Another of the blogs I follow regularly is one written by Paul Levy, President and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess (BID) hospital in Boston, MA. BID is one of the most respected medical centers in the country.
I first met Paul in 2005, when he was part of a panel of speakers talking about leadership. Paul stood out because he was, by far, the most effective. He was clear, concise, and laid back. He spoke simply, so that you didn't feel stupid, and had a very encouraging manner. At one point he said that he learned everything he needed to know about leadership from coaching his daughter's soccer team. I'd encourage you to read his blog, particularly if you are interested in public health, medicine, and/or leadership.
Today he wrote a great post about the Schweitzer Fellowship, that financially supports a variety of budding health professionals in their studies, provided they dedicate atleast 2000 hours of community service in return. You can read all about it here.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
The White People's Guide to Development #4
Part 4 of guest blogger Victoria's series. Just to jog your memories, here're points 1-3:
#4 Socialism and Sharing: Your things are the community's things
Learn from the little guy...share!! (photo credit: Melanga)
Don't panic, I'm not talking about communism. Traditional cultures mean big families, and extended relatives, half-cousins and great nieces and nephews. The impoverished community you spend time with is likely going to remain very medieval in their beliefs, and they might expect you, the rich visitor, to share everything you have. E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. Sharing food. Sharing water. Sharing your pocket knife and compass, and your iPod.
In some communities, everybody is supposed to be equal. The flaunting of better things---particularly the REI premium goods and the waterproof map---is a source of resentment. Better to leave your best stuff at home unless you are prepared to pass it around to everyone. To those who believe in closing their purse strings after they've given what they've judged to be enough, working with communal-minded people can be frustrating. After all, if you don't fork up the best things you've got and you're supposed to be the person who has had the means, you violate a code of honor and sense of brotherhood that is meant to deem you a good member of the community. Best leave the nicer things at home, and prepare to donate and write off your "losses".
- Remember that old saying, "If you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all"?: Practice tact in your speech.
- Discern what [behaviors, superstitions, objects] hold special significance and is sacred to the locals, and act accordingly. Discriminate more, be discerning. Practice tact in your actions.
- Learn the pace of time in that culture. Quit being so up-tight.
#4 Socialism and Sharing: Your things are the community's things
Learn from the little guy...share!! (photo credit: Melanga)
Don't panic, I'm not talking about communism. Traditional cultures mean big families, and extended relatives, half-cousins and great nieces and nephews. The impoverished community you spend time with is likely going to remain very medieval in their beliefs, and they might expect you, the rich visitor, to share everything you have. E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. Sharing food. Sharing water. Sharing your pocket knife and compass, and your iPod.
In some communities, everybody is supposed to be equal. The flaunting of better things---particularly the REI premium goods and the waterproof map---is a source of resentment. Better to leave your best stuff at home unless you are prepared to pass it around to everyone. To those who believe in closing their purse strings after they've given what they've judged to be enough, working with communal-minded people can be frustrating. After all, if you don't fork up the best things you've got and you're supposed to be the person who has had the means, you violate a code of honor and sense of brotherhood that is meant to deem you a good member of the community. Best leave the nicer things at home, and prepare to donate and write off your "losses".
Water Pollution: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
An oceanographic vessel saw a giant unending patch of garbage floating around in the middle of the ocean. This is very much a current topic and provides a good idea of water pollution and how it happens.
This post includes a video of people who actually sail out to check it out for themselves.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/great-pacific-garbage-patch-trash-vortex.php
This post includes a video of people who actually sail out to check it out for themselves.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/great-pacific-garbage-patch-trash-vortex.php
Water availability: Water Wars
An Ethiopian pastoralist crouches down at the edge of a dry crater that was a large watering hole for his livestock. Drought and other issues are shrinking water availability, increasing tensions in communities across the globe (photo credit: Andrew Heavens)
While energy production and the lack of it is taking centerstage right now, I believe the water availability problem is just barely hanging out below the surface. When it bursts, it will be BIG.
As discussed in the Water Problem post, water availability is a MAJOR problem. With a growing population, increasing pollution, and climate change causing extreme weather conditions like droughts, communities around the world are clashing (sometimes violently) to stake out dwindling water reserves.
