We Have the Power

Sub Team 1 has been working with our host, Tanzania Posts Corporation (TPC) for almost two weeks now and have learned so much.  As a reminder, our task is to position TPC as a multi-agent provider.  We have narrowed our focus down to four main issues in agency services, international courier services, financial services and product offering consistency across the country.

We have conducted dozens of interviews, have received over 40 surveys and have gathered many data points.  We now have the power to take these data points, consolidate them, and develop findings that address the issues we are focusing on.  We will present these during our mid-term review on Monday in Dar es Salaam.  That is what is keeping us so busy now.  We are primarily working out of the hotel and gobbling up the broadband connection.

It is an exciting time – our team already has several recommendations in our minds and we are looking forward to further developing these in anticipation of our final report.  I’m amazed that we are already working towards the mid-term review.  Where has the time gone?

"We Have the Power" - An international fire hazard, indeed

The team learns about one of the payment systems used by TPC

- Andrew

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A Day in the Park - And What a Park!

Yesterday we went to Mikumi National Park, about 1.5 hours from where we're staying in Morogoro. We left the hotel in darkness around 5:15 AM (admittedly a difficult job for some) in order to best view the animals in their natural habitat. And what animals we saw! I know the lion ranks high on everyone's checklist of "must see" animals while in Africa but I thought the lone baby warthog was truly amazing. Maybe Munish "Mr. National Geographic" Kaushik will post his photos some of these fantastic creatures on our blog. We were just feet from the lionness and thankfully, it was too hot for her to move. But the experience of being so close to these magnificent beasts was wonderful.

-Debra 

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Staying at the Arc Hotel.

Our stay at the Arc Hotel is turning out to be very pleasant well. It’s a small, clean hotel with a homely feel. We spend our evenings in the outdoor restaurant area which has an inspiring view of the Uluguru mountains which form a striking backdrop to Morogoro town.

The hotel restaurant turns out very good food, especially their Indian menu. Some of the food, such as the tomatoes, is sourced from a small garden behind the hotel. The hotel is located a little distance out of town on a back road, so it’s very quiet and cool in the mornings and evenings. When the wind blows, a jacket is needed!

The Executive chef Arnold is very friendly. I suggested banana pancakes to him and Munish showed him how to cook “Bharta” the Indian way in the hotel kitchen. “Bharta” is an Indian vegetarian dish made of eggplant, onion and tomatoes.

Lee Yu Kit, CSC Team 3

We the foodies

Team at a Chinese restaurant in Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania. Just some pictures from the fun & food we had.

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Hassan waiting for the food :-)

Yu Kit placing the order for all of us.

Clinton, talking to Celia

Fiona talking to Hassan on her left.

Frank, enjoying a laugh

The beertender :-)

Taek, laughing ( for a change)

Serengeti & Nikon

Yu Kit, serving to everybody...

Tao and Raghu relishing the food...

A fish on the table

Pickles, etc....

Greens were good...

Chilly chicken

A duck...

Some Salad

Sub Team 3 On The Go Again...To Morogoro Regional Hospital

Today Tanzania Sub Team 3 was on the move again. We had a useful interview with Dr. Mokiti who is the Regional Medical Officer for the Morogoro Region. She was very generous with her time - given that the 400-bed hospital she manages is rapidly expanding to a 500-bed facility. After our talk, one of the doctors on staff gave us a tour of the compound which was really impressive. There are quite a few new buildings and Dr. Mokiti said they are about to move into bigger quarters. Overall, we were fortunate to get such a birds-eye view of the hospital and even managed to see the maternity ward in action! Although tomorrow is Saturday, we still have a few activities planned as we continue to move forward with our work plan on e-learning for the health care sector.

Debra

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Healthy team @ Work

Fiona's pen with her notes

Deb, reading the strategy documents

Taek @ work

Deb... busy reading again. In the Ministry Library

Taek's Visiting card, a girlie pink diary & IBM thinkpad ( which she never carries herself)

A busy Yu Kit  (while working out his next meal)

Happy workers on their way to the next interview

All moved in

The team has moved into our new home for the duration of our stay in Tanzania.  When we first arrived, we stayed in Dar es Salaam, where we met the our stakeholders at the national level.  We have now moved to Morogoro, a region about three hours to the west of Dar es Salaam to continue our analysis.

