We’ve finished our first day of work in Mendenhall, MS, and I am seriously ready for bed (it’s 7:00pm). 

Our pre-8am workday started slowly, as we completed small odd jobs at the school and administrative offices. New carpets were installed last week, so our job was to move furniture back into the rooms and set up a few PCs. (Yeah, I can TOTALLY do that!). 

Then we organized some supplies and did some minor repairs here and there. We learned quickly that our hosts are busy people, too busy to babysit us! So if we want to really make a difference, we needed to identify a job to do, and after a quick consult with our Mendenhall friends, jump in and get it done. 

For lunch we ate red beans and rice with the kids at the school. It was satisfying but clearly meant for sustenance, not fine dining.  A good thing, as our meal was cut short when we were asked for more PC help at the pastor’s house. Word had spread that we knew about computers. 

So we tried to help email photos – 130MB worth – to the pastor’s daughter, who is serving in Iraq. We certainly didn’t have a magic solution for transferring such a huge file set using only webmail. (They resisted our recommendation for online sharing). So, multiple emails were our only option. It took quite awhile, but we kept entertained with a two year old hugging and climbing on us. 

In the afternoon, it was back to the school for more supply room organization projects. No one here really has time to figure out a good system for managing everything – pre-K through 12th grade – so we saw first hand how temporary solutions really lack long-term usefulness.

The conditions here are almost unbelieveable. Three years after Katrina, there are still abandoned homes overgrown with weeds. Buildings without roofs. Buildings with temporary plastic roof coverings, which people nonetheless call their homes. 

One of the Mendenhall buildings damaged by the 2005 hurricane has finally been repaired. But years of no water hookup, coupled with a sealed up building (lest it become a drug haven), have cause sewer odor to permeate. Without fresh air, this beautiful large daycare facility goes unused.

Looking back on today, I can’t help but notice how technology plays a role even in this poorest of towns. We saw four PCs, and fewer than four people who knew how to use them. These PCs were performing vital tasks and clearly were heralded for the value they brought, yet each one held much more power than their human counterparts knew.

A large sign outside the youth center said ABSOLUTELY NO CELL PHONES. I was surprised, but maybe shouldn’t have been. Prepaid phones are available to all. Mobile phones are ubiquitous. Even these families, with so little, make the investment.

We also saw the ever-present issue of electronic waste. There were old pcs and tvs that can’t be thrown out (’least that’s what we been told’) but have outlived their usefulness. With no good options for disposal. So they sit, taking up room in the cafeteria, principal’s office, supply closet – in any corner where they can be shoehorned.

And throughout the day, I used my online network (thanks Tweeple!) to find answers and get advice, nearly instantaneously. 

Technology truly is a facet of all our lives. So today – more than ever – I believe that what I do makes a difference. Not just right now, as I help debug a PC in a rundown office building, but every day that I help bring people closer to the technology that can improve their lives.