Zach’s Travels

How many religious studies and computer science double majors interning in Senegal can there be? My guess is not many. Which is why I’m now famous. Kind of. But not really: http://www.traveling-stories-magazine.com/coming-full-circle/

In other news, this week has been painstakingly boring. To be quite honest I haven’t really done anything of note, and I fear this is becoming an all-too-common theme here. To date I have yet to write about what I’m actually doing here at the Institute, partly because I had yet to really define what it was that I am supposed to be doing and partly because I never felt like writing it all. And while I still don’t have it defined, I guess now I’m sort of in the mood to explain it and I have the time.

When I first applied for the internship here in Senegal, I didn’t know much about it. A one-page PDF was sent out to students across DePauw, explaining that this opportunity existed and that anyone was welcome to apply, though people with skills in technology and french (hah!) were encouraged to apply. So apply I did, despite the fact that I had already accepted a written offer from another company in Chicago. To make a long story short - I got the internship. Bet you didn’t know that.

And as I began to sit down with Dr. O’Bannon, the professor who was organizing the internship and who had the contacts at the Institute, I learned this was the first time this had even been done. They just got grant money and things were happening last minute. And because it was the first time, it was hard to know what exactly I was going to be doing. Something technical. That’s about as far as it got. Eventually we sculpted the idea a little further in that I would be working on the web site. If you have visited the site, you know it is desperate need of a new design and updated content. So the original plan was to both update the web site and install a Content Management System (CMS). To explain briefly, a CMS is a program that allows you to easily add and edit the content of a web site without technical knowledge. You just log in and type. (For the record, this website is powered by a CMS called WordPress).

After out initial meeting with Goree staff, however, we learned that they had already contracted out to a company to develop a new web site back in October of 2007 and it was due to be finished soon (this was exactly 8 months after the contract had been signed). As a result we decided I would then take the new design and implement a CMS along with other various small side projects which we would discuss later. And that’s how the meeting was concluded.

The next day, after asking for technical specs for the web server, one of the staff members brought me the invoice from the web design company, eVolution. In the list of tools eVolution said they were going to utilize and implement was Joomla!. A Content Management System. There were two main problems with this. The first is that the Institute didn’t know a CMS was being implemented. The second was that suddenly I had no idea what I was going to be doing.

After talking about this problem with Dr. O’Bannon and Nicky, we decided I would just do my user needs assessment and determine what direction I should travel in. So that’s what I did. I sat down and had individual interviews with the head people of the Institute to determine what they felt was needed the most. Throughout these interviews, I identified four common points:

• The need to centralize the Goree Institute’s various sites (they have four besides their main site)
• Some sort of Intranet, to facilitate internal communication
• Centralize their Teral services online. Teral is their revenue-generator. It is basically seminar and conference hosting. They want people to be able to submit requests electronically and the like.
• Community Education

I have already started to address the second point by contacting a company that creates Intranet software. I got them to comp one of their products, valued at $600/year for the Institute. I’m currently waiting for their coupon code so I can complete the sign up process. In the mean time I have already developed an online Teral reservation system that links in with the Intranet software using their API. But to put it all together requires the coupon code AND a completed website. I’m waiting for both.

The first and third point are both things that are contingent upon a completed web site. It is functionality that needs to be incorporated into Joomla! and the design, and therefore is very difficult to work on without the site being completed (if I haven’t mentioned it, the site was supposed to be finished 2 weeks ago). So I’m waiting.

And waiting.

Virtually everything I want to be doing is contingent upon something else being completed that is out of my hands. A very frustrating experience. So this week I have done virtually nothing, because I am having a hard time trying to think of things I CAN do. Once the site is completed there is a whole slew of things I want to do, such as centralizing Teral online, updated pictures, email newsletter sign up and implementation, and updating content.

But in the mean time I wait.

Completely unrelated, should be a good weekend. In two hours I head to American Embassy’s Fourth of July party and then tomorrow I am going “clubbing” with a South African named George and some Peace Corp people. Should be a good time.