Comments on: Development Aid’s Bitter Little Pill

By: Brendan

Brendan — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:51:17 +0000

I love that I came across this post again a month later, began reading it, thought ‘hey, great post, there’s probably some good comments too!’ and bam, there I am (though not with a particularly good comment!).
I guess it’s a keeper.
B

By: Development Aids Bitter Little Pill | Rebuild Zimbabwe

Development Aids Bitter Little Pill | Rebuild Zimbabwe — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:06:54 +0000

[...] From original post by @ajmunn [...]

By: KrisBelucci

KrisBelucci — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:31:53 +0000

Hi, good post. I have been wondering about this issue,so thanks for posting.

By: ajmunn

ajmunn — Tue, 26 May 2009 11:03:42 +0000

@Karyn Where do I begin? We are talking about relevance and context here. I have a few issues with your point.
1. Africa is not all starving children, mud huts and poorly educated people. All African countries have vibrant cities, businesses, infrastructure and people with doctorates. Using skills and resources that are local to a country ensures sustainability, knowledge transfer and relevant, contextual solutions.
2. Communities in a rural setting may not understand the technology but they do know, better than anyone else, what challenges they face and what resources are available. Approaching a project from a cultural, situational and needs assessment necessitates starting with talking to the community.

Absolutely Africa needs assistance and partnerships from the West, but these need to be real partnerships based upon mutual respect and recognition of the value each bring.

By: ajmunn

ajmunn — Tue, 26 May 2009 10:51:05 +0000

@Brendan. Figuring this out is the easy part, finding a way to ensure it translates into projects is another. The consciousness is changing. It is always good to see people in the field doing it well.

By: Karyn W.

Karyn W. — Mon, 25 May 2009 11:50:56 +0000

I get what you are saying here but surely there are times where African countries may not understand the technology for example, and so they are not the right people to tell us how to set up a program? I would rather listen to a technology specialist than a person from a rural village that may have never seen a computer.

By: Brendan

Brendan — Mon, 25 May 2009 08:30:47 +0000

I don’t have too much to say on this post, except: spot on.

And citing Teddy in a previous post indicates to me that you have this figured out.

Keep writing,
B