There are places in the world where the most pressing needs are a reliable source of clean water, and a concerted effort to end open defecation. Brazil is not one of those places. Just because it isn’t like Haiti or some landlocked nation in Africa, however, doesn’t mean there isn’t work to be done. It’s not absolute poverty we’re talking about. Rather, it’s a tech mission to Brazil’s emerging grid.
Although Brazil recently “declared victory” in its war on “extreme poverty,” the vast majority of Brazilians live a very hand-to-mouth existence. While the lower middle class in Brazil has grown over the past decade, many are being left behind. Opportunities remain few and far between for Brazil’s lower income, at-risk youth. Drugs trafficking and prostitution remain for some the only alternatives they can see, and for those who manage to avoid these pitfalls, making one’s way in Brazil when you’re starting near the bottom can make it feel (often accurately so) as though the entire system is geared against you.
One Laptop Per Child (OLCP) seemed like a really great idea to me a few years ago. Make a cheap, sturdy laptop that runs Linux and get it into the hands of children in the developing world. Except, OLPC has never managed to get the price per laptop down to around $100, as originally promised, and also the laptops are made out of custom parts (making repairs potentially quite troublesome). A further difficulty is that so many of the children who received these laptops live in places so far off the grid. Really, what’s a child in central Africa, miles away from the nearest telephone, supposed to do/learn with an OLPC laptop that will benefit her life? What she needs are latrines, a sustainable power supply (like a windmill, perhaps), clean water and good food. The global open source tech community has little to offer her.
On the other hand, as I’ve mentioned before, John “maddog” Hall is working on a solution for people who live where there is access to the grid. Project Cauã, beginning in Brazil, seeks to place basic system administrator know-how along with quality open source software and easily-sourced hardware into the hands of people who can use it to bootstrap themselves out of poverty. It’s a sustainable model in which individuals provide wifi Internet access to their friends, neighbors and businesses…at a modest price. Since the physical components are readily available from manufacturers (not custom-made, as with OLPC devices) and as the knowledge of how to do this can be passed along, it’s truly sustainable. Funding? No problem. There are small business loans available at relatively reasonable rates through bank programs in Brazil.
Aside from system administration skills, there is programming and developing. An interesting project with which I’ve had some personal involvement is Ruby Nuby. This group in formation aims to prepare adults for careers in Ruby on Rails developing who can themselves work with poor and at-risk youth in preparing them for the same area. I’ve been attending classes as I’m able in New York and am working through the online Rails Tutorial that serves as the textbook.
What do I want to do? I’m thinking that I can learn/copy/modify the strategies of both Project Cauã and Ruby Nuby (and any other good tech training ideas I might come across) and seek to implement them in ways appropriate to the context in Brazilian neighborhoods. To accomplish this I will need to reach a fairly high level of master of system administration and developing skills (considered generally to be distinct fields, but I don’t care). I also want to gain a familiarity with community development methodologies, the sort that find ways to work within under-resourced communities to their benefit.
What do I already have to bring to the table? I’m fluent in Brazilian Portuguese, lived in Brazil already for a few years while teaching English as a foreign language and working with a church, and have practical ministry experience as well as a Bachelor’s degree in ministry. The fact that Brazil also has a vibrant evangelical community and a number of Churches of Christ of different strains provides some additional common ground and connections. Also, since my wife and children are Brazilian citizens, I can request a permanent resident visa based on my relationship to them rather than a work visa. No business sponsorship required.
What do I need? Training. Aside from the Ruby Nuby classes I mentioned above, in 2011 I intend to work on certifications in system administration. I will also likely seek to follow the advice provided in “A Hacker’s Path.” My family’s home church, Central Jersey Church of Christ, is engaged in a number of ministries that my wife and I can observe and in which we can participate in order both to help and learn. Everything from youth ministry to campus ministry, chemical recovery to fighting poverty around the world (through HOPE worldwide).
How do I envision doing it? Although I’d love to be a fully-supported (financially) community developer, the reality is that I’ll likely need to find employment in the tech industry in Brazil. This because I have doubts about people contributing nowadays to help in any effort other than fighting abject poverty, and also because by working within the field I’ll have greater credibility as well as be able to stay on top of changes in technology.
If this goes according to plan — and it very well may not — 2011 is to be a “training year,” 2012 a “staging year” and 2013 the “launch year.” Since World Convention will be held in Brazil in 2012, this makes for a good time to check out the opportunities and potential pitfalls on the ground ahead of any move. The goal, at least for now, is for my family to be relocated to Brazil by July 2013, in time for the kids to start school there in August.
There are many challenges to be faced in the journey back to Brazil. I welcome your prayers and, even if only through this blog, your company on the way there and beyond.
For more on how NGO’s are “broadening the horizons” of young people in Brazil, click here.
See also:
What’s Worth Teaching to the Poor
Ministering on the Emerging Grid
Project Cauã
