Andy Oram (Boston, Massachusetts, USA)
In honor of Sanjit Roy and the Barefoot College
They built the generators,
And drew electricity from the sun.
They brought them across many miles, across many continents
To light up huts that huddled beyond paved roads.
It was largely the women who learned to twist the wrenches and wind the wires.
And wherever they brought light, they taught women who lived there to build more.
They spoke but could not understand one another,
Daughters of such far places.
They attended the Barefoot College,
Where what the poor thought was important would be reflected in the college.
They employed puppets for teaching and sign language for work.
What does it take for a grandmother to leave a village?
And what does it take to return?
The most forgotten of women raises a torch to her companions.
She settles back with husband, grandchildren, tribal leaders.
But by the new light
They see her more vividly.
Andy Oram is a writer and editor in the computer field. His editorial projects have ranged from a legal guide covering intellectual property to a graphic novel about teenage hackers. Print publications where his writings have appeared include The Economist, the Journal of Information Technology & Politics, and Vanguardia Dossier. He started dabbling in poetry after noticing that he had been inserting his creativity in unprecedented ways into the technical documentation he was paid to produce. He has lived in the Boston, Massachusetts area for almost 50 years. His poems have been published in more than 40 journals.