« January 2007 | Main | March 2007 »
February 27, 2007
Woodless Construction
For some time now I have been very interested in woodless construction and we have now decided to build the Djibo FM studio in this way.
These buildings use only mud bricks, thereby saving the Sahel's precious trees. They are very stable and very nice to look at. Great.
Here is a sketch of the proposed studio. I'm afraid it doesn't give a very good impression of the beautiful domes and vaults of the mud-brick roofs though. You'll have to browse the galleries of DW's official woodless construction website for that.
Talking of woodless construction, Keith has been building some woodless houses for the flood victims over in Gorom-Gorom and yesterday he posted this heart-warming story about the ceremony they had to hand over the keys of the new houses.
Posted by sahelsteve at 12:14 PM
February 25, 2007
Je souhaiterais...
Dear friends,
The Journalist leans back in his chair and narrows his eyes. 'Je souhaiterais...' he begins. 'I might wish for...' During the long pause which follows, the Journalist's eyes plead with me to finish the sentence for him. Eventually he tires of my blank gaze and finishes it himself: '...quelque chose.'
'Je souhaiterais quelque chose,' he repeats, more confidently this time. 'I might wish for something.' I try to look intrigued and innocent, hoping this will deter him from spelling out his request.
The Journalist has spectacles-on-a-chain, impeccable French and a regular current affairs show on national TV. We have been paying him a modest fee to advise us during the preparation of the Djibo FM dossier de candidature: eighty pages of flowery French explaining why we should be allocated the Djibo broadcasting permit. Now I am sitting in the Journalist's office at the TV station, and the time has come, it seems, to share with each other our hopes and dreams.
Je souhaiterais is a sublime expression, isn't it? So much more refined and wistful than Je voudrais. As it turns out, though, the Journalist is wishing for something fairly down to earth: an injection of cash substantial enough to propel our dossier all the way along the corridors of power. The Journalist Knows People, apparently.
So far as I am concerned, it is fine to pay a consultant for his advice, but less fine to spray purple-backs around the offices of a government body. I tell the Journalist in a roundabout way that the Conseil Superieur de Communication will simply have to base its decision on the contents of our dossier.
We part ways amicably enough, he to pick up his motorbike from the mechanics, and me to hand in the radio dossier at the CSC. The receptionist there looks strikingly like Mme Makutsi from The Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency ("She wore oval glasses with wide plastic frames, and she had a fixed but apparently quite sincere smile"). I want to ask her whether she graduated from the Botswana College of Secretarial and Office Skills with 97%. Instead I ask how long she thinks the Conseil Superieur will take to come to a decision.
Mme Makutsi's eyes look very big behind her oval glasses. 'The Conseil have a lot of dossiers to evaluate,' she says.
'So it could take weeks?'
'Oui.' The big eyes brighten. 'Weeks and weeks.'
'And do I get a receipt of some sort to prove that I've been here today?'
'Non.'
'I see.'
'Trust me,' she says, and reaches for the dossier.
It's out of our hands now. The fledging dossier will have to fly through some pretty dark and labyrinthine places over the next three months, so please pray that God's will be done. It is good to have arrived at this stage, and it would be even better to arrive at the next one.
Please pray for Charlie, too, as she hands over Precious Girl Magazine to her team of budding Khmer journalists. She has a lot to do between now and June, so pray that God gives her the strength and grace she needs.
Love to you and your families. Alla beydu jam.
Posted by sahelsteve at 10:56 AM
February 20, 2007
Banque International du Burkina
I got beaten up at the bank today.
Not literally, but no less painfully. I was told that my application for a deposit had been refused. Then it was un-refused. Then I was passed higher up the chain and it was flatly refused again. And un-refused again. And finally the typist who was told by her superior to type the deposit refused to type it. Only when I threatened to close the account there and then did she finally relent. The whole process took three hours.
The deposit is now in my briefcase. It's the last piece of paper we needed for the Djibo FM application. I'll submit the application in the morning and then travel back up to Djibo in the afternoon. I'm sick of the city.
I'm going to bed. Good night.
