Stories about Development from December, 2008
Kazakhstan: National Search Engine Debated by the Bloggers
On December 11, 2008, Kazakhstani blogger Nurlan wrote in his blog, dedicated to IT development issues, about a possibility that so-called KazNet (a Kazakhstani segment of the world wide web) soon may have its own search engine and quotes an advertisement placed on the official website of the Governmental Agency...
Malawi: Murderous Thanksgiving, AIDS Day and crossing the Zimbabwean border
Victor Kaonga highlights a few posts from blogs about Malawi: an expat Thanksgiving, World Aids Day and a long bus trip from Malawi to South Africa with an interesting border crossing in Zimbabwe.
Ethiopia: A child's glimpse on the country
Samuel Gebru reviews the book Tsion's Life, written from the perspective of an Ethiopian child by an American woman that adopted him. According to Gebru, the book “captures the essence of a child's life growing up in urban Ethiopia” and “is simply a useful guide to Ethiopia for all –...
Fact or Fiction: A mini Dubai in Downtown Cairo
Rumor has it that Gamal Mubarak, the President's son and the NDP's General Secretary of the Policy Committee, will turn the historical downtown Cairo into a “mini Dubai”. Sandmonkey wrote: AP has a piece on how religion and decrepitude are threathening downtown Cairo Bars. I know a third source of threat:...
Angola: A country with huge, untapped tourism potential
Angola boasts an amazing interior landscape, rich and varied fauna, bountiful wildlife, and an extensive national park system, offering something for every visitor. However, most of its potential is still untapped, and if well explored, could make Angola the biggest tourist destination in Africa.
Barbados, Dominica: A First for Indigenous Communities
Barbados Free Press reports on “a first in the history of the Americas” as Dominica issues a diplomatic passport to its indigenous Kalinago-Carib leader.
Haiti, U.S.A.: Relief Delay
The Haitian Blogger reports that storm victims are dying of starvation because of the delay in getting goods to the island: “The situation is that aid agencies are in control of foreign aid to Haiti and the Haitian government as usual, is being cut out of the picture and were...
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Differently-Abled
“I thought that not so long ago, children with disabilities were like dirty family secrets to be kept hidden away and far from curious eyes”: Abeni attends a Christmas programme at a School for Children with Special Needs in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and comes away with the realization...
Puerto Rico, Barbados, Guyana: Indigenous Rights
The Voice of the Taino People Online reports that Damon Corrie, “the sometimes controversial Barbados born Indigenous Rights activist of Guyanese Arawak descent” is attending negotiations on the draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
East Timor: The difference a computer makes
In a country where the cost of the Internet is 3.000 USD a month for a 256 kbps connection, Sara Moreira shares pictures from the times she was teaching Computer Engineerig in Dili. “As you can see, your laptops would truly make a difference for young women in Dili, Timor!”.
Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago: VoIPs
“It seems that the CARICOM members have no handle on technology and its positive impact on the economy, and Guyana is no different”: Blogging from Trinidad and Tobago, KnowProSE.com is not surprised that Guyana seems to be on the verge of closing cyber-cafes because of competition from VoIPs.
Zimbabwe: On the cholera crisis
Sokwanele posted several pictures taken in Ruwa of raw sewage overflowing from manholes, causing residents in the area to fear for a cholera outbreak. Sokwanele says: “It’s a ticking time-bomb, and the residents know it, but can do nothing about it”. The Kubatana blog also comments on the current cholera...
Armenia: Earthquake Anniversary
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the 1988 earthquake which devastated parts of northern Armenia including the country's second largest city of Gyumri. Unzipped says that for the estimated 7,000 families which still remain homeless the past two decades have been full of nothing more than empty promises. Meanwhile, Anush...
Malawi: 36-hour bus ride to Johannesburg
Boni Dulani describes his 36-hour bus ride from Mangochi, Malawi to Johannesburg, South Africa going through Mozambique and Zimbabwe. He concludes “despite all those challenges, there is a positive story to tell from my trip: Zimbabwe is the only country where I didn’t have to pay any bribes to get...
Imagine what 20 million Egyptians could do
Naguib Sawiris's Mobinil is positioned as the leading mobile service operator in Egypt. Scene & Heard hails Mobinil's inspirational campaign “Imagine what 20 million Egyptians could do."
Senegal: Troubles in schools
Although more and more children in Senegal are attending school, the education system faces ever greater challenges, from the influence of drugs to unwanted pregnancies to the fact that education is hardly a guarantee of future employment.
Ghana: Choosing the lesser evil in the presidential elections
Jemila of Ghana Unite for Development comments on Ghana's development efforts in view of the upcoming presidential elections on December 7th. He appears pessimistic about the outcome: “I am not in the least bit confident in any result that this election might come to. All I can hope is that...
Cameroonian Hell
Cameroon Comedy posts a joke about Cameroon.
Trinidad & Tobago: P of A
Trin finds the government's position on certain key issues implausible and asks: “Are exhausted people resorting to threats of violence to escape a sinking city or Trinbagonians dying from an imaginary dengue outbreak part of your vacuous plan of action for ‘nurturing a caring society'”?
Egypt: Dirty Sexy Secrets
Young enlightened Egyptian bloggers write about their society's sex code, racism, bigotry, and lust after scandals - all in an attempt to make Egypt a better place to live in. Marwa Rakha zooms into the Egyptian blogosphere to bring us the story.
Haiti: clean water
Haiti Innovation posts detailed information about a campaign to improve access to clean water in Port-au-Prince. "Their approach is to provide cost effective tablet chlorinators and to build the capacity of community members to manage them."
