travelled to Butare to see Intore Dancing (tradiotional dancing) in the National Museum. Afterwards, we headed to the National Park, but some problems with the bus, bad weather and the bad state of the roads delayed our arrival until very late in the night. Fortunately we found a forest guard who accompanied us to the right place (the guest house) and sorted out our problems. The following morning we started a trekking towards the “waterfall of the swallowed elephants”. In the picture, a lorry got stuck long time ago.

Fintan posing beside tea plantations, before getting into the forest.

We came across a nice and big worm. It is really nice with garlic and parsil!!! (Just kidding!)

Maria in the forest.

Fintan and I once in front of the waterfall.

Carmel dealing with some kids. They loved taking pictures of them, and us!!

Last day of class in Nyamata High School. Teachers played a football match against volunteers. I cannot remember the exact result, but volunteers lost by one or two goals. However, it is worth to say we put them under pressure more than once!! But believe me, playing under that sun is like playing football inside a barbeque!.

Team picture. All of us really had a great time. There were even some improvised cheer leaders cheering up around the pitch!

At Nyamata Telecenter, after speeches from the Director of Education of the District, the headmasters and Eddy (manager of Camara Rwanda). The Director handed out the certificates for every student. In the picture students and teachers with smiles and certs.

Last photo of the team Rwanda 09.

At Virunga Mountains, close to Muzanze and the border with Congo. We spent just one hour with the gorillas but, what an hour! They are completely used to humans. The trekking took around 2 hours thorugh the woods of bambu and more wild forest. Guards and gorilla trackers brought us just beside the “Amahuru” group (“peace”). In the picture, the male of the group (silverback) poses while eating bambu.

A photo to show I do not lie!!

More Silverback (up) and a female (down) who awarded us with a last close picture.

And that’s all folks. Eventually I will get more pictures from some of the members of my team!

Rob Stringer

I got shocked when I read an email from Camara a few days ago, explaining the loss of Rob Stringer.

Rob Stringer was the Team Coordinator of the Tanzania team. Rob died while traveling in Zanzibar.

Although I did not get to know him, I would like to express my most sincere condolences to his family and friends, and also his colleagues from Camara while volunteering in Tanzania.

Last days in Nyamata Secondary High School and Rango School

Hi to everyone!

Just a quick update about our adventures in Rwanda and Tanzania with Camara Education. I am writing to you from the terrace of the ‘Blues Cafe’, while drinking a nice ‘Mango breeze’, mmm.. it’s delicious! (After this update I have to write some notes for my students!!)

Time has passed so fast during this month and there was almost no time for posting. Although at St Augustine University in Mwanza (Tanzania) they had an internet room (installed by Cisco Systems!!) we have been working really hard to provide the best of the best lessons on every subject. It is worth to mention that some of the students in Tanzania had an advanced level, so we took advantage of that and prepared and taught lessons on basic linux administration, basics on website design, networking and pc maintenance. The last day, each student who had attended every day, got a certificate from Camara. The experience in Tanzania was a great challenge, also because it was the first time we prepared the lessons, and some decisions were taken along the way. Father Venance from St Augustine looked after us and treated fairly well.

Once back in Kigali, other challenges were waiting for us. Camara Rwanda has started just some months ago and the first shipment got to Kigali while we were in Tanzania. In Rwanda the team had to split in two, so two schools could have lessons at the same time. The first one is Rango School in Ruhuha, close to the Burundi border. Rango is a fairly nice school in the middle of pure Ruanda lands, were the roads are not paved and people are extremely friendly. The first day in the class (two weekends ago, some of us were not off, but working hard!! ) all the computers were standing on the tables but not plugged. We made some arrangements on the layout of the tables of the class with the help of the headmaster and some locals that came to help us (hey, even if it was during weekend they came. It is nice to see how strong is the sense of community over there!). We installed the latest version of Camarabuntu and also made some arrangements on the electricity wires. In the end, everything was ready for the first day of class two Mondays ago. The lessons started with basic trainings on how to use mouse and keyboard while I personally assessed the students in order to look for some guys who may be interested in technical lessons. Although some of them had already used computers, I ended up with the conclusion that they should follow the basic trainings.