Posted by sahelsteve at 10:04 PM
February 19, 2007
Bankers
Spent the afternoon waiting at BIB for an 'attestation' that Djibo FM has money in its account. It's the last bit of paper we need before submitting the licence application (hooray).
At the end of the day, I was told 'Revenez demain matin'. Sound familiar?
I'll go back tomorrow.
Posted by sahelsteve at 10:41 PM
February 17, 2007
God's Call
Regular visitors to this site will have noticed the link to 'Our Impassioned Calling' in the sidebar on the right. Placing it beneath the Sophie books is a little like storing jewellery at the bottom of a box of lego.
My father (Mark T. Davies, for those who hadn't made the connection!) has written a book about God's Call. "His call to the whole Church is to honour him as God and ask him to do what he wants. His call to individuals is to say Yes to him and live in a relationship of love with him."
Our Impassioned Calling is an extremely powerful book with an unashamedly prophetic edge. Here is what the reviewers had to say:
'Our Impassioned Calling' is just what it says and I heartily commend it. Here is a book to re-awaken us to what God can do, written by a 'scholar on fire'.
Rev Tom Stuckey, President of the Methodist Conference 2005-6
I judge this to be an important book. It is theology done prayerfully from the front line. I particularly welcome the emphasis on the initiative of the Holy Spirit in mission.
Dr Colin Morris, former Head of BBC Religious Broadcasting
This is a fine piece of work which should stimulate new thinking among church members. I was particularly moved by the sections on listening to God and on the effects of prayer.
Dr Ralph Waller, Principal of Harris Manchester College, Oxford
Dad's recently launched website God's Call is a pleasure to browse. The CSS is excellent and the content even more so. For myself, I was particularly impressed by the sections about God's heart for his church. Here's a taster.
Also worthy of mention are this joke and this pizza.
Posted by sahelsteve at 09:43 AM
February 16, 2007
Author site launched
Posted by sahelsteve at 07:32 PM
February 14, 2007
Just to say...
| 
| 
|
 |  |
Posted by sahelsteve at 07:38 PM
Interesting photos of Africa
A few photos from the last couple days...
Tuaregs hard at work checking a new Tamasheq-French dictionary:
Keith in one of several woodless huts he has been building:
This was in Markoy. 'Legend'? Anyone know what that is?
Luther would have loved the decor in this church:
Posted by sahelsteve at 06:09 PM
Gorom-Gorom revisited
Last year I visited Gorom-Gorom after the devastating floods, and posted this report on the aftermath of the Gorom-Gorom flooding.
I have just had a few days in Gorom-Gorom and saw at first-hand what Keith is doing to help the flood victims. Well done him.
Meanwhile our application for Djibo FM is nearing finalization. I will post the complete dossier here on February 26.
Posted by sahelsteve at 11:06 AM
February 13, 2007
Yellowcake Back Cover
Currently working on the back-cover blurb for Yellowcake. Important things, blurbs, and not to be sneezed at.
I have linked to this before, but I must do so again, because John Warner's Blurb-O-Matic never fails to make me laugh out loud.
Anyway, here is the back cover in it's being-worked-on state. Click to enlarge.
What percentage of 10-14 year-old boys know what 'the sword of Damocles' is, would you say?
Posted by sahelsteve at 10:03 AM
February 07, 2007
Closing in on the Djibo FM licence
The invitation to submit applications for Burkina Faso radio frequencies has finally arrived. The Conseil Superieur de Communications posted this Avis d’appel à candidatures on their website at the end of December, and the deadline for submissions is 26 February 2007. Djibo is number 14 on their list of frequencies up-for-grabs.
So far as we know, there are two associations in Djibo who would like the Djibo licence. One us which is us. The grapevine has it that the other association (which will remain nameless, in case what follows isn't true!) has received substantial funding from a development bank and has 'eaten' all the money. They are now desperate to get the Djibo licence in order to cover up their 'detournement de fonds'.
The plot thickens...
Posted by sahelsteve at 08:43 PM
Yellowcake Conspiracy Revised Cover
Here is the revised Yellowcake Conspiracy cover (140KB).
TJ will be relieved to see that the jaggedy edges have gone! The whole design is smoother and brighter now, and I like it.