Thoughts on the role of religious groups in development.

So, I just got back from a day at the Canadian conference of Engineers Without Borders (conference site).  It was interesting to see the assumptions in development about how it should be governments leading the infrastructure building in developing communities.

I think it is worth noting that in North America, as we were developing, a significant portion of our infrastructure was initially build not buy local or foreign governments, but rather local and foreign religious groups, particularly Christian groups in the case of North America.  It was these religious groups that saw the needs of the people, looked on them with compassion, and organized to build those things that were needed and did not exist, not out of a patriotic duty or political will, but rather out of a loving heart.  The examples here i refer to are the schools and hospitals.

In Ontario, where i'm from, the Catholic church set up schools, and the protestant churches set up schools.  Then, the protestant churches got together and said, hey, we can be more effective if we agree and work together, so they did and that became the public school system.  Later the government took over funding both the Catholic and the Public (protestant) systems through taxes.  (If I understand correctly, part of the curriculum for becoming a teacher in Ontario is to study this history, so any teachers out there paying attention can correct me.)

Many hospitals, and medical clinics around the world were started by religious organizations as well. This pattern continues around the world.  In the case of libraries, it was often wealthy philanthropists that funded the building of the first community libraries, believing in the importance of ongoing education opportunities for the general population, not just those that could afford it. Then these were turned over to local governments to support.

I think it is important to recognize that religious groups can still play an important roll in development in the modern world.  Many of those that are passionate about development or certain sectors with in  development, are passionate about it because of their religious beliefs, and bring a suitable compassion, humility and hope that are clearly necessary to do development work successfully.

Looking at the example of libraries, and that many of those philanthropist that funded them were the captains of industry at the time, leads me to think that in the current case, there is also a roll for corporations to play in development as well.  That idea will need further exploration, since there are issues there, just as there are issues with religious groups in a development context as well. There certainly are issues with governments involvement in aid; the very existence/ubiquitousness of the NGO term shows that there are some things the government should not be doing.

Anyway, that's enough for now....

Agriculture policies and ideas...

Another one to look up sometime: International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) from 2008.  It's a report reviewing what's working in world....


Keeping an eye on the nourishing the planet feed from the worldwatch institute....


article

Most Effective Micro-finance

If you are getting involved in anything, it always makes sense to figure out who's the best in that field and keep an  eye on what they are doing.  You may chose to be different, but it's still important to know what's going on.  With that in mind, in the micro-finance world, Accion are one of those organizations to keep an eye on. They've been named the most effective microfinance non-profit by Philantropedia.  Fast Company had this article about it.

Vegetable Varieties

From worldwatch institute, an article that talks about two organizations that are working on maintaining seeds and the culture of growing in african communities.

AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center develops seeds
Developing Innovations in School Cultivation Project, or DISC teaches children about growing traditional vegetables

Peanut sheller by Full Belly Project

Here's a You Tube video of a peanut sheller design being used in Uganda.  It's a part of the Full Belly Project http://thefullbellyproject.org/.  This could be very useful.  The organization suggests training before giving out the technology, and setting up a local business to produce them. (see the FAQ section).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Nut_Sheller

Family connections

So, i've been talking to my mom recently, and re-realized that i have relatives that i hardly know that have been doing work in Africa since i was a kid...

Here's the organization that my cousin Roxanne's husband Jimmy is currently working for http://www.watermissions.org/ These guys are relatively new to the disaster relief and development field, but are working in water and sanitation with their water filter system, and a few associated parts.

Water treatment and storage

another one for the file: Scandinavian water technologies http://www.scan-water.com/home.php

They make portable water treatment, storage and distribution systems.  the one that caught my eye, giant water beds (they call them pillow tanks), for storing potable water, one model for stationary storage, another to be loaded on a flatbed truck.

I've been looking at the pool in the back yard, and thinking that would be a cheap way to have a cistern/water storage tank... similar system could be used for irrigation water as well.

got there via this link