A trip to Mocha
In a previous post I mentioned a chap I have met who runs a charity called Troopers of Charity and wants to set up a community IT project in the town of Mocha, with a population of 6,000 and about 6 miles from Georgetown. On Wednesday I went with him to have a look to see what it was like and whether such a plan would be feasible.
Mocha wasn't far from what I expected, smaller, more rural and sadly poorer than Georgetown. There is a large canal which was originally dug by slave labour along the road in to Mocha which was interesting to see. I visited the primary school there, which was much like other schools I have seen, although when I was taken into a classroom all of the children stood up and without prompting said in unison "Good afternoon sir, welcome to class 6 plums". Or maybe it was prunes. Anyway apparently each class has a fruit name to make it more interesting - it was a very friendly welcome.
The reason I visited the school was to have a look at the room where they might host computers, which was not bad; a concrete room with power and burglar bars. The Mocha community could certainly do with an IT program as very few are IT literate, and at first I was very enthusiastic. On reflection however it has become clear that I cannot make this happen in the time I have. The chap at the charity is not really equipped to run this project, so I would have to be fundraiser, manager, and tutor. Whilst this would help satisfy my relentless narcissism I only have 5 months which is not enough to train enough people to run the facility effectively. Not to mention the fact that I have no knowledge of how to teach IT skills or run such a community project.
It's a shame to not be able to help here as everyone I met was very enthusiastic, but without a guarantee of people skilled enough to manage and maintain such a project once I leave, I fear (and have been warned that) it would all go to waste.
After the school visit we walked around a bit more, and as with other places there are cows and goats just wandering around. I think they all have owners, but they seem to just cruise around the streets and gardens minding their own business, ignoring people entirely.
The bus back to Georgetown was a typical bus with a rastaman driver (every culture and race has a nickname here, some of which are probably only appropriate at certain times), classic 80's soundtrack and a green graffiti interior with "Soulja Boy" written on the roof. I haven't been on many buses but I find them quite entertaining as people are piled in and constantly shuffled by the conductor as people get in and out. Having said that, I am told long journeys squashed up against large smelly people are not so much fun.