Monday, February 16, 2009
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Social Change
I am a social change agent.
Posted by Benoît Rivard at 8:32 PM 0 comments
Response to Living La Vida Loca
Although it might sound like I'm reiterating Monsieur P's thoughts and opinions, my focus for this post is more precisely on the over-stimulation that not only today's youth are exposed to, but also anyone living near a television, ipod, blackberry, cell phone, laptop, and/or any combination of these gadgets.
Posted by Benoît Rivard at 8:22 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
For the planet, well at least Ottawa
That's usually the term used for any effort to reverse the erratic uncontrollable planet trashing set forth in the last century. I love it. It's so easy to do, and often you save yourself trouble and money. Just a bit of education on the subject and jumping on board is easy.
Our school board here in Ottawa has professed itself "Green" but has trouble delivering it in, you guessed it, the underprivileged non suburb school; my school. A great Teacher has taken it upon herself to get us all involved and I applaud her efforts. In a week, we planted a new tree, recycled FOR THE FIRST TIME plastic bags and /encouraged the use of mugs. Yeah, mugs. The ones we clean and use again. All we had to do was bring it, and you beverage of choice was 75% off. Stroke of genius. Now we're on our way to recycling plastic bottles, which isn't par in our "green" school board, along with the plastic bags. Our main impediment: It's not in the janitor's collective bargaining agreement. Obviously doesn't matter since I'm sure this bird will figure its way out of its new raincoat.
In Ottawa, I remember this summer that I carried my now empty plastic bottle around the market for over an hour, looking for a place to recycle it. Shockingly, the food court of the Rideau Centre, a main shopping attraction for tourists, had nowhere to recycle bottles. Figures. In the garbage were mounds of bottles and cans waiting to go to the dump to rest for a million years or so.
It's gonna be a long road, my career just started, but here goes educating my students on the environment. By the way, we should call it not "the environment" when it's clearly "our environment" since we live in it.
To Our environment then.
Posted by Monsieur P at 9:13 PM 0 comments
Living la vida loca
Nothing to do with Ricky Martin, pop culture attracts attention
Recently I have discovered that trying to do everything at once only pays off for so long. Eventually, we (or I) succumb to our brain's maximum capacity of 8 short term tasks; though my girlfriend claims to have much more capability in the field. Nevertheless, let's take it easy.
Teaching does ask me to multitask, and so do obviously many other fields and that’s ok for keeping me on an edge. However this year I have chosen to take upon myself additional tasks which are absolutely flooding the schedule. This post isn't about that exclusively in my world, but in that of my students.
Once, it seems, you came home from school and played street hockey or played some other game outside until dinner. Later, you were forced to interact with your parents, brothers, sisters or friends. That's what kept us relatively human. Now, as I get to observe, we, the younger generation, spend more time interacting with a piece of plastic with electricity running through it than anything else. Yet, vending machines with their evil Coke and Chips are to blame for the giant tsunami of fat people ready to take over North America. Hold on a minute and get something right. If you're a parent, and your kid doesn't play outside REGULARLY, there is a problem. Of course, I mean those in capacity physically to do so. Enough rant, let's see the positive.
It's a hard choice to make, letting go, but it's one worth considering. Many initiatives have been put forth by the powers that be to get us active all over again. All I think is necessary to do, is to simplify the whole process. Start young, take the kid away from the Disney movie and give him, or her, a simple set of blocks. I know I kept myself busy for hours with them and it made my imagination grow while teaching me important lessons in gravity; it always wins. Simple things like that work their way outside and the process fixes itself. That way, your kid can eat chips or drink unhealthy pop because he's burning three times that amount of calories in one game of hide and seek. I am not a parent, nor pretend to be. But I have been a kid. And my fondest memories of my childhood have nothing to do with the amount of goals I was able to score in NHL95. All of us were kids once, let's return the favor.
Back to multitasking. On top of not going outside, we as a community in general tend to pile ourselves on with tasks. Society doesn't ask this of us, because, well we are society and we don't want it. This is something we do to ourselves and our kids. School plus hockey plus soccer plus competitions plus homework was always possible. But it was never possible with iPod, TV, Internet, texts, YouTube, streams, games. Since energy consumption is the problem that's growing, my first paragraph would settle it all. Not my stroke of genius, just the obvious.