The following day some of us headed to Nyamata Secondary High School. The computers were still inside boxes so a bit of hand work was required. Fortunately we found two teachers with more than just a bit of experience with PCs. Thanks to them (Gaspart and Sande), the headmaster who has been extremely helpful and welcomed us very enthusiastically, and also Paul, a business man who is attending the classes, we are proud to say that the resources and effectiveness of the lessons in Nyamata are fairly high in quality. Paul is also the owner of the ‘Nyamata Telecenter’ a multi-purpose place were anyone can get access to several services from Internet access, booking a computer room for trainings, buying electricity (yes, yes, buying electricity!) and even booking the whole terrace for an event like weddings or so. He provided some resources like a projector, but also talked to us in regards his interest in translating Camarabuntu into Kinyarwanda, the local language. To sum up, both basic and technical trainings are taking place these days in Nyamata and everything goes on the rails (except for some electricity breaks!). On Friday we are having a ceremony to hand out the certificates and also thank both schools, and also teachers, for their effort and help providing the space and resources, and interest, to carry out the lessons. (Probably even a football match will take place!!)

On Saturday some of us will be visiting the gorillas in the north of Rwanda. Yep, those who Dyan Fossey was studying!! Amazing, isn’t it?

Well, hopefully I’ll get some time for another post before our journey back to Dublin. And for then, perhaps some photos will be uploaded as well!!
Take care!

University of St Augustine. Mwanza. Tanzania.

(Next post will be in English! Apologies!)

Hola a todos!

Hoy es nuestro tercer dia en la universidad de St Augustine, en Tanzania en Mwanza y primer dia de clases. Los ordenadores fueron puestos a punto ayer (38!!) y hoy parece que todo va sobre ruedas. Tenemos estudiantes de distintos niveles aunque algunos ya tienen experiencia con Word y Excel. Y hay 4 o 5 que saben un huevo, asi que nos vamos a tener que poner las pilas!!

El 5 a las 6 de la manana nos encontramos en el aeropuerto. Hicimos el check in y una vez en el control de seguridad tuvimos algunos problemas para pasar los cables de red. (que mejor que empezar el viaje con un poco de emocion!!) Asi que ya me veis volviendo al check in dejando los cables para meterlos en la bodega y luego corriendo a la puerta de embarque. El trayecto largo fue desde Amsterdam hasta Nairobi, pero KLM se encargo de que no pasaramos hambre y de entretenernos, con un surtido de pelis que podiamos ver desde la pantalla situada en el respaldo del asiento de delante. Aunque hay que decir que las vistas del Sahara una vez volabamos sobre Egipto eran increibles!!

El primer par de dias estuvimos en Kigali, visitamos el centro y uno de los muchos memoriales que hay sobre el Genocidio del 94. Kigali es una ciudad grande, con un monton de montanitas (toda Rwanda parece un mar de montanas!) y con un ritmo tranquilo pero incesante. Eso si, la tranquilidad y el silencio que se respira por la noche es sorprendente. Kigali es relativamente cosmopolita, se pueden ver algunos Muzungus (caras blancas) por las calles mas centricas. Las infrastructuras son relativamente buenas y se nota que la economia esta en plena efervescencia.

Al dia siguiente cogimos un bus direccion Mwanza (Tanzania) y nos hospedamos en Kahama. Desde luego el cambio de un pais a otro es notable. Tanzania es mucho mas pobre y tiene menos infrastructuras. En Kahama hicimos buenas migas con la gente del servicio del hotel y fuimos a tomar unas birras con ellos. En general todos son muy acogedores y su curiosidad no tiene limites. De camino a Mwanza, al dia siguiente, me puse a charlar en el bus con el Doctor Mathew Paul Misumi, que me enseno algunas palabras en suahili. El tio se partia la caja con mi pronunciacion. A cambio yo le ensene algunas en Espanol (no hubo tiempo para clases de catalan!)

Y lo dicho, ayer pusimos a punto la clase. Nos ha sorprendido que a pesar de la pobreza que hay en Tanzania, la Universidad tiene un monton de recursos. Sin ir mas lejos el ‘internet cafe’ desde el que os escribo ha sido instalado por Cisco Systems!!

Bueno, no me extiendo mas. Ahora tenemos que preparar la clase para los mas avanzados. Realmente vale la pena sacarles provecho, tienen muchas ganas de aprender, pero a veces sus preguntas me ponen en jaque!!