Below are a few pictures from our first days in Morogoro:

A few team members checking in to the Arc Hotel.

A typical room at the Arc Hotel. (mosquito net not fully deployed)

A view from the hotel room.

Aenne has found some local carrots for the team!

The Tanzania Flag, as viewed from the Morogoro Regional Commissioner's Office

Fiona busy negotiating the purchase of water with Phil.

The "Mwenge wa Uhuru", meaning Torch of Freedom, in Morogoro

Sub Team 1 has already wallpapered the conference room with flip charts.

I hope you enjoy these photos!

- Andrew Ellis

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Thanks to our gracious hosts

I'd like to take a moment to thank each of our gracious hosts here while we are in Tanzania.  I know I speak for the team when I say that we are all very grateful for the time, energy and support that our hosts have offered to us.  This includes Philip and team from our local NGO, DOT, and David and team from the IBM Tanzania office in Dar es Salaam. 

Speaking for Team 1, who is working with the Tanzania Posta Coporation (TPC), we have been escorted by Mr. Nehemiah M. Kyabalasi, the Assistant Manager for Strategic Planning, who has gone to great lengths to grant our every request.  For example, while in Dar we asked if it was possible to meet with the Tanzania Postal Bank, a close partner of TPC.  The very next day we had a meeting with the CEO!  Even those that have not heard of IBM (which is quite common) welcome us to this country and their organization, and answer our many questions with patience and a smile. 

To all of our hosts, asante sana!!

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We met smart and wonderful people in Tanzania

My team is working on the Tanzania Posts Corporation (TPC) engagement.Our host, the TPC is absolutely wonderful. I met very smart professionals, for example, the staff from the marketing and e-business departments, demonstrated an edge. TPC as many Tanzanian I met are very friendly, natural and cooperative.

I discussed with them their strategy, including the SWOT Analysis, the PESTEL Analysis, and so forth.I proposed to them the Strategic Capability Network technique as a way to take the Strategy Plan to the next level of bringing it to reality.

I think that techniques and ability of bringing plans to reality is an area that requires attention in Tanzania. I think that professionals are focusing on the theory part, which is good, but needs to be balanced with the practical side.

Hassan Elsetohy
IBM Australia
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Meeting Veronica

Sub-Team 3 yesterday met Veronica Mpazi yesterday and her colleagues at the Eastern Zone's head office in Morogoro for the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. Veronica is the Principal Officer and Zonal Training Coordinator of one of Tanzania's e-Learning initiatives. Everyone with whom we met was extremely helpful and full of enthusiasm to collaborate with us so we can devise some viable guidelines to implement an e-Learning strategy. We will meet later today with the Regional Medical Officer of the Eastern Zone and we are very much looking forward to his thoughts and insights. Over the weekend, we hope to travel to Mikumi National Park and expect that some of Veronica's team will join us.

Debra

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Tanzania's new driving license management system

1.Very modernized system with web access interface, biological characters like finger print and photo be captured and stored, alert if duplicate encountered.

2.The driving license card is pretty good, made by smart card, possibly do anything you want, very advanced, better than the license of China.

3.Lack of mobile equipment for traffic police to use to check driving license information real time on road, no integration and data sharing with the offence management system and other related systems. nevertheless it's a pretty good beginning.

Here is the official overview for Tanzania's new driving license issuing system: "http://www.tra.go.tz/documents/driving%20license.htm"

Xu Tao - CSC Tanzania Team 7
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Interesting story from Director of Ministry of Works

"In western area of Tanzania, people play chess made by diamond.", means sometimes the clients don't know what they have already had, IBM can help to identify and tell the client what they have.