This blog was all over the place, the next should have more structure, I must be rusty.
Posted by Monsieur P at 8:45 PM 0 comments
Monday, June 9, 2008
Bring it on Thoreau and Ghandi!
New aventures. New Questions. New processes. New approaches.
Posted by Benoît Rivard at 10:47 PM 0 comments
Friday, March 28, 2008
Fitna
Dutch M.P. Geert Wilders has been all over the headlines all around the world.
See the film and tell others to watch it. It's provocative and makes people reflect on the foundations of Islam, along with it's role in Western society, even if he is coming from one extreme.
Inform yourself because this issue will become increasingly more relevant in our society. It's not going away.
Note: The film's content is very graphic at times. Consider yourself warned.
Posted by Benoît Rivard at 5:16 PM 0 comments
Nuque et Face
Départ
Tout début a une fin. C'est vraiment un cliché mais quand même important à comprendre. Mon départ fût modeste, ce qui m'a permis de bien causer avec mes amis proches pendant qu'une pluie surprenante tombait (c'est la saison sèche).
Kaloga, un ami du cartier, m'a raconté que lorsqu'on voit la face d'un étranger, on sait déjà qu'on va un jour voir sa nuque. Ça s'est vu à mon départ puisqu'ils ont l'habitude de voir des étrangers, comme des proches, partir.
Retour
À l'exception du changement de 60 degrés celsius et 8 heures de décalage, le retour à Smithers se passe bien. Il y a eu des changements de personnel à One Sky, ce qui fait que le bureau est présentement composé de nouveaux employés (les deux "anciens" arrivent lundi). Peu importe, le rhytme lent de Smithers facilite la ré-intégration pour le moment.
Le Mali me manque déjà, c'est certain. Mais pendant que certains voient ma nuque, autres me font face. Il reste à voir si et quand ils me verront de derrière...
Monday, March 17, 2008
Comfort in the Trenches
Originally posted on the One Sky website...
Every job description, in its list of tasks and responsibilities, normally ends with a very subtle phrase like “other related duties” or “other various tasks”. In some cases, these “duties” can consist of unpleasant tasks like getting the coffee for the office or photocopying until your brain is fully X-rayed. In my case, these duties have covered the spectrum, from fabricating 4 Danish flags in less than 24 hours, to making small brush fires as part of a massive cleaning job. Of course, One Sky prepared me for any such situations…
My most enriching experiences during this internship have been when I have had to think creatively to find a solution. Let me explain. A few weeks ago, Mali-Folkecenter Nyetaa greeted a delegation of 5 Danish Parliamentarians in the Foreign Affairs Committee by showing them various solar electrification installations (school and health centre) in the village of Tabacoro as well as the progress of the Yèré Yiriwa project (funded by the Danish Cooperation). Coincidentally, this is the native village of the MFC Nyetaa Director, which will play an important part in this anecdote.
Younger brothers in Mali can never say no to an older brother’s request. In this case, the older brother was the director’s and happens to be a highly-ranked military official. Without turning this into a rant, I realize in hindsight that it was an inevitable clash between a young toubabou (white man) in charge of protocol - for a short and jam-packed visit - and a General in his native village looking to make the delegation experience life in a rural Malian village. In all fairness, we both wanted the same thing: for the delegation to enjoy their visit to Tabacoro; we simply had very different ideas on which path to take.
After kindly and ever so gently being told by the General that he never wanted to see my face again and that this was “all about what Benoit wants”, I realized that diplomacy is a tough game to play. Luckily, the collateral damage was minimal and I still have a place to live (the General also happens to be my landlord).
Creativity in conflict resolution is really not something I ever dreamed of putting on my CV. In fact, I have always been one to use my creativity in order to avoid conflict. Because there were essentially 2 informal parties to organize the visit, it could have easily gotten out of hand. The end result was one of great success. The delegation was able to see all the planned sites (school, health centre, solar water pumping system, Yèré Yiriwa presentation, traditional reception) in the budgeted amount of time.