Lo dicho, un abrazo y hasta la proxima.
Kwa Heri (adios en suahili)

Marcos

Short News (II)

Short News (II)

Greetings Camara followers!
Finally I got some time to update the blog with the latest good news:

Table Quiz (I)
Last Wednesday, June the 3th, Alex Bacik and Renato Quattrocchi organised a Table Quiz in aid of Camara to raise funds for their trip to Uganda. Table Quizes (aka Pub Quizes) are kind of Trivia question conquests played by teams (without gameboard, though!), that are frequently played in pubs with the aim of raising funds for charities or just for having fun. Rounds are alternated with raffles of amazing prizes like wine bottles, dinners for two, make up products… anything that can be got for free! Around 50 people struggled with tricky questions last Wednesday at Doyles, a pub based in Dublin City center. Even my team struggled! Although we did not make a great performance! Come on guys! We are the best!!

More meetings… there is no time left!!
Last Thursday evening and Saturday morning Camara volunteers attended to the workshop as usual. In both occasions, the adventurers of the Africa Project 09 left their tasks of refurbishing and packing PCs in order to get some time for our role team meetings. Some of the Linux Administration team members attended trainings for Networkers. By doing so, we got to know their task and perspective of their courses. Lothar Bredl is organising the Networking team and also collecting network matherial like the switches and wires we will bring to our respective destinations!

Fundraising: more and more initiatives!
* Bake sale: Fiona Mc Andrew (Rwanda) and Catherine Pearson (Zambia) organised a bake sale in their former college, last 4th of June Thursday evening. I could not make it, but I have been told the long hours in front of the oven turned out to be a complete success!
* Paella afternoon and Party: Lothar Bredl (Kenia) organised last Sunday afternoon a Paella day where all companions enjoyed a finger-licking meal! And Kamal Kalotus (Uganda) organised the previous night a house party that was also another success!

Table Quiz (II)
Jorge and Vanesa, our Camara guys from Madrid set up a super Pub Quiz last Saturday evening. Some friends and I did not want to miss this opportunity and what can I say, it was a brilliant event!
Near 80 people attended at The Goose Tavern, and enjoyed a nice evening with great prizes such as IPODs, GPS, wine and spirit bottles, dinners and even Spanish cheese! Thanks a million guys, we had a great time! Here you have a picture of my new team. It is worth to say this time we made a great performance winning the third place!! Not too bad!

Breves (II)

Saludos Camaradas!
Por fin encuentro un ratito para poneros al día con las últimas buenas nuevas:

Table Quiz (I)
Alex Bacik y Renato Qattrocchi organizaron un Table Quiz el pasado miércoles 3 de junio con el objetivo de recaudar fondos para su viaje a Uganda con Camara Education. Los Table Quiz (o también Pub Quiz) son concursos de preguntas por equipos al estilo Trival Pursuit (pero sin tablero!), que se juegan con frecuencia en pubs con motivo de recaudar fondos para alguna ONG o, simplemente para pasar un buen rato. Las rondas de preguntas se alternan con sorteos de suculentos premios como botellas de vino, cenas en restaurantes, productos cosméticos… lo que buenamente se haya podido conseguir! En el evento del pasado miércoles alrededor de 50 personas se estrujaron los sesos en Doyles, un pub del centro de Dublin… incluido mi equipo!, a pesar de que no logramos realizar la mejor de nuestras actuaciones!! Arriba esos ánimos equipo!!

Reuniones y más reuniones… ya queda poco!
Lo dicho, el pasado jueves y el sábado por la mañana los voluntarios de Camara acudimos como de costumbre al taller. En ambas ocasiones los aventureros que vamos a ir a África hemos dejado temporalmente los trabajos de reparación y empaquetado de PCs para conseguir algo de tiempo para las reuniones que tenemos asignadas con nuestros respectivos equipos según rol. Algunos de los que vamos a impartir cursos de Administración Linux asistimos a las sesiones prácticas del equipo que impartirá Redes, con el objetivo de tomar contacto con su labor y preparación del curso. Lothar Bredl se está encargando personalmente de organizar a los chicos de Redes y también de recuperar material (switches y cables) para poder llevarlos con nosotros a nuestros respectivos destinos!

Recaudación de fondos: más y más iniciativas!!
* Venta de pasteles: Fiona McAndrew (Ruanda) y Catherine Pearson (Zambia) organizaron una venta de pasteles en su antigua universidad el pasado jueves 4 de junio. Yo no tuve el placer de asistir pero tengo entendido que las largas horas delante del horno dieron merecidísimos frutos!
* Paellada y fiesta: Lothar Bredl (Kenia) organizó el pasado domingo una paellada en su casa en la que los comensales se chuparon los dedos y Kamal Kalotus (Uganda) organizó la noche anterior una fiesta en su casa que también fue todo un éxito!