The New Scientist today posted an interesting article about Barcelona's attempts to buy boatloads of water from France. Here's a bit:
As Barcelona runs out of water, Spain has been forced to consider importing water from France by boat. It is the latest example of the growing struggle for water around the world – the "water wars". [...]
If you are interested in the topic of water wars, here are a few resources to get you started:
- Blue Gold, the book. Also here's a preview of the powerful documentary based on the book:
- Popular journalist Daljit Daliwal's piece on the subject, in ethiopia.
- HBO's film "H2O up for sale" gives more information on this:
- here's the link to Botswana's existing water wars. I can't embed, but you can watch 20 mins of the documentary by following this link.
- If you think that water wars aren't a part of the United States, think again. There is plenty of literature out there about California's and Michigan's water wars. Here Jim Lehrer does a piece on his Newshour program on PBS.
part 1: (4 mins)
part 2: (4 mins)
- Vandana Shiva's (2002) book Water Wars.
- The Global Policy Forum's collected links on previous water wars.
- Water Wars and International Conflict, a website put together by the Univ of Wisconsin in Eau-Claire
- World Water Wars.com
Friday, April 11, 2008
The economies of international development
Don't alienate the people whose land you've come to visit or serve in! (source: kandyjaxx)
For a couple of weeks, I've been following Alanna Sheikh's excellent blog Blood and Milk. Now I may not necessarily agree with everything she says; but her posts are thought-provoking, and force learning and reflection.
Today she posted a very interesting short piece on the economies caused by international development organizations, called Dual Economies. It references another interesting article and I repeat here:
Expats clearly distort the market in the countries they inhabit. The labor market, the fancy restaurants. Distressingly often, the commercial sex workers. Chris Blattman has a nice post up on the phenomenon. He also likes to a UN report on the macroeconomic consequences of peacekeeping missions. I haven't read the report yet, but I plan to.
I have seen this as well, though I think the book that best showcased this issue well had nothing to do with international development. This was Elizabeth Gilbert's bestselling book Eat, Pray, Love. If you make it to the "Love" portion where she talks about 4 months in Bali where she had to decide between the expat community and the local Balinese (which if you were anything like me will be the day after you start reading!), you'll see how different the economies for the locals and the expats co-exist and barely mix.
Often, I've seen this as a source of annoyance...GREAT annoyance! This is for two reasons:
1. In international development, the point is for expats to mix with local cultures. If you don't mix then how will you know the people you are trying to reach?? (On a related note, maybe that's why so many programs fail!!)
2. It can culturally ruin a society.
As a child, I used to frequently visit this rural pilgrimage hub in southern India that was fairly quaint and quiet. In the past few years the place has been attracting a growing stream of international visitors, many who have bought property and are settling down there. Now when I go back to visit, I'm surprised by the economy of the place...on one hand its bustling; but the heart of the place has gone out. Thanks to the expats, property values have sky-rocketed. The number of restaurants catering to western tastebuds who cannot handle the spicy local fare has grown 20-fold, and each charges an arm-and-a-leg. The same can be said of the hotels/motels in the area. Now there are herbal spas, and godknowswhatelse. No one can afford to use or buy into this ultra economy, except for the ex-pats. To some extent, the local economy has benefited materially (particularly the beggars, who have also sky rocketed in number). But the people who are suffering most are the regular Indian visitors, who have been coming for years for spiritual benefit. They can't afford most of the facilities, and the traffic and noise of this once peaceful haven are detrimental to the soul of the place.
I've heard of other shady business stuff going on there as well- farmers being bullied out of land, drugs and other things coming into a place without the capacity to fight it off. So while the short-term gain from having this community of ex-pats in the area has been somewhat positive (it helps the local economy grow), the long-term gain has been negative.
This is just one example of the dual economies or the dueling economies, as I like to call them. I've usually been privy to the negatives of it, because I've seen great irresponsibility and it irks me (which is also why I post The White Man's Guide to Development series here). People need to be more responsible when they go into another country. Still there are positives of moves like this, as Chris and Alanna both point out.
