Where There's A Will, There's A Way

            So I just got done watching a TED Talk presented by Vinay Venkatraman titled “Technology Crafts for the DigitallyUnderserved.”  This video intrigued me enough that I felt it would be a good topic for a blog entry.  During this video, Venkatraman shared his alternate vision for a digitally inclusive world.  This talk is centered on the two-thirds of the world that does not have easy access to the plethora of latest technology that most of us are accustomed to.  Within this talk, however, he shares interesting stories of how local electronic shops in these small towns and villages around the world are becoming adept at fixing pieces of technology using low-cost parts (which are sometimes even salvaged parts).  He also explains his work in “technology crafts” which helps enable people to turn simple devises (such as a mobile phone, lunch box, and flashlight) into more advanced technological tools (such as a digital projector for a small village school).  The creation of these “technology crafts” has the potential to help a lot of people (especially in the fields of education and healthcare) who would not have access to such valuable tools otherwise.         

I live in a part of the world that takes technology for granted and basically centers our lives around it.  However, I know there are still people in many parts of the world that do not have access to even the most basic pieces of technology that I (as many people) take for granted.  It was very interesting to hear how people are finding ways to create more advanced technological tools from very basic items in order to help everyone gain access to helpful technology.  They are thinking about technology in a different, non-traditional way.  They do not simply see an alarm clock as a means of waking people; they see it as a building block of a health screening tool that can help save lives in small villages that do not have easy access to medical care.  These ingenious people are using and combining whatever tools and materials that they have easy access to in order to build more advanced, life-changing pieces of technology.  They continuously tinker, test, and readjust their creations until they get an end product that they are pleased with.  Who would have thought that parts from an alarm clock, TV remote, and computer mouse could be combined to create a valuable health screening device for triage in small villages?    

All in all, it is amazing what people can do when they see a problem and put their minds to finding a solution.  People’s ingenuity never ceases to amaze me; where there’s a will, there’s a way!