Table Quiz (II)
Jorge y Vanesa, dos camaradas de Madrid organizaron un súper Pub Quiz la tarde-noche del sábado. Algunos amigos y yo no nos quisimos perder tal ocasión y qué decir, fue un evento de lujo! Alrededor de unas 80 personas se reunieron en The Goose Tavern y disfrutaron de una amena tarde en la que no faltaron grandes premios tales como IPODs, GPS, botellas de vino y licor, cenas en restaurantes y hasta queso español!! Muchas gracias chicos, lo pasamos en grande! Aquí os dejo una instantánea de mi nuevo equipo. Cabe decir que esta vez salimos con la cabeza bien alta consiguiendo un tercer puesto!! No está nada mal!

Breus (II)

Salutacions Camarades!

Per fi trobo una estoneta per a posar-vos al dia amb les últimes notícies:

Table Quiz (I)

Alex Bacik i Renato Quattrocchi van organitzar un Table Quiz el dimecres 3 de juny amb l’objectiu de recaptar fons per al seu viatge a Uganda amb Camara Education. Els Table Quiz (o també Pub Quiz) són concursos de preguntes per equips a l’estil del Trival Pursuit (però sense tauler!), que es juguen amb freqüència en pubs per a recaptar fons per a alguna ONG o, simplement, per a passar una bona estona. Les rondes de preguntes s’alternen amb sortejos de suculents premis, com ampolles de vi, sopars en restaurants, productes cosmètics… el que bonament s’hagi pogut aconseguir! El passat dimecres unes 50 persones es van esprémer el cervell a Doyles, un pub del centre de Dublin… inclòs el meu equip! Tot i que no vam fer la millor de les nostres actuacions!!

Amunt els ànims, equip!!

Reunions i més reunions… ja queda poc!
Dijous passat i dissabte al matí els voluntaris de Camara vam acudir al taller, com és costum. Aquests dies els aventurers que anirem a Àfrica hem deixat temporalment els treballs de reparació i empaquetat de PCs per a tenir una mica més de temps per a les reunions que tenim assignades amb els nostres respectius equips i rols. Alguns dels que anem a impartir cursos d’Administració Linux vam assistir a les sessions pràctiques de l’equip que impartirà Xarxes, amb l’objectiu de prendre contacte amb la seva tasca i la preparació del curs. Lothar Bredl s’està encarregant personalment d’organitzar els nois de Xarxes i també de recuperar material (switches i cables) per a poder dur-los amb nosaltres a les respectives destinacions!

Recaptació de fons: més i més iniciatives!!

* Venda de pastissos: Fiona McAndrew (Rwanda) i Catherine Pearson (Zàmbia) van organitzar una venda de pastissos a la seva antiga universitat el dijous 4 de juny. Jo no vaig tenir el plaer d’assistir però sé del cert que les llargues hores davant del forn van tenir recompensa!

* Paellada i festa: Lothar Bredl (Kenya) va organitzar diumenge passat una paellada a casa seva en la qual els comensals es van llepar els dits i Kamal Kalotus (Uganda) va organitzar la nit anterior una festa a casa seva que també va ser tot un èxit!

Table Quiz (II)

El Jorge i la Vanesa, dos camarades de Madrid van organitzar un súper Pub Quiz la trigui-nit del dissabte. Alguns amics i jo no ens vam voler perdre la ocasió i va ser realment un esdeveniment de luxe! Al voltant d’unes 80 persones es van reunir a The Goose Tavern i van gaudir d’una amena tarda on no hi van faltar grans premis, tals com IPODs, GPS, ampolles de vi i licor, sopars en restaurants i fins i tot formatge espanyol!!

Moltes gràcies nois, ho vam passar genial! Aquí us deixo una instantània del meu nou equip. Cal dir que aquesta vegada sortim amb el cap ben alt per haver aconseguit el tercer lloc!! No està gens malament!

Short News

Short News

Hi to everyone! Here you have the latest fresh news…

African percussion class

Last Wednesday evening, 27th of May, there was a percussion class with djembes, maracas, drumbs and other music instruments at Sheeben Chic, a cosy pub located in George St. The event was organised by Bertrand Desmaris, a good friend and also volunteer from Camara who will travel to Uganda next July. Such class took place to raise funds for the Project and it is worth to mention that it was a complete success!! Around 40 people attended and let their rhythm flow. We had a great time, indeed! Congratulations Bertrand!!