Let me also say that there's a LARGE number of expats who are good and responsible, and might even get screwed as a result of being so good. Its the group of irresponsible ones who just make things hell for everyone, and somehow they can dominate these landscapes!!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
What makes a good water technology: A summary
We've now talked about the water problem, water decontamination, and transport/storage. I can now start blogging about different water technologies i come across.
Before I start going into technologies, I just want to quickly wrap up what I think defines good water technologies. They must address one or more of the following:
1. Accessibility: The technology must help collect, store, and/or transport water between the source and the end point of use:
2. Safety/quality: It must improve the quality and safety of water, particularly for human use and/or consumption.
3. Applicability (or Appropriable): It should address specific needs of poorer communities (whatever they are) including being easy to use, actually address a water problem in the community, sturdy, address terrain conditions, etc.
4. Affordability: It should be affordable to the people you are making the technology for. If its too expensive, then find financing options to make it consumable (does not mean you have to cut quality). What's the point otherwise??
Before I start going into technologies, I just want to quickly wrap up what I think defines good water technologies. They must address one or more of the following:
1. Accessibility: The technology must help collect, store, and/or transport water between the source and the end point of use:
2. Safety/quality: It must improve the quality and safety of water, particularly for human use and/or consumption.
3. Applicability (or Appropriable): It should address specific needs of poorer communities (whatever they are) including being easy to use, actually address a water problem in the community, sturdy, address terrain conditions, etc.
4. Affordability: It should be affordable to the people you are making the technology for. If its too expensive, then find financing options to make it consumable (does not mean you have to cut quality). What's the point otherwise??
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
The White People's Guide to Field Work: #3
Continuing on with guest blogger Victoria's series...
(source: http://www.jtrue.com/cartoons)
#3 Learn the pace of time in that culture.
Quit being so up-tight. You look like a storms a brewin' and there's steam coming out of your ears! Yeah I know they said they'd show up half an hour ago, and you're still waiting. Better fix yourself a cup of tea, you might be waiting an hour more... if they decide to show. For the rapid pace modern world, we are accustomed to a very linear and almost flat concept of time. Plus, the time-is-money mantra guarantees that waiting or stalling is "wasting time" and is reason alone to be irate and angry. Many philanthropists who grew up in hard-and-fast big cities come across as too abrasive to those who have never been.
No, no, no. This is barely acceptable for rude travelers, but in any sort of business or collective collaboration, it always leads to project failure on account of human relationships getting strained. Learning the kinder and gentler pace of time that pervades in Latin America and Asia will help make you seem more approachable, more worthy of their affection, and more easier to work with. Be firm on getting things done, and be accountable to what you do, but try to adjust your inner clocks to the local lull and the different sense of time. In religious cultures such as Islam or Tibetan Buddhist, where the idea of an afterlife is crucial and death is only a transient phase for the spirit, time may even take on an eternal bent. Respect this, and earn a whole lot more goodwill from the locals.
(source: http://www.jtrue.com/cartoons)
#3 Learn the pace of time in that culture.
Quit being so up-tight. You look like a storms a brewin' and there's steam coming out of your ears! Yeah I know they said they'd show up half an hour ago, and you're still waiting. Better fix yourself a cup of tea, you might be waiting an hour more... if they decide to show. For the rapid pace modern world, we are accustomed to a very linear and almost flat concept of time. Plus, the time-is-money mantra guarantees that waiting or stalling is "wasting time" and is reason alone to be irate and angry. Many philanthropists who grew up in hard-and-fast big cities come across as too abrasive to those who have never been.
No, no, no. This is barely acceptable for rude travelers, but in any sort of business or collective collaboration, it always leads to project failure on account of human relationships getting strained. Learning the kinder and gentler pace of time that pervades in Latin America and Asia will help make you seem more approachable, more worthy of their affection, and more easier to work with. Be firm on getting things done, and be accountable to what you do, but try to adjust your inner clocks to the local lull and the different sense of time. In religious cultures such as Islam or Tibetan Buddhist, where the idea of an afterlife is crucial and death is only a transient phase for the spirit, time may even take on an eternal bent. Respect this, and earn a whole lot more goodwill from the locals.
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