AN AUSTRALIAN blogger is hoping to highlight what’s going on in Africa by setting up a blogging outpost to get a poverty-stricken community’s voice heard.

• Notable Aussie blogger sent to Africa on a one week awareness mission
• The organisation behind it wants to get the real message heard

Australian blogger and political commentator, Stilgherrian, is preparing himself for a journey to the United Republic of Tanzania on behalf of ActionAid Australia.

The initiative, as part of ActionAid Australia’s merge with Austcare on June 1, will see Stilgherrian flown to Tanzania on a mission to raise awareness of what’s actually happening in poverty-stricken countries such as Africa.

His mission is to use every available channel open to him in a “fight to end poverty and injustice”.

By embracing technology he intends to blog and hopefully upload a daily video diary of what he sees, as well as teach the local aid workers on how to do the same thing before he leaves.

The strategist behind it all, Fi Bendall, told Tech Wired that the mission, as simple as it may sound, is far from it.

“It’s been quite a long process,” she said.

Bendall added that she thought ActionAid Australia were making a bold decision by using her chosen strategy of sending a notable blogger to Africa.

Bendall said that her research showed that being transparent and open is what the mission aimed at doing.

“It’s refreshing to see them (ActionAid Australia) take this approach,” she said.

“The research says that you’ve got to keep it real.”

This was reaffirmed by the CEO of ActionAid Australia, Archie Law, who described donators as needing to see an outcome, not just a one way conversation.

“We know from research that for the public to engage with social causes, they need to see outcomes from their dollar donations, not just the devastation,” he said.

Stilgherrian and Archie will both be venturing off to Tanzania in the next couple of weeks upon approval from locals.

Tech Wired spoke with Stilgherrian just before he had his vaccinations in preparation for the trip.

When asked what he hoped to achieve from going on the mission, he said he was just going to report it how he saw it.

“As I’m going independently I don’t have to stick to a particular policy line,” he said

“I can just say what I’m seeing and honestly report my emotional reaction.”

He added that his other reason for agreeing to the mission was to experience what it would be like to live in a poverty-stricken country.

Armed with the essentials, some knowledge, and satellite phone technology, Stilgherrian doesn’t know what lies ahead.

“…(It’ll be) a very intense week of being exposed to an awful lot of things all at once,” he said.

Stilgherrian’s mission can be followed at http://stilgherrian.com/toto/