Ciao, Cheers, Farewell, Goodbye
I have about 10 days until my departure. The goodbyes have begun but my work has definitely not ended. I am convinced that it will only end when I get dropped off at the airport, because that’s how it works here. There is always something to do and when you think there isn’t, it’s because the director hasn’t yet found you.
Also, I could write about how much I will miss Mali and all the friends I’ve made. Or about how much time just flew by when, on my 2nd night here I wondered how I would survive for 5 months. I could write about how I am both saddened to leave and excited for new horizons. But I won’t…
Posted by Benoît Rivard at 5:02 AM 0 comments
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Ciao Cheers Farewell Goodbye
March 9th. Already.
The sun has kicked it into top gear as it races by every day, getting increasingly hotter to the point where you wonder if it can actually get any hotter. It seems to prove you wrong every day when you wake up.
So this it. The final stretch. The farewells. The last rush for souvenirs. Tying all the loose ends.
Nothings has been so challenging. Coming home from Amsterdam was never this hard. My roots have never dug so deep in what was once a foreign land.
Bamako
Once you get past the omnipresent smog, the nostril-burning odors, the overcrowded markets and terrifying traffic jams, this city has a charm. It's like watching a movie for the second time, after disliking it the first time, and "getting it".
I have not taken many photos in Bamako for many reasons, mainly because it doesn't feel right. There aren't many monuments or public places that are worth seeing (as a tourist). It feels more right to leave it as a somewhat mysterious place in other people's minds.
Garalo
This village in South-Eastern Mali personifies solidarity and a culture of greeting strangers with open arms. It has recently been lucky enough to have access to electricity - including public lighting - and it has truly transformed their quality of life. The people I have spoken to tell me they have never been so proud to say they are from Garalo because their village illuminates the sky at night. They feel safer and more empowered.
This isn't an attempt to advocate rural electrification or Mali-Folkecenter's projects. This is one toubabou's (white man) impression after having spent the equivalent of more than 3 weeks in Garalo (in 4 different trips). People recognize me and are always so happy to say hello and ask how I'm doing.
Volver
Volver, in Spanish, means to return. Ironically, I saw Pedro Almodovar's film last night at the Centre Culturel Français. The irony lies in that I have begun to "return" to Canada, mentally; at least I hope not physically because then someone might already find one of my fingers or feet back home.
One indication of my pre-emptive return has been through my dreams. Although I don't tend remember them, I do know that I have been dreaming about being back home. It's slightly discomforting because it feels like this lack of being grounded in the present will turn into regret later.
"How was it?"
"What was it like?"
"Did you enjoy your trip to Mali/Africa?"
"What did you learn?"
Those questions are coming like a tidal wave and I can already see it in the distance. My fear lies in my inability to accurately answer those questions. One way to cope is to answer with sarcasm... "Meh, it was alright." "Nothing special." "I've had better experiences."
How do you describe the feeling that you get after a 6 year-old girl knocks at your door and asks you, with the one french word she knows, "poubelle?"?
How do you tell someone that you've seen how some people survive by walking over 10 km one-way hoping to make a bit of money at the market?
Those are a few examples of my experiences but one can imagine the atrocities I haven't seen...
On a lighter note, my Montreal Canadiens were first in the Eastern Conference and are still top of their division. That makes me smile.
Already thinking ahead, I've been experimenting with a WordPress blog to compare with Blogger and eventually decide what I will do after the end of this internship.
Finally, my sister and her boyfriend have recently launched their online eco-friendly and ethical fashion store. From the website:
Alterna Boutique is an online eco-fashion store which offers a variety of work and casual clothing for men and women, as well as clothing for babies. The clothes are made from a variety of environmentally-friendly fabrics such as organic cotton, bamboo, soy, and hemp. Designers featured at Alterna Boutique include HTnaturals, Grace and Cello, NKI, Nixxi and Sckoon. This alternative clothing store is entirely online and the energy consumed by the computers is offset through wind power.
I already have the HTnaturals red polo and it my shirt of choice here in Mali. But don't take my word for it, see for yourself!!
Oh the shameless biased promotion...