Number Crunching

For some reason, I just can’t get numbers out of my head today. As I had the day off, I took the opportunity to visit Kickstart, a successful enterprise that works to design tools that end poverty. I was a bit excited by this prospect, as I thought I would find some aspiring engineers, but instead, I found myself in a stockroom. With my limited Swahili, I had the good fortune of meeting the guy next door who knew a lot about Kickstart and its Money Maker Pumps. And just talking to him just opened my eyes.

These pumps have helped more than 70,000 farmers increase their income by ten times. Their impact is enormous, but guess how much they cost?

Nearly 100,000 shillings! This would equate to about $90, but can you imagine what an investment this would be for typical farmers? In a country where the average daily is about $1 per day, this pump would be impossible to purchase! I would consider this pump to be one in which the “rich” (in a relative sense) just get richer. It’s definitely made people’s lives easier, but I myself wouldn’t invest that much in my pump. One positive thing is that the pumps are made in Tanzania, but I was saddened when the man I was talking to mentioned that there is hardly anything locally designed, at least anything locally designed that has reached mass production from Kickstart.

With my mind on money, I started wondering about other technologies that have been considered appropriate were just too expensive for typical people. The cell phone came to my mind, and much to my shock, the cheapest cell phone was 50,000 shillings! It was as if these revolutionary “appropriate” technologies were still not affordable to the bottom billion. From these prices, it is difficult to survive in a modern world. Not to mention that the gas here is still more expensive than the U.S. I don’t know how people even afford the things that we take for granted such as computers and internet.

Somehow, they make it. Being here, I think it’s because everyone here has faith, which is pretty spectacular. When it comes to that, money means very little.

Tutaonana, and Happy Fourth of July!