First Blood

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The intention of this blog is to share my experience with development here in Zambia. I realise being only one person and here for only four months implies a limited perspective and time constraint but I think through my integration in the community and position with a prominent NGO (non-government organization) It is possible for you to fgain a valuable apprecation for the framework of development in Zambia, typical barriers and challenges encountered, and the livelihoods of those it is intended to benefit.
Hopefully this will either spark some curiosity, awken a previously dormant in development, or stimulate an existing knowledge base. Regardless, any questions or comments are welcomed and if I don’t know the answer I’m sure I can schmooze someone who does. So enjoy and please (in the words of Van Wilder), don’t hold back, tell me how you really feel.

What Is Development?

Before we really get into anything, it’s always a good idea to define exactly what we are talkinga bout. It is also a good idea because I suspect many of you are very similar to me in the sense that the word “development” can inspire many abstract images and thoughts but it is difficult to construct anything concrete.
What is development? This question for a development worker is analogous to “What is reality?” to a philosopher, “What is energy?” to a physicist, or “What is morality?” to a businessperson. There is no single “right” answer and depending on who you speak with, the term can mean several different things. However since development oriented groups all work iunder the same broad title, they must be related through some direct and indirect channels and, in my opinion, to a common end.
The means to this end will invariably differ depending on the specific area (health care, education, agriculture, economics, etc.) or methods of the group, but the definition I will be using for the process of development is an end point or the final objective of “Empowering people to improve the quality of their lives through projects and solutions they deem appropriate, sustainable, and beneficial”. This is not in the very least definite and is somewhat indicative of my involvement with Engineers Without Borders, but hopefully it will serve a s a broad conceptual framework for the topics and issues that will be discussed. Finally, I think all development stakeholders benefit from a synergy and coherence in being unified towards a common goal.
Within development there are some popular terms of reference emerging that help to understand the approach, current state, and direction of NGO’s. The first is projects. Most development work is done through projects. Whether it is a plan to erect schools, improve water and sanitation practices, or increase AIDS awareness, projects are used as the weapon of choice to achieve impact. Impact is the heroine of many donors and the nuisance of many NGO’s. When funds are allocated, donors will generally have a list of crieteria the recipient must achieve, which is usually in the form of an impact. This impact is difficult for the NGO because you come to realise that measuring and evaluationg impact, even when it has occurred, is often very complex and intangible. It is important for the donor in justifying the grant and it can be difficult for the NGO to demonstrate; so continues the debate between NGO’s and donors on impact. Examples of impact might be increasing the income of rural farming households in a region by 10% in a five-year period or increasing adoption of certain family planning practices within a designated area.
Sustainability refers to a solution or projects ability to endure after the facilitator or NGO has departed. Development efforts undertaken must be designed to promote self-sufficient solutions that encourage independence. A classic example of failing to recognize this prerequisite was donating tractors to Africa from the West. For many farmers, the major constraint in proeduction is labour. Donating or selling cheap tractors seemed like a perfectly good solution for increasing crop yields by increasing labour capacity. The tractors worked very well at irst, but when there were no mechanics to service them, they quickly beroke down and are now a common relic across many African landscapes.
The last two terms perading development are “participatory” and “holistic”. Identifying and involving all the key stakeholders at all the stages of a project is critical in achieving the desired impact. In terms of business, when a company markets any product or service, extensive and continuous research is conducted on customer preferences, behaviors, and potential reaction. This makes sense since the products success is largely contingent on the consumer. The same is true with development but there has been a propensity, especially in the past, to omit the key stakeholders, (the farmer, the villager, women, etc) participation. Finally, a holistic approach becomes important because you learn very quickly that problems like poverty and AIDS are not isolated and totally separate but are interconnected in many ways. Failing to account or the affects of AIDS on a seemingly unrelated issue, like food security, will lead to a less complete solution. The ability for a project or strategy to account for complex and interconnecting factors, such as gender equality and AIDS, is essential for implementing the most complete strategy for a project.
I suppose development could now be defined as “projects that achieve impact through sustainable solutions using a participatory and holistic approach” and it would just as correct as the first. Ensuing issues will be discussed within the context of development and it is the hope that this has laid a rudimentary foundation. Any comments and suggestion are welcomed.
Mwendi Bwino (Go well in Nyanja)

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