I’m going to Rwanda
Last Updated on Tuesday, 29 December 2009 09:50 Written by Steve Tuesday, 29 December 2009 09:50
Today I got confirmation of some great news–in February I’ll be going to Rwanda for a week to help install an open source medical records system at a rural health clinic! I’ll be going with Lucky Gunasekara and meeting with Partners in Health.
I’m really excited to work with Lucky! This project will be amazing, and Lucky has a longer-term vision. He wants to answer the question: does cloud computing have a role in health systems in rural Africa? He’s planning some really interesting efforts in Kenya later this year. In time, I think Salesforce.com can be a boon in rural Africa, and I’m really interested to start the work to figure out if that time is now, soon, or farther down the road. I see this trip as a great first step on that path.
When I started working with Salesforce.com five years ago, I felt part of my role was to go down the path of trying to deeply customize the platform for nonprofits, and then to report on that experience, warts and all. I really enjoyed that work, and I hope to do similar work and storytelling around Salesforce.com in parts of the world where people assume the cloud can’t work.
But most of all, I’m really excited to have all my assumptions and expectations blown out of the water! I can’t wait to walk the roads, meet folks, and most of all listen and learn. I will be arriving with no answers, and I don’t expect to leave with any. For me, it’s all about getting to the right questions. There will be so much to take in, to start orienting myself to this new set of challenges.
Only just a week ago a friend pointed me to this piece by David Brancaccio on Partners In Health’s work in Rwanda. I was floored by the outcomes they are getting, and the thoughtful design of the community health program. I recommend watching it–it’s amazing.
So many times people look to technology as a savior. That never works in my estimation–human systems are how problems are solved. Technology can augment and transform those solutions, but it isn’t the answer. I’m incredibly excited by what’s already working in Rwanda, and am fired up to start thinking about how technology can help extend that impact.
I watched this video and emailed the link to a friend of mine with the message, “this is the work I want to do with my life–helping people build community-based systems that really work.” Four days later I got an email from Lucky inviting me to Rwanda, to the very region where that video was filmed. Serendipity is a fabulous thing!
Ahh! I’m going to Rwanda! I still can’t really believe it. It all feels so fast and so amazingly exciting. Of course I’ll be writing about the experience, as well as taking tons of pictures and videos. So much to do to prepare!
Wow — this is really exciting! I look forward to reading more about your journey. Not just to Rwanda, but to all the journeys that stem from that!
Thanks JP! I’m really excited for this, the first of many trips to Africa!
Oh, wow, Steve, What an amazing opportunity! PIH seems like it is a pretty amazing organization, I’m certain you’ll have a mind-expanding time. Can’t wait to hear more about it!
Yes, I’m so ready to be blown away by it all!
Thank you for doing that.
not to sound corny, but it is wonderful to be a fly on the wall when a good person gets “rewarded” by being able to touch more lives. Too often that person gets buried in the crap others seek to avoid, and hidden in the back room lest they get stolen.
Take lots of pictures so that we can all vicariously join you!
Thanks Doug! I don’t see it as a reward but a call to service to make a difference in a place that has many challenges. I’m very grateful for the opportunity, and I know I’m quite blessed to have it dropped on my doorstep! Here’s to making the most of it!
It’s one thing to have a vision and another to take action. Good for you for taking real action! Looking forward to following your travels.
Thanks Mike!
Awesome. When you are done I’m with an NGO in Zambia and we really need the kind of help you are talking about! Can you help? What are the first steps?
Steve,
You will find the work amazingly beneficial to the people of Rwanda. A little goes a long way. Find out what the clinics need besides the tech. Pens, pads of paper, gauze, candies for the people standing in line etc. make a huge difference. I took a few pieces of luggage full of this kind of thing for the clinics on my Africa trips and just gave the luggage away there.
Enjoy. Write. Remember.
This is very cool Steve. You’ll have to post a blog about how you made out. Truly inspirational!
I just came back from Namibia, trying to implement sfdc with two non-profits. Was over there for 4 months. Came across more challenges than I thought, but am incredibly humbled by the experience. Oddly enough, I think the small grassroots organization I worked with will get more out of it than the larger civil society that I worked with. Chances are, a lot of the work you do will walk away when you walk away, but if only a little bit is truly sustainable without you, it has to be worth it. That’s at least what I’m hoping!
Also – I got a chance to travel to Rwanda while I was there, truly an amazing country. I highly recommend you read ‘Shaking Hands with the Devil’ by Romeo Dallaire – who was in charge of the UN peacekeeping effort during the genocide – to give you another powerful perspective.
cheers!