Gearing up for Tanzania Week 3 [2013-09-02]
The next challenge up for Reneal IEO for the 2013 Tanzania projects is installing an IT lab at Mukulat Secondary School in Arusha. This poses a new set of unknowns, since instead of the 12 laptops that we were able to check out in a full system test prior to departure, we will be using the Pentium III computers that Reneal IEO purchased from the World Computer Exchange. While we had one Pentium III unit at home to test, this will be the first time the entire system has played together. There will undoubtedly be a few “surprises” as we get underway. The good news is that I am now in Tanzania, providing an extra set of hands for Neal for installation as well as taking over the main training responsibilities.
Today, Day 1 for me, was a typical whirlwind first day: getting cash, buying needed equipment, having a few meetings, seeing old friends, preparing for a briefing, and just getting reoriented to Tanzania. Or for me, I should say just “oriented” since this is only my second trip. Simple things, like remembering that people drive on the other side of the road here, take quite a bit of concentration at first.
We have solved the missing mice and cables problem through our contact Alex at A&A Computers here in Arusha. He was able to obtain everything that we needed, in the required quantities, to replace the lost items. We also purchased the items we had planned to get here, uninterruptable power supplies (UPS) and surge suppressers. However, similar to most stores here, A&A Computers does not take credit cards. And we can only make one ATM withdrawal every 24 hours, and the maximum amount that can be withdrawn is 300,000 Tanzanian shillings (about $185 US). So each day becomes an interesting ballet, hoping that one will hit a working ATM at exactly the right time to actually get cash in order to get the equipment we need and when we need it. Today worked out well, with each of us hitting the jackpot at the ATM just down the street. Thankfully the big expenses are behind us, so we can get focused on computer systems other than bank ATMs!
Neal’s headache this evening was trying to get the UPS software working. This is a wonderful feature, where the UPS will command the computer to shut down gracefully in the event of a power outage. However the software just would not cooperate, and he really did not need another software conundrum after working so hard last week. Thankfully we were aided by our unfailing friend, Mr. Google, and a newer version of the driver worked flawlessly. We witnessed a delightful controlled shut-down and Neal declared victory.
Tomorrow we are attending a conference organized by another US non-profit, African Malaika. The founder is really the one who helped make our connections here in Tanzania, and we are excited to be a part of this day. We plan to get to Mukulat in the afternoon though and will start getting the cables hooked up and everything in place.