Blue Trunk Library proved that Technology is nothing more than a mere medium

In most of ICT projects, more often technology is given the highest value. Meanwhile the project forgets about the target group, the kernel of the project, resulting in the imminent failure. Technology is nothing but just an easy medium to share and disseminate information. Traditionally people use other methods to transfer information. There's no doubt that technology has made our life easy in processing, managing, transferring information. However there are billions of people who lives are yet to be touched by technology. For them technology is nothing more than an unknown place. They care least about technology.

Using technology to improve their lives is definitely going to take time because technology can't sustain by itself, it needs a cognitive community.

By technology, I mean internet, computer for now. Technology is a very broad and confusing term, which I will cover in another blog.

Blue Trunk Library (BTL), an initiative of WHO, is the result of the fact that many parts of the developing world are totally disconnected "that have neither computers nor a reliable electricity supply". So BTL delivers printed information to health workers in the developing world.

The BTL is a collection of about 150 appropriate books and manuals. The collection, which is organized according to major subjects, contains more than one hundred books on medicine and public health. In order to make it easier to transport and store, the collection has been packed into a blue metal trunk fitted with two shelves on which the cardboard boxes containing the books are arranged.

There's a lot to be learn from BTL like projects. It tells us that appropriate technology should be used where necessary. Solving problems with computer, internet, latest gadgets is not always a solution. If BTL had tried to use computer, internet to send health information, first it wouldn't be called BTL, second their job would have been easy and wouldn't cost $2000, as in case of BTL. But the prominent of all, it would never be a success or is going to take years to see some effects.

References
1. http://www.who.int/library/country/trunks/index.en.shtml
2. medicine.plosjournals.org

Finally

I thought about writing on ICTs on August 2006 and created a blog on wordpress titled 'ICT in Development'. After 2 posts, I just forgot and/or discontinued. Wordpress themes are pretty good but I couldn't customize it as in blogspot, then. Probably the reason for ignoring it. Finally I've decided to setup a new blog 'talkict' to focus on ICT, where I will be talking on ICTs. Here' my previous post from wordpress blog.

Can ICT alleviate Poverty?
August 9th, 2006

Yes. ICT can and has been doing and will be doing. Many people would defend this statement saying can ICT bring food to poverty, can they provide them work? Infact I had the same opinion before.
The properly used ICT technology can infact help in alleviating poverty. However it is to be noted that poverty refers to the people, farmers in rural areas, who work very hard just enough to feed their families. There are people who don’t work at all, beggars, people who look for government to provide them with their necessities. Let government address those. I am here for the people who work hard, just to get discouraged.

Can ICT really help them? There is a true story, that took place in India, where farmers had grown more onions than demand and they have no idea of proper storage for preservation. Upon searching on the net, it was found that university of … was doing the research on onion preservation in tropical regions. This was an experience of Dr. Mikalojic. a knowledge management specialist at ICIMOD. Knowledge management is a part of ICT. Without ICT, proper knowledge management would not be viable. Properly installed ICT could have helped those farmers from being wrecked.

Satellite technology and other computer advancements have made weather forecasting a success with a high precision. If these data could be taken to the villagers, they will be in a position to decide harvest time. There are many cases, where the farmers depend upon their little knowledge of seasons to take such critial decision.

Similarly if the farmers know the demands of their products in different cities, they will be able to decide how much crops to grow, where to take their products for more profits.

ICT will provide the rural people with an ability to make a sound decision for improving their livelihood. Rather than saying alleviating poverty, it would be better to address this as improving livelihood of rural areas people. Poverty is a relative term, a person who doesn’t own a car would find himself poor compared to those driving in car. A person who owns 100,000$ would consider himself poor compared to the millionare.