Vaccinations

As part of the preparation for the trip, all volunteers are visiting the doctor in order to get their vaccinations. As for the Rwanda team it is compulsory to get immunised for yellow fever, typhoid fever, diphtheria, hepatitis A, tetanus and polio… Rabies vaccination is recommended although it is not mandatory. And for sure, we will have to take malaria medication as well! No worries, though! I have already got my shots!

Africa Day 2009

Last Sunday 24th of May all Dublin citizens enjoyed a gorgeous sunny day at Iveagh Gardens, to participate on the Africa Day 2009. Stands of several African countries let people know about their culture, social reality, gastronomy and music. Camara volunteers had a stand, of course, and informed people about our work and also painted faces to the youngest of the family! (and also to those not that young…!)

I have uploaded some pictures and a video so you can get the feeling of that amazing day.

Happy Bank Holiday for those living in Ireland, or just have a good weekend to everybody!

Breves

¡Hola a todos! Os pongo al día de las últimas novedades…

Clase de percusión africana

La pasada tarde del miércoles 27 de mayo tuvo lugar en el Sheeben Chic, un acogedor pub de George St, una clase de percusión con djembés, maracas, tambores y otros instrumentos organizada por Bertrand Desmaris, un buen amigo y también voluntario de Camara que viajará el próximo mes de julio a Uganda. ¿El motivo? Recaudar fondos para el proyecto, y cabe decir que ¡fue todo un éxito! Alrededor de unas 40 personas asistieron al evento y exprimimos al máximo el ritmo que llevamos dentro. ¡Lo pasamos en grande! ¡Enhorabuena Bertrand!

Vacunas

Como parte de la preparación del viaje, los voluntarios van acudiendo al médico para vacunarse. En el caso de los que viajamos a Ruanda resulta obligatorio inmunizarse contra la fiebre amarilla, fiebre tifoidea, difteria, hepatitis A, tétanos y poliomielitis… La vacuna contra la rabia se recomienda si bien no es obligatoria. ¡Y por supuesto será imprescindible tomar medicación contra la malaria! Casi nada. ¡Yo ya he recibido mis punzadas!

Africa Day 2009

El pasado domingo 24 de mayo la ciudad de Dublín pudo disfrutar de un magnífico día soleado en los Iveagh Gardens, con motivo del Africa Day 2009. Stands de varios países africanos dieron a conocer su cultura, realidad social, gastronomía y música entre otros. Voluntarios de Camara estuvieron allí, sin duda alguna, en un stand dedicado a la ONG, donde daban a conocer la labor de la organización a gentes de todas las edades, familias y ¡hasta pintaban la cara a los más pequeños (y no tan pequeños)!

Os dejo algunas imágenes y un vídeo para que podáis sentir el ambiente que se respiraba.

¡Feliz Bank Holiday a los que estáis en Irlanda, o simplemente buen fin de semana a todos!

Breus

Hola a tots! Us poso al dia de les últimes novetats…

Classe de percussió africana

La tarda del dimecres 27 de maig va tenir lloc al Sheeben Chic, un acollidor pub de George St, una classe de percussió amb djembés, maraques, tambors i altres instruments, organitzada per Bertrand Desmaris, un bon amic i també voluntari de Camara que viatjarà el pròxim mes de juliol a Uganda. El motiu? Recaptar fons per al projecte, i cal dir que va ser tot un èxit! Al voltant d’unes 40 persones van assistir a l’esdeveniment i vam esprémer al màxim el ritme que portem dintre. Ho vam passar genial! Enhorabona Bertrand!

Vacunes

Una part de la preparació del viatge consisteix en la visita al metge per a vacunar-se. En el cas dels que viatgem a Rwanda resulta obligatori immunitzar-se contra la febre groga, febre tifoïdal, diftèria, hepatitis A, tètan i poliomielitis… La vacuna contra la ràbia es recomana, però no és obligatòria. I per descomptat serà imprescindible prendre medicació contra la malària! Quasi res! Jo ja he rebut les punxades!

Africa Day 2009.

Diumenge 24 de maig la ciutat de Dublín va poder gaudir d’un magnífic dia assolellat en els Iveagh Gardens, amb motiu de l’Africa Day 2009. Estands de diversos països africans van donar a conèixer la seva cultura, realitat social, gastronomia i música, entre d’altres. Voluntaris de Camara van estar allí, sens dubte, en un estand dedicat a l’ONG on donaven a conèixer la tasca de l’organització a gent de totes les edats. I es va organitzar també un taller de pintar-se la cara, on els més petits (i no tan petits) s’ho van passar d’allò més bé! Us deixo algunes imatges i un vídeo perquè pugueu sentir l’ambient que es respirava.

