Aid, Evolved

Starting by Luck and Succeeding by Grit with Yaw Anokwa of ODK

Yaw Anokwa is founder and CEO of ODK. ODK's mission is to design, build, deploy and support offline data collection software for low-resource settings. ODK is one of the most popular data collection tools used in the aid sector, and forms the foundation for a rich global community of users active in every country on the planet. In this episode, Yaw shares the story of ODK's humble beginnings as a sabbatical project. He recounts the serendipitous start of the effort, how to build the community needed to support open-source software, and the persistence required to create a career building free software.

 

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

 

 

Finding Your Way into Digital Health with Derek Treatman of Vital Wave

Derek Treatman is a Senior Director of Technology Solutions at Vital Wave, where he supports governments and nonprofits in low-resource countries to use readily-available technologies to improve health services. 

 

In this episode, we hear about the risks, perseverance and creativity with which Derek pursued and ultimately landed his dream job. We trace his journey from college graduate through the various twists and turns of life across four continents, in order to break into the challenging sector of digital health and development. Through it all, we also touch on the role of language in opening doors and fostering communication across countries, cultures, and partners.

 

To find out more, access the show notes or subscribe to our newsletter at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

 

Digital Health Systems Strengthening with Sean Blaschke of UNICEF

Sean Blaschke from UNICEF’s Technology for Development (T4D) team has spent the past 15 years working on technology for global development in Africa, first as part of UNICEF’s headquarters in New York and then later as part of its first ever Country Office T4D program in Uganda. In this episode of Aid, Evolved, we hear from Sean the story of how he and a small team relocated from UNICEF’s headquarters in New York to launch the first T4D program of its kind in Kampala, Uganda. Sean shares some of the initial struggles and early failures, the lessons learned, and the long journey needed to take a more holistic approach to building sustainable technology systems.

 

To find out more, access the show notes at AidEvolved.com

 

Let us know what you think on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

A Business Approach to Social Change with Soraiya Verjee of Every1Mobile

Soraiya Verjee has been a Director at Every1Mobile for the past 7 years, working to deliver digital solutions to drive social change in communities across sub-Saharan Africa. In this conversation, Soraiya shares her journey over 15 years of international business experience, ranging from technology to financial services to social impact. We talk about the major shifts in her life that brought her from a childhood in Kenya to the bank of Barclay’s in London, and finally how she ended up at Every1Mobile. This episode touches on her work building unusual partnerships between the public and private sector; how a business and corporate background prepared her for building sustainable systems; and the unpredictable twists and turns of life that can somehow land a person in a career that never existed before. 

 

To find out more, access the show notes at AidEvolved.com

 

Let us know what you think on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

Coming Soon: Aid, Evolved will launch in November 2020

We’ll be launching this podcast in November 2020. To get notified when we're live, sign up to our mailing list at AidEvolved.com. In this welcome message, I'll share a bit about who I am, why I'm starting this podcast, and what topics we'll cover.