Corporate Service Corps in Tanzania

Schoolboys on a field trip resting under a giant baobab tree at the National Museum

 

I joined the CSC program because, like many IBMers, I wanted to make a difference to the company and to the world. I continue to be amazed at how IBM chose to create a Corporate Social Responsibility program around helping communities in emerging economies by sending teams of IBMers from all over the world to bring their experience and expertise to bear on a social problem. It seems easier to donate cash or servers, but a program that develops global leaders, opens up new markets for IBM, and benefits NGOs, educational institutions and governments in rural areas is a truly more imaginative way of approaching CSR, one in keeping with the IBM value of "Innovation that matters."

Colonial era hospital building at Ocean Road

Tanzania is a sprawling country in East Africa with more than forty million people. It is fortunate to have enjoyed peace for most of its modern history unlike many other African countries mired in civil war. Yet the country remains poor, with a GDP per capita of 1700 USD. It is the ultimate destination for safaris as it is the home of the Serengeti National Park where one of nature's greatest spectacles, the Great Migration of wildebeests, takes place every year. Yet the sad reality is most of the population do not earn enough to pay the steep fees required to join a safari.

Two dalla-dallas waiting for passengers under the pouring masika rains

As I walked the streets of Dar es Salaam, I felt the energy of a fast growing city in an economy growing 6.5% annually. With 5 million people, Dar is becoming like other mega cities of the world - a magnet for opportunity but a also a recipe for traffic congestion and urban sprawl. I could not help but compare with my own city of Manila. I saw images of poverty with some beggars and street children on the streets, but I noticed the streets were clean and the number of people was not nearly as much as in Manila. Yet there were also enclaves of privilege and power like Makati where one sometimes feels he is no longer in a Third World country. I could not walk and take pictures with as much leisure in some areas as I kept being approached by touts calling out "Hey, friend" as they would say "Hey Joe" in Manila. I politely said no and simply walked on. At the end of my first day, I entered the St Joseph Cathedral where I attended mass in Swahili. I prayed for strength and compassion so I might be able to complete my mission well and keep the people of Tanzania front and center in my thoughts. We are, after all, on a shared journey towards a better life for our people and I hope the CSC program, in its own small way, takes us a few steps further on that journey.

St. Joseph's Cathedral in Dar es Salaam

Tanzanian riding a bike on Coco Beach

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