Feliç Bank Holiday als que esteu a Irlanda o, simplement, bon cap de setmana a tots!

Gracias Bruno por unas fotos tan buenas! =)

Fundraising: house party for Camara Africa Project 09. A great success!

Fundraising: house party for Camara Africa Project 09. A great success!

With no doubt, last Saturday night was a great success. Flyers jumped every email box during the week and the word of mouth made the rest of the work. All were invited to the event and knew the cause. It is worthy to mention that the affluence exceeded all our expectations: around 70 people took part of that unique night!

Preparations began the same Saturday morning: equipped with a 70 litre mountain rucksack, my bike and Lara’s company, my housemate, we headed to the supermarket to get all the stuff. Our objective: offer to the attendants (and contributors!) the best of the appetizers. Around 5 o’clock (at the same time of the final European rugby match where Leinster played) I had put hands on: trays with Spanish tortilla, cold meats, cheese, mussels, olives, nuts, toasts with ham, pâté, fresh cheese… decorated the tables of the living room. Lara also generously helped in the kitchen. At the same time, Bruno and Miguel gave me a hand with the music, the decoration and the food. Thanks so much guys!!

First guests begun to arrive and we had hardly finished the preparation of the dinner. Fortunately, everything went fine and on time. Slowly, every group arrived. They came in, did their contribution and got ready to enjoy a great night!! Some groups were truly numerous and the house got packed in the twinkling of an eye. Everybody was willing to have fun and also interested in the reason of the party. Furthermore, some Camara friends also popped in. Altogether we let the people know about the organisation and the Camara Africa Project 09. Night went on and fun did not stop! Without any doubt, it was a good opportunity to get to know new faces, meet again old friends and chat until the late night. The bravest ones stayed until it got bright!

To sum up, it was a great night that all of us will remember. Personally I only have words to say thanks to all the attendants for their presence and help. Every two cents will make the Camara Africa Project 09 possible!!

Fundraising: house party for Camara Africa Project 09. A great success!

Sin duda alguna, la noche del pasado sábado fue todo un éxito. Los flyers circularon de email en email a lo largo de toda la semana y el boca a boca hizo el resto. Todos estaban invitados al evento y conocían la causa. Y qué decir, la afluencia de gente superó todas nuestras expectativas: alrededor de 70 personas participaron de una noche única!

Los preparativos empezaron la misma mañana del sábado: armado con una mochila de montaña de 70 litros, mi bicicleta y la compañía y ayuda de Lara, mi compañera de casa, nos dirigimos al supermercado a cargarnos hasta el cuello de provisiones. El objetivo: ofrecer a los asistentes (y contribuyentes!) el mejor de los aperitivos posibles. A media tarde, mientras mis vecinos dublineses estaban enfrente del televisor (la misma tarde se jugaba la final europea de rugby del equipo regional, Leinster) yo me ponía manos a la masa: bandejas de tortilla española, embutidos, queso, mejillones, aceitunas, frutos secos, tostaditas con jamón, paté, queso fresco… decoraron las mesas del salón. Lara también contribuyó de forma generosa en la cocina. Mientras tanto, Bruno y Miguel me echaban una mano con la música, la decoración y la comida. ¡¡Muchas gracias!!

Los primeros invitados empezaron a llegar apenas habíamos completado la preparación de la cena. Por suerte todo salió según lo previsto y a tiempo. Poco a poco los grupitos iban llegando. Entraban, hacían su contribución y ¡¡se disponían a pasar una gran noche!! Algunos grupos eran realmente numerosos y, entre todos, la casa se llenó en un abrir y cerrar de ojos. Todos se mostraban con muchas ganas de pasarlo a lo grande y por supuesto, curiosos e interesados acerca del motivo de la fiesta. Algunos compañeros de Camara también se presentaron con ganas de pasarlo bien. Entre todos dimos a conocer nuestra labor en la organización y el Proyecto Camara Africa 09. La noche fue pasando pero no la diversión! Sin duda fue una oportunidad para conocer nuevas caras, reencontrarse con viejos amigos y charlar hasta altas horas de la madrugada. ¡Los más valientes aguantaron hasta que se hizo claro!

En resumen, se trata de una gran noche que todos recordaremos con cariño. Personalmente no tengo más que palabras de agradecimiento a todos los asistentes, viejos amigos y nuevos conocidos, por su presencia y ayuda. Cada granito de arena va a hacer posible, sin duda alguna, el proyecto Camara Africa 09!!

