A quiet night spent by the Nile River
I can remember my first conversation with Sandra Washburn of Oysters & Pearls…it was like it was yesterday. I was spending time in my hometown, Boston, teaching some workshops at the Artisan’s Asylum. Pacing my hotel room on a dreary, rain filled day I spent about an hour giving Sandra information about what I felt were the best ways to educate a population about technology. I had my hands full working with SparkFun Electronics to help achieve this goal in the United States, where we partnered with people like the Artisan’s Asylum, M.I.T., various library systems, IT-oLogy, thousands of schools, camps, organizations and other well intentioned people.
Teaching Introduction to Electronics and Soldering in Uganda
Sandra was talking about doing the same thing in Uganda, but with much less existing or supportive infrastructure, and for a population that sometimes has never even seen a computer before. I gave her as much information as I could and promised to connect her to a man I had met, Solomon King, of Fundi Bots who was on a similar mission in Uganda. Then she offered me a plane ticket to Uganda and my life was changed forever for the better.
The walk back the day we set up the Fundi Space
I have learned to live in a completely different culture with people who are almost exactly like the ones I was working with before in the US. I have helped people light up LEDs and seen smiles light up with far greater voltage. After my first trip I returned for a four month stint lugging a large amount of technology, materials and a viewpoint that would be stretched to encompass a change larger than I ever could have imagined. It’s easy to donate money or materials to a cause, but what will really change the world (yours and others) is donating your time, energy and expertise. I showed up in Uganda with a portable CNC router and a some fairly advanced technology classes worth of material. Now I’m helping people figure out production techniques, connecting organizations far more experienced than myself and watching our lab’s manager, filled with wonder, as he learns about wireless communication, surface mount technology and printed circuit board design.
Concepts included Printed Circuit Board design, production and populating with components
I’ve made friends that I have to assume will last a lifetime, explored portions of the Nile River and gained a new understanding of street food. I’ve developed new classes and, more importantly, taught my co-instructors how they can do the same along the way. Without taking the chance of jumping both feet into a situation a half a world away, I never would have discovered that I was capable of all this or that this world even existed. It’s amazing what people are capable of if no one tells them they can’t.
One of the projects at the Fundi Space, an electronic wheelchair
Oysters & Pearls and Fundi Bots not only doesn’t tell people they can’t, but they open a door and ask, “What would you do? Because you can.” I’ve heard that the best leaders are created by assuming that everyone can rise to a challenge if given the chance. To me this seems to be a universal truth. With math and science as the medium it’s amazing the mountains that I’ve seen people aspire to move once they are shown the lever. Some would create art, others medical devices, one of my friends is working on an autonomous vehicle to take samples of soil and water on a farm for analysis.
Some chose to go bungee jumping
But, to me, it’s not amazing that the people we teach have enormous goals, it’s amazing that here, eight hours worth of time zones away from where I started this journey, talking to Sandra on the phone, I find people with exactly the same mission, viewpoints, strength and warmth as the thousands of educators I worked with across the United States. I am honored to have continued my work with Oysters & Pearls and I know that the expansion of my viewpoint will serve me in untold capacities as I continue down my life’s path.
And most importantly, I made some amazing friends that will last a lifetime.
