Well, it looks like the run-off between President Karzai, and his ex Finance Minister, Abdulah Abdulah is off, and Mr. Karzai has been elected President. Ensheallah, things will be peaceful.

This trip we are focusing on setting up the TeleMedicine Training Lab for MedWeb
http://medweb.reachback.org (portal)

(ex-Fablab) and a General Use Computer Lab for the Locals around Bagrami, as well as coaching some of the NU staff on the backend of web development.

Due to the Swine flu scare, and maybe for some social distancing reasons related to post election gatherings.. NU has been off line for 5 weeks so little was accomplished there...

However, the Public Hospital Spoke is up and working, and the MEDWEB Telemedicine lab is in process - we have successfully installed a medweb server @ Taj Hub and the WiMax Canopy system is humming away, giving the phat pipe to the Public Hospital, and relieving the Fabfi ... of some of its burden.

Delivered Boats to the Village Sak, and while there, Dr Dave saw the well had been trashed in recent flooding, so within 4 or 5 days, he had a DRILL in the ground to give these folks CLEAN water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziUByDWXzzs


UPDATE: Progres report from Lut our Taj intern:
http://www.youtube.com/user/lutfullahkamran#p/u/4/t22H-AkurA4

http://www.youtube.com/user/lutfullahkamran#p/u/3/buIx71CBgjU

http://www.youtube.com/user/lutfullahkamran#p/u/5/wJi8IGlDJ44

http://www.youtube.com/user/lutfullahkamran#p/u/6/jq7oLGa67A8

http://www.youtube.com/user/lutfullahkamran#p/u/2/j0Wq_zIseQg




An interesting trip for sure, day 1, tanker hit out side of Sarobi.. got a vid clip..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWh6t_t_N_8

Election observation operations, and b4d WiMax installation has been a success, There has been some press/blogs on some of the elements :

http://newsblaze.com/story/2009082011090200002.pnw/topstory.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8209172.stm

http://blog.freerangeinternational.com/?p=1863

http://www.aliveinafghanistan.org


pics of some of the gear and server rigs @ Taj

http://picasaweb.google.com/reachback/B4dInstall#

Comments or Questions, Email Ken:

ken@reachback.org

Returning to Jbad to cover some admin duties for TajPlex - explore other properties for pre autumn surge, consolidate 4 month business plan by june 1 with mehrab, House manager.

Basic Goals:

- admin plan to Oct 1

- inventory all of recent donor equipment, itemize outstanding items not delivered yet. (we are close to completion --)



Current status on GATR is .. MODEM appears to be down hard, replacement en route, probably wont get here before June 8or 9.. i imagine./

planning to depart june 7 -- great that amy (sun) is here - she can swap modems, recommision system - if it arrives before she leaves --

seems like last time she came on the scene, the modem was dead also.. and she was here to get things back in order. Excellent.

Speaking of amy sun, if you dont know of her, you should..

http://scripts.mit.edu/~emu/fab/

She is the principle on fablab operations/planning. Awesome human. She put a fabfi mini at tajtoo to share the (backup) medweb sat dish connection at tajtoo -- to taj, cool enough to at least to do email and surf. // sweet.

The Spring Synergy Surge has begun. This trip, its Dr Dave, Todd, Braz, Kate and I as an initial team. Other synergist incoming over the next week or so, and stay times vary, but its already been mega interesting. -- .

Goals this trip for ken:

-secure a new lease on the taj (explore additional house)
SCORED !!
http://www.reachback.org/medwebhousepix

-continue to seek funding for fuel offsets

-install a rigid 2.4 dish

-follow up on nato virtual silk road (NIG) grant to NU - shopping list/wish list

-footbridge project to village sak / or alt inflatable boats asap.

-synergy geek scholarship closeout

kenpix
3.26 GATR present state pix
http://www.reachback.org/springsurge/326pix

3.27 Trip to the mound, dave, todd, braz and I...
http://www.reachback.org/springsurge/327pix

dave P-blog
http://picasaweb.google.com/fobtaj

braz blog
http://adventuresinjalalabad.blogspot.com/

Todds P-blog
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oddwick/

Kates blog
http://civiliansurge.blogspot.com/

Kims MedWeb Blog
http://www.medwebcpo.blogspot.com/

Surge of Nerds Rebuilds Afghanistan

By Nathan Hodge January 30, 2009 | - WIRED BLOG

Over this past month, a group of motivated geeks traveled to Osama bin Laden's old stomping grounds in Afghanistan to help oversee a novel project: the Jalalabad Fab Lab.

to read it - click below:

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2009/01/stability-opera.html

Raddatz: Journey to Bin Laden's Old Compound

January 14, 2009 11:26 AM

ABC News' Martha Raddatz reports:

I have been traveling in Afghanistan for the past few days with the US military. But today producer Richard Coolidge and I left the military base and went into Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, where we linked up with Dr. Dave Warner, a civilian doing humanitarian work here. He gave us three choices in terms of what we wanted to see today:

Read more....

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theworldnewser/2009/01/inside-look-at.html



VIEW the ABC Evening News bit on Jalalabad !

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6867451

http://frontierpost.com.pk/News.aspx?ncat=an&nid=1094

Miracles are happening in Jalalabad - and we are looking for a little support !

Please Get familiar with the FABLAB and all it is doing, and can do.. for the people of afghanistan !! Thanks to MIT and the Rotary Sister Cities Foundation !!


http://blog.freerangeinternational.com/?p=920

CONTRIBUTE !!

http://donate.fablab.af/

by Capt. J. Elaine Hunnicutt
Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction team 3-1 PAO

11/12/2008 - JALALABAD AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- American military members helped with about $8 million worth of construction projects in the Nangarhar Province in the last two years here to improve security and to help rebuild the region in Afghanistan.

Almost $40 million worth of U.S. military-funded construction is ongoing in the province as fiscal 2008 came to a close, and American servicemembers oversaw and helped with the construction projects.

click below to read it all....

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123123410