Fundraising: house party for Camara Africa Project 09. A great success!

Sens dubte, la nit del dissabte va ser tot un èxit. Els flyers van circular de correu en correu al llarg de tota la setmana i el boca a boca va fer la resta. Tots estaven convidats a l’esdeveniment i coneixien la causa. I què us podria dir… l’afluència de gent va superar totes les nostres expectatives: al voltant d’unes 70 persones van participar d’una nit única! Els preparatius van començar el mateix matí del dissabte: armat amb una motxilla de muntanya de 70 litres, la meva bicicleta i la companyia i ajuda de la Lara, la meva companya de pis, ens vam dirigir al supermercat a carregar-nos fins al coll de provisions. L’objectiu: oferir als assistents (i contribuents!) el millor dels aperitius possibles. A mitja tarda, mentre els meus veïns dublinesos estaven davant del televisor (la mateixa tarda es jugava la final europea de rugby de l’equip regional, Leinster) jo posava les mans a la massa: safates de truita espanyola, embotits, formatge, musclos, olives, fruits secs, torradetes amb pernil, paté, formatge fresc van decorar les taules del saló. La Lara també va contribuir de forma generosa a la cuina. Mentrestant, el Bruno i el Miguel em van donar un cop de mà amb la música, la decoració i el menjar. Moltes gràcies!!

Els primers convidats van arribar tot just quan el sopar estava fet. Per sort tot va anar com havíem previst i a temps . A poc a poc els grups de gent anaven arribant. Entraven, feien la seva contribució i es disposaven a passar una gran nit!! Alguns grups eren realment nombrosos i, entre tots, la casa es va omplir en un obrir i tancar d’ulls. Tots es mostraven amb moltes ganes de passar-ho genial i per descomptat, curiosos i interessats sobre el motiu de la festa. Alguns companys de Camara també es van presentar amb ganes de passar-ho bé. Entre tots vam donar a conèixer la tasca en l’organització i el Projecte Camara Africa 09. La nit passava però no la diversió! Sens dubte va ser una oportunitat per a conèixer noves cares, retrobar-se amb vells amics i xerrar fins a altes hores de la matinada. Els més valents van aguantar fins que es va fer clar!

En resum, va ser una gran nit que tots recordarem amb afecte. Personalment només tinc paraules d’agraïment a tots els assistents, vells amics i nous coneguts, per la seva presència i ajuda. Cada granet de sorra farà possible, sens dubte , el projecte Camara Africa 09!!

Fundraising: two days left for the Camara Africa Project 09 fundraising house party!

Two days left for the fundraising house party!

There is only two days left for the fundraising house party for Camara Africa Project 09!! So far, we have great expectations!

Anyway, there won’t be more details until the day afterwards. To get started, here you have the flyer that is surfing every email box…

I’ll be glad to see you there!!!

Solo quedan dos dias para el guateque para recaudar fondos!
¡¡Quedan exactamente dos días para que dé lugar la fiesta para recaudar fondos para el proyecto Camara Africa 09!! ¡Y las expectativas son prometedoras!

De todos modos no habrá mas detalles hasta ‘el día después’. Como aperitivo, aquí tenéis el flyer que está circulando de email en email…

¡¡Espero veros allí!!

Només queden dos dies per al guateque per a recaptar fons!

Queden exactament dos dies per la festa per a recaptar fons per al projecte Camara Africa 09!! I les expectatives són prometedores! De totes maneres no hi haurà mes detalls fins al ‘dia després’. Com aperitiu, aquí teniu el flyer que està circulant de correu en correu… Espero veure-us-hi!!

Meetings

Meetings

Volunteers of Camara Africa Project 09 have met several times during the last few weeks, depending on destination and role assigned.
The Rwanda Team had its first meeting together with the Ethiopia Team in a relaxed atmosphere. There, we introduced ourselves and also we got to know each member of our same country team. The members of the Rwanda Team (my team!) are:
• Maria Georgiou and Fintan McGee: they are team coordinators. Thanks to them, the others won’t have to worry about accommodation, meals, transport and other matters.
• Carmel Conlon, Gillian Nash and Cathal Paul Rice: they will give lessons on basic and intermediate IT and Moodle (virtual class administration software).
• Aoife Rooney and Janice Feighery: facilitators. Their roles are key in order to attend every student needs, mostly during practical trainings.
• Fiona McAndrew (Multimedia and web-design), Eoin Savage (PC Hardware Maintenance), Ian Murphy (Networking) and Marcos Morales (Linux Administration). Our courses will be a bit more specialised, probably given to reduced groups with special needs or interests.
Like us, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Lesotho teams have similar number of volunteers with the same roles.
As for me, my course will let the students learn how to administrate an Ubuntu Linux environment at a basic level. The first meeting with other teachers of the same role has already taken place and, during the following ones, we will discuss about the content, materials and exercises.
Step by step the Camara Africa Project 09 is taking shape!!

