Think Tank Thuto Digital Arts Program

Africa 101

A little more detail. Yesterday’s blog entry was rushed. We went to an Internet café in town. We paid 5 pula ($1) for 15 minutes of time. I was trying to log onto the blog, and needed to type in my email address to gain access. When I tried to type the @ sign, it kept coming up as a quotation mark. The guy at the front had no idea how to help me. After trying every combination, I finally got to 9 and instead of a parenthesis, I got the @ sign! Whew. Except that I had wasted 12 minutes looking for it, and there was a line for the computer. I am now sitting in my room typing this on the MacBook Pro and hope to go to the front desk and use the ONE computer that has limited Internet access to upload this entry.

Back to the beginning of our Botswana journey. We were met at the Gabarone (Gabs) airport by the very genial and highly efficient Father Ben. He works with the Bishop of Botswana (Trevor)…more on him in a bit. All but one piece of luggage (mine) made it to Gabs from San Francisco. The plane we were on only held so much luggage, so they kept several pieces in Joburg and put them on the next plane to Gabs. So, Father Ben helped us get through customs (no problem) and stored our luggage. Then The Bishop showed up. What a man! He has an amazing sense of humor, a ready and warm laugh, and an elegance of manner that is a wonder to behold. I rode with him and Andy rode with Father Ben to the Palm Hotel (everyone, I mean everyone knows and loves the Bishop). We passed by the new DeBeers diamond building (MASSIVE) on our way in. The government of Botswana manages the mining, and it couldn’t be more different than the horror of Sierra Leone (see Blood Diamond). Miners are treated very well and the country has an amazing GDP. They call Botswana “Africa 101” because it is a lovely introduction to the continent. The streets are clean, the building are sound, and it is often hard to tell the cities from American cities. Granted, there are problems, and you do see goats in some streets, some shanties, etc., but 99% of the time you could really be anywhere in the States.The Palm Hotel was gorgeous and we had a light snack and discussed Botswana and our digital arts program with the Bishop and Father Ben for an hour and a half before we had to go to the airport for our final flight of the 48 hour journey…to Francistown. We learned from the Bishop that they just finished filming The Number One Ladies Detective Agency here. The Bishop is friends with the author and is even in the book! CNN interviewed the Bishop and he was on last week (you can Google him and see the footage online).

Our program here came about as follows. Andy and I were at a pre-wedding evening of cocktails and dancing with Lisa and Paul the night before the wedding. It seemed like about 200 of their friends were in the club. We met Kelly Hu (The Scorpion King and many other movies and TV shows) and had a blast hanging out with her. Andy and I were sitting with her and had just started telling her about our trip to South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. I went to get a drink and was gone no longer than about 90 seconds. When I got back, I found out that we were going to Botswana! Bamb! Kelly is like us. Just get things done, no dilly dallying. She had been working with the Bishop and Annelize Bester to set up and International School in Francistown. When Botwana gained independence in 1966, the government had a big task in creating an entirely new education system. They’ve done fine, but the Bishop wants to create take a more holistic approach and design a system that includes arts, sports, technology, etc. He really is the best cheerleader for Botswana. He and Annelize (and many others, including USC) have been working on the business plan for a few years and Annelize has basically given her life to these projects! She’s just wonderful. (I’m going to ask Annelize to post a blog so that she can explain more and tell you more about herself.) They are still in the fundraising stage, so that is where we come in! Andy, Kelly Hu and her most excellent musician boyfriend Mitch, Annelize, Charles (our great new friend and the videographer for this project), Victoria (managing the kids), and I are here to work with kids from local schools to make public service announcements to be used to raise funds for the school(s). If this is successful, the Botswana team will have the chance to really change education. We have 25 kids. They started yesterday. We taught them photography and videography techniques yesterday then they spent the day using The Flip cameras and some still digital cameras as they practiced what they’d learned. We had hoped to get started on the computers and their Premiere training, but our converters basically blew up so we had to go to town last night to get the right stuff. It will all be find today! (Thanks to Annelize who figured the “current” issue out.) Today, the Bishop and Father Ben arrive to talk to the kids about the project (Think Tank Thuto…Thuto is the word for education…you can look it up online). The kids will be making movies about their dream jobs for the future. They’ll decide what narrative approach to take (poetry, verse, prose, interview, etc.) and start writing tomorrow. They’ll lay down an action plan in their PSAs and talk about how Think Tank Thuto’s holistic approach will really help them realize their dreams. Then, the kids will film Kelly, Mitch, Annelize, Father Ben, Andy, and me for short “calls-to-action” asking the viewers to go to the website to find out more. The kids are all extremely bright and well-mannered. The Sun People are the original inhabitants of Botswana (kind of like our Cherokee) and most live in the bush. The people in the cities have come from somewhere else (South Africa, Zimbabwe, etc.). Our students are a lovely mix of kids from South Africa, India, Zambia, and a few other countries. They wear uniforms and drink tea and sandwiches with us at 3:30! They arrive at 1:30 after school and leave at 4:30. We have them until next Friday.

