Adventures in PP...

We have been in PP (Phnom Penh) for about a week now to start up our Mekong Collaboration Program. Cambodia is going to be the first site for our field tests, and we are working closely with the Ministry of Health and NGOs to identify the requirements and scope of our work. Our primary objective is to support the Cambodian Center for Disease Control in their ability to detect and respond rapidly to priority diseases (including cholera, dengue, and others). Our secondary objective is to develop a set of tools that can be sustained because there is a market for these tools within and beyond the health sector (and even in the commercial sector).

One of our top priorities on this trip has been to get a deeper understanding of the technology infrastructure and staffing. Our technology team, including Ed, our Director of Engineering, believe strongly the tools need to engage and draw on Cambodian talent to be useful and to enable a Cambodian team to provide support after we leave. We welcome ideas on how to build technology sustainably or connections in Cambodia you might recommend.

One of our favorite NGOs is the Khmer Software Initiative, whose vision is "a country where Cambodians can learn and use computers in their own language, a country that does not have to change to a new language in order to use computers!" We are also concerned with this question because many software applications here are only in English, including mobile phone text messaging. There are some Khmer cell phones, but their reach is still limited. A serious question we are exploring is: how will widespread access to Khmer text messaging be possible?

Welcome to InSTEDD's Community Perspectives

Welcome to InSTEDD. I am really glad you are here and interested in our mission to enhance global disease and disaster response with technology tools. In addition to managing some of the projects, my particular focus is to ensure that diverse and grassroots voices are an important part of our work, from informing the tools we refine to the way technology is shared. My background is in international politics and social work, so I come with a geopolitical perspective and a deep appreciation for how power dynamics, culture and class can complicate working with people internationally. I really care about making a difference and would love to hear your experiences on successes you have had.

We are going to Cambodia at the end of January to continue our assessment process for our Mekong Collaboration Program. Most of my personal contacts are in Africa, so if you know of great community groups or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Cambodia you would recommend, please let me know.

My own approach is greatly informed by my time working in a Rwandan refugee camp after the genocide with the unaccompanied minors program. Instead of coming in with our 'outsider' answers, we looked at what the Rwandans were already doing (taking in stranger's children) and supported that effort. On the other side of Rwanda (Zaire, now Congo), international media attention on the children inspired many groups to set up orphanages which encouraged families to drop off their own children so they could get more food. There were other differences between the two regions, but the two differing approaches had profoundly different outcomes. In our camp, we had 5,000 children in foster care and 20 in a care center, and in Zaire they had 10,000 children in orphanages/care centers. After that experience, I begin any cross-cultural work or community work by seeking to understand what people are naturally doing and supporting those efforts.

What experiences have shaped your own view of working internationally?

Bye for now. I will be writing weekly so check back or email me at marcus@instedd.org.

Sincerely, Mary Jane