Fieldwork becomes a reality
August 29, 2010 by Simon Berry
Apologies for the lack of blog posts recently but there has been a lot going on and some exciting developments in the pipeline that I can’t QUITE report just yet. But I can report that, thanks to the ColaLife supporters who sponsored me and the other cyclists, we have raised enough money for a trip to Zambia in October which is brilliant and just where we wanted to be at this point.
The ColaLife team (there are 3 of us at the moment!) have been researching various African countries for a few weeks now. We’ve been tagging some of the key information we have found ‘colaliferesearch’ and you can see these resources here.
Why Zambia? We have looked at the following countries as possible locations for a trial of the ColaLife concept: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. This has involved looking at the overall country data on population, culture, health, Coca-Cola-related infrastructure, drug availability and supply chain and public health infrastructure. We have also looked at case studies of existing health initiatives and we have initiated conversations with local and international NGOs and government officials in some of these countries. Assessing all of this information, Zambia is the country we would like to focus on initially for the independently evaluated trial. I am in communication with Coca-Cola and I’m expecting them to provide an introduction to their bottler, SABMillier, in Zambia.
With Zambia in mind we have started to reach out to likely partners for the trial and so far have strong interest from:
- CHAZ (Churches Health Association of Zambia) who are THE most important health provider especially in the remoter parts of Zambia;
- Transaid (Transport for life) - who have a deep understanding of health logistics in Zambia. They have just completed a three year project there. Incidentally, they have also done work for SABMillier in the past, training SABMiller drivers.
- Old personal contacts of mine from when I worked in Zambia
Since making this decision, old friends on mine in Zambia have offered accommodation and transport which is brilliant. During the coming week, before the bicycle ride, we will be making additional links including to Zambia’s Ministry of Health, the DfID-supported MSL (Medical Stores Limited) and with DfID itself.
I will be outlining the detail of the visit and what we want to achieve in a future post.
Onwards and upwards.
Participation Ride Blog launched
August 25, 2010 by Simon Berry
First of all, a big thank you is due to all of you who put your hands in your pockets and sponsored me and the three other riders. I have now hit my target so a trip to one of the African countries we have been researching like mad is now on the cards for the autumn. We are now in communication with key local partners. We hope to be able to announce the country and dates for fieldwork very shortly.
Regarding the cycle ride, I intend to be blogging from the saddle, WiFi permitting, and I have a clever device which will be sending my location to a Google Map in near real time (via satellite). So you’ll be able to share in some of the excitement with none of the pain! The live map is here. However, I thought it wise to spare all ColaLife supporters all the detail of the ride and so I’ve set up another blog to carry the story of the ride for those who are interested. The url of The Participation Ride Blog is: http://aidpod.org (for obvious reasons).
Onwards and upwards!
Follow the ride live!
August 19, 2010 by Simon Berry
Last night, just before packing it in for the day, my iPhone made the noise of money falling on a table - the JustGiving App on the iPhone is really quite good - this was significant because a very generous friend and ColaLife supporter had just donated the amount of money I needed to reach my target of £1,500.
This means I’m off to Africa to meet face-to-face with the people we’ve been researching and communicating with by email and Skype to work together to co-design a trial of ColaLife! If you haven’t donated yet please don’t hold yourself back because the other riders haven’t met their targets yet and are stressing a bit! >> How to
I find this fundraising lark really quite difficult and I’m really grateful to all those who have responded to my pleading emails and put their hands in their pockets and/or sent kind tweets, written a blog post or whatever. I don’t take your support for granted and you will see the results of your support unfolding here.
It’s also good to make things fun if you can. So, I’ve set up The ColaLife Participation Ride 2010 Blog! The url is aidpod.org (for obvious reasons) and it features a LIVE map. While we are cycling this map will be updated every 15 minutes or so. I will also be blogging from the saddle, WiFi access permitting, so supporters will be able to participate in a lot of the excitment with none of the pain.
Thanks again for your support!
Super cheap tea bag-like water filters?
August 18, 2010 by Simon Berry
This looks like a really interesting development from South Africa. It’s a water filter that consists of a re-usable bottle and a replaceable, tea bag-like filter containing carbon and antimacrobial fibers that costs around half a US cent.
If it gains the necessary approvals this product is expected to make it onto the market by the end of this year and then field trials would determine its viability in the field. A key concern is that the system will require a continuous supply of filters and how would these get to remote areas? ColaLife, if successful, might be able to help out here.
This was spotted here on Treehugger.com who also provided some useful links to other possible drinking water solutions for Africa:
Clean Water Everywhere: DIY Clay Water Filters
Filtered Water In 2 Minutes with New UV Light Bottle Invention
Fundraising for fieldwork - help create the Sprat . .
August 11, 2010 by Simon Berry
. . . to catch the Mackerel.
For the first time since the start to the ColaLife campaign two years ago I am asking supporters to put their hands in their pockets to help us move to the next phase - fieldwork that will lead to the trial of the idea in Africa. In July we were shortlisted for an award from the Clinton Foundation but, in the final analysis, we were not successful. This tells me three things:
- We will get serious funding to implement a trial of the ColaLife one day
- We need build on the desk research and communications work we are doing by visiting the country of the trial and getting some face time with the key players
- We need to work with these key players to co-design the trial and then take the plan to the likes of the Clinton Foundation for funding
On 4 September three of us are cycling from Boulogne to Biarritz to raise the money to fund this fieldwork. The cycling is an awareness raiser, a device to get people’s attention but all the riders are funding all their own expenses so that 100% of all donations will go to ColaLife. The money raised will fund the fieldwork which will produce the plan for the trial which will be put to the likes of the Clinton Foundation and Coca-Cola for funding. Your donation will have a multiplier effect. It will fund the creation of the trial plan. It will be the Sprat to catch the Mackerel.
PLEASE SUPPORT US in this. You can donate here. And this is why we need your support.
Your donation won’t be the end of it . . . you will be able to follow the progress of the ride live online. Our location will be updated every ten minutes or so to an online map throughout the journey. I will also be blogging from the saddle. So you’ll be able to join in the fun with none of the pain! Links to follow.
The riders
Kiefer (17), Nigel (50-ish) and Simon (me) (the oldest by some way)
The ride
Indicative route only at this stage. Image courtesy of Google Maps
What others are saying about ColaLife- ColaLife on Flickr
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