We are holding the program (and staying) at the Marang (you can look it up online as well). It is wonderful here! We figure we’re having a nice entry, but we still look forward to the mud huts and donkeys in Gambella! The lodge has a beautiful thatched roof, just like our huts. The hut is on stilts off the ground. I can see the riverbed (it’s totally dry right now…rainy season is supposed to start any second!), so I figure the proximity of the river explains the stilts. I have a lovely sitting room, desk, big bed, and big bathroom. You can have ostrich or chicken…great food here. There are monkeys everywhere. I believe I told you about the poop on Annelize’s doorstep yesterday. The weather is warm, warm, warm during the day, but I have to bundle up at night. Francistown is a bustling place and you really can get whatever you need.

We’ve been taking plenty of photos and shooting some video. I fear we might be able to get those up on Shutterfly until we get to South Africa. The Internet connections are just too slow and unreliable. I’ll put a Shutterfly link up on the blog page when I can make this happen.

We’re having a GREAT time and wish everyone we knew could come to Botswana! The work we’re doing with Think Tank Thuto is really going to change education here. If you met the Bishop, Annelize, and Kelly you’d totally understand why I feel comfortable in stating that.

Andy, Charles and I are off to set up the room so that everything is spit-spot for the students’ arrival (no exploding equipment).

Andy will do the next blog, then you’ll hear from the rest of the team. I can’t get email here, so if you need something, leave a comment on the blog!

E and A

P.S. A guy walked up to me at the hotel and said, "Hey Erik!" I knew I hadn't met him. Turns out I had left my blog up on the hotel computer and he read all the way through then went to the Pearson Foundation website. His name is Herman (Hey Herman!). He is going to introduce us to some high profile people in Joburg. He runs workforce readiness programs for underserved people in Africa. Serendipity rules the day!

Day One with the Kids in Botswana

Hello! Erik here (Andy is looking for electrical adapters). I have to be quick because the Internet times out here so quickly. Also, my phone doesn't work at all, and I can't buy a sim card for it. Andy's phone does work, if you need us.

Andy and I got some much needed rest. You have to see this place we're staying at. Over the next few days, I'm going to find a place with a better Internet connection and post a bunch of pictures on Shutterfly (the link will be on the Blog page). Today, we had a great breakfast, met Annelize and Charles, and got the room set up. We had to go to town several times (well, Andy did) to find adapters. While we had lunch, about 15 monkeys showed up and one ran up to look in the window at Annelize's stilted hut. He left her a nice piece of monkey dung so that as she walked in, she was covered in it. Fun. The kids arrived and we showed them how to use the Flip video cameras and the still digitals. Then, they went out and practiced doing both. It was great fun. When we came back to the room, the adapters we bought were literally smoking and had burned out. No computers today! Thanks to Annelize, we found a solution so it should be better tomorrow....

Blog Posting While Utterly Exhausted

So. It has been 48 hours since we left and we JUST arrived. We have had MANY adventures. I will recount them in the morning once Andy and I have had the chance to sleep. I don't think I have ever been as tired as I am now! Left Joburg for Gabarone, then got on our flight to Francistown. When I have more energy, I'll recount the trip. Rest-assured, we are here, safe, and quite in love with our hotel, The Marang in Francistown, Botswana. I am in room 37 and Andy is in room 35. AND...by "room" I mean cottage, really. We are on the most amazingly landscaped area of F-town. We each have our own thatched-roof huts raised off the ground with 8-foot stilts. It is really magical. When I get my senses back (and once I've unpacked and arranged my clothing by color), I will give the full details. Best of all? We get to meet the kids tomorrow and we couldn't be more thrilled. Again, much to detail. Just wanted you all to know that our adventure has gone from the theoretical to the real. More tomorrow. MUST SLEEP. Erik and Andy

