When you think of technology - Neema Komba

There you go with your technology,
Enthusiasts,
Preachers of how the world is not how it seems,
Once round and big, now within my reach.
From my little fishing village,
I can see how you live,
Big, flat screens,
I can dream your dreams,
And make them real
with just a tap on a touch screen.
There you go with your Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp,
But how about technology that would give me clean water from a tap,
An app,
That would give farmers access,
To markets, and facts,
Better ways to do things
we know of,
Because round or flat,
My world begins here,
In my mud hut,
With nothing but rats.

When you think of the next big thing,
Why don’t you to think of me?
Seven years old far off in Mbinga,
Walking ten miles to a school with no teachers,
No books,
How can technology help my education?
Look at me with your nuclear powered binoculars,
I suffer from nothing in particular,
Waiting for weeks for a doctor is nothing new here,
I am just like you,
Waiting; for change or aid,
What we need is action.
On my GSM phone
all I get are ringtones
of sick babies crying,
texts from doctors striking,
and hate mongers provoking religious strife.
What we need is peace.
Let technology be a force for good.
Despair calls until my battery dies,
I walk ten miles
To find a solar-powered charger,
We have no electricity here,
But it is still better than what my mother had,

We have come far,
Leapfrogged landlines,
Connected with air,
Masai warriors’ voices carried by an electronic wind,
Arusha to Nairobi, no static.
We have defied Gods,
Reached for the heavens and back,
Moon walked and ran,
Text and money fly from palm to palm,
Mbezi to posta, no traffic,
But there is still so much we can’t afford.
How I wish,
We’d go back to our roots,
See what assets we have,
Use them to get what we need,
Build an economic bridge
From where we are to where we can be.
How I wish,
We’d create our own things,
For he who makes it controls it,
This opportunity can be ours.

If we can make more with less,
In agriculture, mining, oil and gas,
Technology can change our pace.
But let’s not forget the rest,
Good governance with no unrest,
Policies that aid our quest,
And leaders that see beyond self,
Your decisions impact this generation and the next.
I wish technology could change mindsets,
Get rid of hate,
And unnecessary rivalry,
Ooh between Kenya and Bongo, who has it best?
We can all benefit,
If we collaborate.
Say our African countries
chipped in for a low orbit satellite,
Or some gadget,
Maybe we can lower costs,
Maybe the poor can get access.
And while the private sector tries,
Will the government please catch up?
Invest,
Do more to develop tech people,
Like tech hubs, and funds,
We have got to reward innovation!

There you go again with your codes,
HTML, Java, tech Wizards of Oz,
African minds, pioneers of geometry,
Your ideas are gold.
But when you think of technology,
Think beyond the screen,
Think of solutions to our problems,
Think of our culture,
Think of our environment,
But most of all
Think of how it can change our livelihood,
For the better.

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Neema Komba (born 1987) Tanzania
Her book of poems "See through the Complicated" is available here