The Acumen Fund is now accepting applications for Acumen Fund Global Fellows Program Class of 2013-2014!

The Acumen Fund is now accepting applications for Acumen Fund Global Fellows Program Class of 2013-2014!

The Acumen Fellowship is a one year program that immerses Fellows in world-class leadership training, field work with social enterprises on the front lines, and a community of changemakers and thought leaders.

DEADLINE: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM (Eastern Standard Time) on 16 November 2012.

For more info, go here.

Thwarting Terrorism

The Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, during the 26/11/08 attacks. photo courtesy: computerweekly.com

What is the best way to thwart terrorism?? Well, how about we start with where and how a regular person becomes a terrorist...

I was reading this article about Ajmal Kasab the 21-y/o sole surviving terrorist from the Mumbai Attacks on 26/11. He was recently arraigned in court, and strong international interest followed what he had to say. Young and alone, Kasab confessed to his deeds, but what struck me was the story that he told...

He told [the judge]... that he was broke and tired of his job working for a decorator in Jhelum, a small town in Pakistan, and making a pittance. He and a friend had hatched a plan. They would earn cash by robbing people. And to improve their banditry skills they would seek out military training from the easiest source available to a young Pakistani man: Islamic militants.

Mr. Kasab and his friend went to Rawalpindi, he said, and asked in the market where they might find mujahedeen. They were directed to the office of Lashkar-e-Taiba. Indian and American investigators say that Lashkar-e-Taiba planned the attacks in Pakistan. Although Pakistan initially denied that any of its citizens had been involved, it has now charged five men believed to be Pakistan-based Lashkar operatives with involvement. The organization’s founder, Hafez Saeed, has not been charged.

In the months before the attack, Mr. Kasab said in court, he and the other attackers were taken to a safe house in Karachi, the coastal city that is the commercial capital of Pakistan and is a world away from the Punjabi village where his family lived.

There the young men were cut off from the world. He said they and their trainers were not told where they would go next nor were they given any details about their mission, though it was clear that it would involve lethal weapons and deadly force.

“They told us we were to wait for some time,” Mr. Kasab said in court. “There was some problem.” They were warned sternly that “nobody will disobey” their orders.

In a month and a half, they were allowed out of the house only once for a training exercise when they were taught how to navigate the inflatable boats that they would use to leave Pakistani waters.[...]

In his TEDGlobal talk this morning, Prime Minister Gordon Brown (who gave a splendid talk largely on foreign policy and Third World Development) said that we needed to start being more effective than the Taliban and other terrorist organizations. The reason these terrorist organizations are SO effective is because they take poor frustrated young men and treat them like human beings. Suddenly they have food, attention, and a roof over their heads, and they have "purpose"; but this comes at a cost...they must sell their souls. The way to turn around terrorism is to more effectively get to these people before the terrorists do.

On this note, I highly recommend reading Three Cups of Tea, and watching this great documentary by Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy who did a phenomenal (and brave) job of covering the Taliban's recruiting mechanisms.

Why Missionaries are the Most Successful international development agency in the world!!

(photo source: http://www.understandingmormonism.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/mormon_missionaries.jpg)

I'm serious. I can go to any part of the world, and the best-looking hut in that area will have a missionary in it. During my work travels, I've been through numerous huts. Quite often, the people I've encountered have never seen another non-native person but for some caucasian guy with the Holy Bible (the only other thing that is equivalent is coca-cola). On one hand I get frustrated, but on the other, I'm seriously impressed. So how the heck do they do that?? And what can we learn from them??

Alanna Shaikh has done a brilliant write-up on the subject. Among her points are the following:

• Long Term Commitment: Missionaries come for the long haul. Once they come, they often stay for a long period of time creating trust and a relationship.

• Community Investment: They invest time in the community learning their customs and language. Further, they make the effort of living like them, generally eating what they eat and drinking what they drink. Again, the community honors the commitment and trusts them. Further, this level of investment guarantees that they understand the community well. Essentially they customize their initiatives to work with the psychology of the community.

• Focus and Consistency: Missionaries are darned focused on their target. Until the day they die, they keep a consistent message of converting everyone to their religious beliefs. Regardless of whether you believe in this or not, you've got to respect the level of focus and consistency that they bring to the table. There are never mixed messages. If you keep drilling the same thing over and over again, at some point, people will listen.

• Hard Work and Persistence: Missionaries are hardworking. You'll often find them on their hands and knees cleaning up with the rest of the locals. They don't act that much more different than the people they are working with.

• Good Role Models: They are good role models. Always clean, well-dressed, and polite, the missionaries present good model citizens. Its easy to want to follow them.

Essentially, if you've been with an International Development project in the developing world that isn't working, look at their leadership and compare them to the missionaries as stated above. You'll see quickly why they are failing.

Emigration to Save a Life or a Country??

Illegal migrants are caught fleeing Pakistan (photo source: Islamization)

Sunday's Times paper also had a great article about how young Afghanis are leaving their country in droves, seeking asylum wherever they can.

I have actually found that emigration, particularly brain-drain, is the single biggest way of doing international development. India, China, and Vietnam's current growth, I believe, is a result of the massive emigration and brain-drain that both those countries experienced in the 60's and 70's. Frustrated by the lack of opportunities, the best and the brightest bailed in hordes, moving to the West and bringing with them their hopes and dreams.

In those days, the countries cursed their fleeing citizens. It left their economies debilitated.  But interestingly, it was the single best thing that could have happened for their long term growth.

These same generations are now older and retiring, and long for the idea of the homes they knew as children. Having fulfilled their dreams materially, many of my parents' generation are moving back home, taking their savings, their new values and their new ways of living back with them to invest in their own countries. They've known a better way of living, of thinking, of behaving, of dignity and treating people with decency and human rights. And slowly the situation is changing. 