Xu Tao - CSC Tanzania Team 7
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I really like stairs....

yesterday we experienced our first day working with our clients, the Tanzania Police Force. The morning was filled with all sorts of meetings, introductions and discussions on different locations. On the way to our very first meeting with the Inspector General of Police Saidi Ally Mwema we were a bit late. So we used the elevator. We were about 12 people squeezed into a tiny space like sardines in a box, but we all fitted in and it went up. Suddenly all lights went out and the elevator stopped. It was very scary. But thanks to our database specialist Raghu, who studied the manual of our cellphones, we had a flashlight and found the emergency button. We pushed the button, but it didn't work :-( Obviously the power was gone. But people in Tanzania are strong and use their common sense. They pushed the doors open with their united strength and we all could go out. Thats why we really like stairs.

Our project with the Police analyzes the local travel system. Here are some pictures of Tanzanian vehicles:

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Cultural Adaptations: Food in Tanzania

Hassan commented that African food has “no art to it”: African food is simple, honest, unadorned, hearty and mostly organic. Starch in the form of cooked banana, lots of rice, potatoes and ugali (a stiff paste made from corn with the consistency of bleached cardboard – haven’t tasted it yet though) figure prominently. 

African food is unabashedly unapologetic – what you see it what you get – no disguise under exotic sauces, no clever interplay of colour and texture or fussy garnishing – just chunks of meat and big pieces of vegetable, ready to eat!

Single serving dishes such as meat stewed with vegetables, are typical. Portions tend to be on the generous side, and these vast intakes of calories hint at the origins of the cuisine, and the workmanlike nature of life that it sustains.

Eating out at an African restaurant redefines the boundaries of service, especially when fifteen of us all order at the same time.  As the Tanzanians say, “Pole Pole” – “Slowly slowly”.

On Sunday, it took up to 120 minutes between ordering and getting the food – and it was the wrong order too.  On another occasion, we waited 90 minutes – and this seems to be pretty much the norm in Tanzanian restaurants! 

Lee Yu Kit, Team 3

Wonderful Day at the Office!

Tanzania Sub-Team 3 (or otherwise known as the "Healthy Workers") had a fantastic day at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. We were able to meet some of the key people involved with e-Learning and Distance Learning who took a lot of time with us to explain their strategies, where they see the gaps, and where we can add value. On top of all this, the team - with help from Munish's keen eye - spotted a flock of peacocks in the middle of Dar! Hopefully Munish will post these photos to the blog so all can see. I can honestly say this is most wildlife I've ever witnessed the middle of the city!  We're off to Morogoro tomorrow....Debra

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Fun day on a Sunday

It was a Sunday, a funday & a day of opportunities. Our team got an opportunity to meet, greet & talk to Ceila Moore, Director Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs @ IBM at the breakfast table. We then got an opportunity to listen to Mr. David Sawe, Country General Manager, IBM-Tanzania about the IBM growth plans in Tanzania.

Once the breakfast was over, Phil unfolded the agenda for the upcoming week and  then it was all set for a cultural tour to Bagamoyo town, some 45 kms from Dar-Es-Salaam.

Some pictures from the Funday,

Bon voyage, On left is Aremi's bag & red one is Sanjay's

Aenne's Bag, with African elephants.

Windows at Old fort @ Bogamoyo

Yu Kit Lee in action

Sanduku La Pesa (Money Safe)

Its blooming in Tanzania

Team @ Bagamoyo, Starting from left, Yu Kit, Fiona, Aya, Allison, Sanjay, Clinton, Debra, Phil, Kelly, Tao, Taek, Raghu, Aenne, Celia, Aremi. On the back, from left, Andrew & Hassan

Beach waters

Children playing @ Bagamoyo beach

It marks the spot where Father Antoine Horner of the French Holy Ghost Fathers first stepped ashore from Zanzibar in 17th June 1868 to establish the first Roman Catholic church on the East African mainland.
Bagamoyo, Tanzania.

Life in the streets of Bagamoyo

Windows in Bagamoyo

Life in the streets of Bagamoyo

Paintings by local artist. This is a reproduction of an original art work.

Paintings by local artist. This is a reproduction of an original art work

Dot (Phil in the background) & Doto (our friend & guide @ Bagamoyo)

That's what Aya ordered for her dinner, A Lobster. @ Millenium Sea Breeze Resort

We got to see Yu Kit feeding this cat from his share & Taek & Aremi were kind to offer some from their plates for the cat.

Munish Kaushik
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