March 15. How do you put information online when there is no electricity, no telephone connection and no internet access? Here in Wamba, I am using a satellite telephone and a laptop computer. The telephone acts like a computer modem and lets me upload files to a server. It is very S-L-O-W! Way too slow for me to send email or view a webpage.

The satellite telephone won’t connect if it’s cloudy, but so far that has not been a problem. Usually I upload the day’s journal at the end of the day. At OMS, it’s 2 PM, but here it is 10 PM. All the other volunteers are in bed, the generator has been shut off for the night, and I’m outside in the dark with the phone, the computer and my headlamp so I can see what I’m doing.

Back at school, Ms. Foster receives my files on the server and uploads them here to “Yikes, Stripes!”. At least that’s what I hope is happening! There’s no way for me to know from Wamba.