London Layover - BRILLIANT

Andy and I are sitting in the "lounge" at the Jo'burg airport on our way to Francistown, Botswana. You heard about our luggage fiasco...all fixed! Had an Okay 10 hour flight to London (honestly, no sour grapes, but I'd avoid Virgin Atlantic if I were you...). Got a day rate at the Heathrow Hilton and had LOVELY showers. Then, off to Notting Hill for lunch on the Portobello Road. Then, a refreshing bottle of red wine in the London sun on the sidewalk. Our cab driver, Leigh, was amazing. Came back to pick us up and we hit really heavy traffic. He high-tailed it and got us back to the hotel to get our gear with just enough time. It is actually a five mile drive from terminal 4 (where we were) to terminal 3 (for our flight). He raced through the cars and we just made it. He would NOT accept any money from us...unbelievable...a courtesy shuttle. Leigh was great and quite the conversationalist. Had a lovely nap on the 10-hour flight to Jo'burg. This time, Premium Economy was actually good (the first leg was just economy with real silverware). So, we're now sitting at the lounge ready to fly to Gaborone, Botswana, change planes, and end up in Francistown tonight. We feel pretty good (thank goodness for that shower in London). Hard to believe we get to meet the kids and work with them tomorrow! Hoping for some good sleep tonight. More from Andy later this afternoon.

E and A

Day One Adventure in San Francisco

Not five minutes after Richard dropped us off at the airport in San Francisco, Virgin Atlantic Airlines lost our luggage as we checked in. Seriously. They lost our luggage. All of our clothing and video equipment...gone. Watch Andy's video above and he'll explain. (So glad we have a travel story to tell in under 10-minutes of traveling.)

Off to London for a 10-hour layover (we'll be in a pub near Hyde Park).

P.S. Sending this from a 6 hour layover in London. We got a room at Heathrow Aiport Hilton for 5 hours. Showering (Ah, lovely...) then off to a pub downtown. More from Botswana, when we get there tomorrow.

Random Bits

Our dear friend and honorary Pearson Foundation team member, Lisa Ling, had some last-minute changes to her work schedule so she is unable to come with us to South Africa this time around (she's coming when we go back!). She filmed an introduction to the girls from Oprah's Academy and surrounding neighborhoods who will make movies about Pearson's Sara Program (issues facing girls all over Africa). We'll show the girls Lisa's welcome video on the first day. Thought you might like to see it. Thanks Lisa!

Also, if you haven't downloaded Google Earth yet (it's free), DO IT! You'll be amazed. Once you have it, type in Gombe, Tanzania, and you can see the National Forest we'll visit with the kids from Roots & Shoots at the Jane Goodall Institute in Kigoma. (If you want to preview our entire trip, you can zoom across Africa and see the towns on Google Earth. Johannesburg, South Africa...Kigoma, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania...Fracistown, Botswana...Accra, Ghana...Addis Ababa and Gambella, Ethiopia). If you Google Earth (is that a verb?) Gombe, you'll notice something quite disturbing. Zoom out a bit to see the coastline of the lake. You'll see that Gombe is lush with trees and undergrowth, as it is a protected site. You'll also notice that the ten miles of Gombe coastline is the ONLY green and lush area along the lake. Sad.

Finally, a shameless plug for our friends at Pure Digital. They have supplied us with the most AMAZING video cameras. (

http://www.theflip.com/). We have 20 cameras to leave with students all across Africa (thanks for the donation, Marc!). The cameras cost around $100 each, weigh almost nothing, take BEAUTIFUL and high resolution video, and have a USB that plugs right into your computer. So cool.

We are carrying so much electronic equipment that we've asked all of our contacts in Africa to supply us with letters of intent for all of the customs agents we're BOUND to meet and with whom we'll undoubtedly spend much time explaining why we have 40 different types of cameras, scanners, cords, etc. You should see our luggage...

More tomorrow,

Erik

Almost

Hello all,

This is Andy writing. Only a few more days before we take off on our 5 country blitz across the African continent. I wanted to update y'all on what we will be doing in Ethiopia.

Some of you may remember that Erik helped establish an orphanage in Gambella this past year. We are going back to the same place, but this time we'll be focusing on teaching kids about technology. I can't wait to see the kids again. In Gambella, there are a lot of issues surrounding local businesses (similar to what we have here in America). We are hoping to have the older kids interview local businessmen in order to create a "how to start a business" video composed by the kids. The hope is to inspire the kids to start their own businesses when they get older. Brilliant.

Before our adventure into Gambella, we'll also be working with the International Community School. The kids will be making short documentaries about different issues in Addis (the capital of Ethiopia). They should be interesting!

If you have any interest in seeing the kids videos, keep checking back, and we will attempt to load a few onto this blog. Also, as soon as I have another adventure including robberies and hookah pipes, I will let you know. I don't suspect we will run into any to any problems, but with so much travel, you never know.

OK. Have fun, cause we will.

Andy.