Geekcorps did its first radio workshop of the “Community Mobilization through Radio Technology” program in Gao from the 1st to the 8th of April. Forty-five people from the remote areas of Gao and Kidal came to be trained on the management of a radio station and the creation of radio shows. It was a real pleasure for the Geek team to spend 8 days with the community radio teams, to learn about various Tamashek and Touareg traditions and to spend time in the desert city of Gao. The communities are going to get the multifunctional platforms and we are going to install the radio masts during May. The final step for our Geek team will be to install the five radio stations and the multimedia centers before starting to set up other radio and computer centers in Mali.

Rhaly was born in the desert near Timbuktu and grew up in Gossi. Rhaly started to learn how to drive when he was still a kid. He drove between Algeria, Mauritania and Mali for a couple of years and spent weeks at a time in the desert transporting rugs, food, among other products. After that period, Rhaly spent a couple of years in Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso as a mechanic, then came back to Mali as a policeman to pursue the desert traffickers. One day, Rhaly fell in love with Amy, decided to get married and to quit his job with the police to have a calmer lifestyle. He went to work in a tourist agency to drive tourists in the desert. It is easier to show a camel to a group of Japanese than to catch gangsters between the dunes!
Now, Rhaly is working for Geekcorps and proves each time we travel that he is able to drive the truck even where a bicycle cannot go. You need to ride with Rhaly along the Niger River or through the dunes to understand what I mean. If you decide one of these days to volunteer for Geekcorps, ask Rhaly how to use the stars to find the right way and how to read the color of the sand to know where you are. No sure that you will be able to do the same but you will definitely be happy that Rhaly is your driver when your latest GPS system with Bluetooth and color screen dies!

Ludovic, our Geek engineer, didn’t know what to do this morning. When a Geek is bored, he just wants to tinker with stuff. Ludovic loves the USB port of his computer because it’s universal and he can plug a lot of stuff into it. A scanner, a mouse, a cell phone even more if he uses his USB switch. Now, what can we do with an electroluminescent LED, a USB plug and Ludovic ? Maybe lights to illuminate his keyboard or to find his USB switch in his desk when there’s a power cut. Ludovic did a great job this morning and he’s going to build a couple of his new inventions for our Cybertigi centers and radio stations.

We’re happy to announce the opening of a new Cybertigi center in Kolokani, 140 km from Bamako. This new center would not exist without the enthusiasm of Westin Crosby, our Peacecorps friend from Kolokani and Mr Doumbia. Now, Kolokani inhabitants can type word documents, photocopy documents and use Moulin, our offline Wikipedia encyclopedia. All the equipment works off of solar panels, as electricity has not yet reached Kolokani. Geekcorps is waiting for the March arrival of Renaud Gaudin, our Cybertigi Guru, for the development of Cybertigi 2.0.

We took a long trip on Thursday to visit 2 Cybertigi centers. First, we went to Niagadina where we met the photographer of the village. At the beginning of the project, he was reticent to use our digital camera and he’s now in love with it. Easy to use and easy to get pictures. He just has to go to Faraba, our second stop, to print the pictures. In Faraba, the Cybertigi is in the heart of the village at the town hall. We met the General Secretary who asked us to provide a new training for the center staff, which we will do in the coming weeks.
Finally, we stopped by Ouelessebougou to say Hi to Papou. He is enjoying running his computer center, which provides the Internet, printing, photocopies, and a complete digital photography lab. Papou was launched by Geekcorps a couple of years ago and he can now fly by himself.

After 2 years working at the UNESCO office of Bamako as a program assistant, we are pleased to have Aïssata joining us as the new financial manager of Geekcorps Mali.