Meetings

Durante las últimas semanas los voluntarios de Camara Africa Project 09 se han reunido en distintas ocasiones según su destino y rol asignado.
El equipo Ruanda se reunió por primera vez junto con el equipo Etiopia en una distendida reunión que nos permitió darnos a conocer al resto del grupo y saber más acerca de nuestros compañeros de viaje. El equipo Ruanda (¡mi equipo!) está formado por los siguientes miembros:
• Maria Georgiou y Fintan McGee: son los coordinadores del grupo. Gracias a ellos el resto del equipo no tendrá que preocuparse por el alojamiento, las comidas y el transporte, entre otras cosas.
• Carmel Conlon, Gillian Nash y Cathal Paul Rice: impartirán las clases de informática básica e intermedia, incluyendo ofimática y Moodle (paquete para administrar un aula virtual).
• Aoife Rooney y Janice Feighery: asistirán a los maestros durante las lecciones. Los asistentes tienen un papel muy importante. Gracias a ellos, se puede atender a varios alumnos durante las lecciones prácticas.
• Fiona McAndrew (Multimedia y diseño de páginas web), Eoin Savage (Mantenimiento del hardware del PC), Ian Murphy (Redes) y Marcos Morales (Administración de un entorno Linux). Impartiremos cursos un tanto más especializados, probablemente para grupos reducidos de alumnos con especial interés o necesidad en alguna de las citadas materias.
Como nosotros, los equipos de Etiopia, Kenia, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia y Lesoto cuentan con un número similar de voluntarios y con los mismos roles.
En mi caso, el curso que impartiré permitirá tener a los alumnos los conocimientos básicos y necesarios para administrar un entorno Linux Ubuntu. La primera reunión con el resto de profesores que imparten el mismo temario ya ha tenido lugar y durante las próximas entraremos más a fondo en el contenido, materiales y ejercicios.
¡¡Poco a poco el proyecto Camara Africa 09 va tomando forma!!

Meetings

Durant les últimes setmanes els voluntaris de Camara Africa Project 09 ens hem reunit en diverses ocasions segons la destinació i el rol assignat. L’equip Rwanda ens vam reunir per primera vegada juntament amb l’equip Etiòpia en una distesa reunió que ens va permetre conèixer la resta del grup i saber més sobre els nostres companys de viatge. L’equip Rwanda (el meu equip!) està format pels següents membres:

• Maria Georgiou i Fintan McGee: són els coordinadors del grup: gràcies a ells la resta de l’equip no haurà de preocupar-se per l’allotjament, els menjars i el transport, entre d’altres coses.

• Carmel Conlon, Gillian Nash i Cathal Paul Arrissi: impartiran les classes d’informàtica bàsica i intermèdia, incloent-hi l’ofimàtica i Moodle (paquet per a administrar una aula virtual).

• Aoife Rooney i Janice Feighery: assistiran els mestres durant les lliçons. Els assistents tenen un paper molt important. Gràcies a ells, es pot atendre a diversos alumnes durant les lliçons pràctiques.

• Fiona McAndrew (multimèdia i disseny de pàgines web), Eoin Savage (manteniment del maquinari del PC), Ian Murphy (xarxes) i Marcos Morales (administració d’un entorn Linux). Nosaltres impartirem cursos una miqueta més especialitzats, probablement per a grups reduïts d’alumnes amb especial interès o necessitats concretes en alguna de les citades matèries.

Com nosaltres, els equips de Etiòpia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzània, Zàmbia i Lesoto compten amb un nombre similar de voluntaris i amb els mateixos rols.

En el meu cas, el curs que impartiré permetrà tenir als alumnes els coneixements bàsics i necessaris per a administrar un entorn Linux Ubuntu. La primera reunió amb la resta de professors que imparteixen el mateix temari ja ha tingut lloc i durant les pròximes setmanes entrarem més a fons en el contingut, els materials i els exercicis.

A poc a poc el projecte Camara Africa 09 va prenent forma!!