Even years before as young men and women, many of these same people had pushed for open markets. And once this happened, many of my parents' generation rushed to take advantage of the cheap labor and the familiarity of the land and culture. They invested in businesses and had a large part to play in the export boom that has since revitalized many of these once dormant economies.

So, can this mass migration of Afghanis be the single best thing that we can do to help their countries grow in the long term?? I think so. Take the best, train them and then let them go back voluntarily. Just as this man has done...

The inefficiencies of aid: Donor Denial and lack of educated input

A constant question I'm asked is why international aid is SO inefficient. There are many answers to this question. Here's one reason...donors, who generally live very different lives from the poor, don't seem to know the difference between people who know what they are doing and those who don't.

I was reminded about this again just recently, when a good friend of mine (let's call her "Anita") got fired recently. Yes, everyone's getting laid off these days, but this was sad. Anita was the perfect person for the job she was working on. While no one can still point a finger at her work quality (against all odds, she put together a stellar work product), Anita fought hard to improve the system and then got fired.

I had met Anita on a field job in India. She immediately struck me because she was strong, fearless, smart as hell, and had a mind of her own. Growing up in a village in India, it was big dreams, hard work and determination that brought her to where she is now---well-educated, traveling the world, helping poor communities everywhere. She hasn't stopped dreaming; and I hope she will never stop.

Anita's story is almost typical of other people I know who are struggling to honestly and honorably correct flawed systems. In her latest job, she was working for a group of Americans who were trying to expand their work into India. Working out of a NY office, the team scarcely knew what they were doing (this is a common theme among donors btw!! They assume that their way is the way of the world!). Considering the short time-frame, Anita, the lone Indian in the group, desperately called attention to the coming pitfalls and warned the team against their delinquent behavior. I remember her working long hours everyday for several months trying to lay the foundation because there were just TOO many mistakes. One day after months of frustration, she threatened to step down if they didn't change their behavior. Instead of acknowledging her work and her guts, she was promptly sacked and replaced by a 23 y/o American who blindly did what she was told. Anita's boss is a powerful and well-connected man within the donor community. And he has proven to be vicious in terms of wielding his power to sideline her.

The project is still going to be a success, because Anita laid such a great foundation and the organization already has a great reputation. But its ridiculous to me that a team of 5 Americans are trying to run an Indian project while based in the US; each of who has visited India once in their lives to see the Taj Mahal. The locals they have working with them say nothing because they are getting paid in dollars, and they are just happy to have jobs. So there you have it...inefficiency perpetuating itself over and over again.

TED in 40 languages

Got this in my mailbox this morning from Chris Anderson, the Curator of TED:

Dear Global TED Community,

Our mission is "ideas worth spreading". But 4.5 billion people don't speak English very well. That's why we consider today's announcement the biggest event at TED since we started putting our talks online.

The TED Open Translation Project will enable thousands of volunteer translators to use subtitles to make TED available to their own communities. To do this the right way has taken a year of preparation. But now we're ready, and I couldn't be prouder of what our amazing web team has delivered here.

The announcement just went up. Or explore for yourself here.

Soon anyone anywhere will be able to understand talks in their own language from the world's wisest teachers. We hope you love this as much as we do.

Thank you for being part of TED.

Chris Anderson

TED Curator

P.S. Even if you don't speak another language, try clicking "interactive transcript" on any talk page (red link top-right). Click on a word. And watch what happens...

I just realized how poor my Italian was when I watched Richard St John's TEDtalk with the English muted and Italian subtitles. I think its a great way to learn languages! :-)

Emergency Sex and other Desperate Measures

Don't worry...its not what I've been through, but that's the name of the book I'm reading at the moment. Its a bit of international development sensationalism, as you can guess from the title. Three idealistic western do-gooders who want to "save the world" chronicle their tales of professional and personal trials while serving in some of the most dangerous places on earth as UN staff.

I think the book goes a little overboard with its sensationalism; still it does a very good job of showcasing what working with the UN (or other international development agencies) is like, what the lives of the staff and peacekeepers really is like, and puts to rest any romantic notions people may have about war, the UN, or outstanding US foreign policy.

The character I liked the most is Dr Andrew Thomson, a physician from New Zealand, who seems to get more into the cultural landscape than the other two characters. Here's a snippet of his thoughts as he is forced to exit Haiti after a poorly orchestrated "savior" operation by the US:

Over and over I replay in my head the implications of what we've just done. We told the Haitians that we couldn't physically stop their government from torturing and killing, but that if they told us in detail who was doing it and how, we'd bear witness and seek justice. Eventually the world would eb outraged enough to send soldiers and reinstall democracy...

They believed us, risked their lives to turn up at our offices all over the country, in full view of their attackers, to tell their stories. They exposed tehmselves, crawled in and spilled their guts, sometimes literally. They trusted me... Now that they are atheir most vulnerable, we're abandoning them, frozen in teh ehadlights, roadkill for the macoutes' machine. And we're flying out, clutching our precious blue UN passports and bags full of Haitian art.

We just showed Haitians that our lives are more valuable than theirs...

The most basic primciple they teach you at medical school, years before you even get to touch your first patient, is "First, do no harm." But harm is exactly what we've done, identifying the next victims for the asassins running Haiti..."

Definitely worth a read. If not anything else, you'll learn a lot!

Links I liked

1. An amazingly nimble 83 y/o grandma. Prepare to be awed. :-)

2. via Owen Abroad, TheBraveNewTraveller outlines six people you will meet at an expat bar. I usually avoid expat bars. My point of going into the field is to listen to and hang out with the locals, and the people outlined here are exactly why I avoid expat bars.

3. Chris Blattman and Alanna Shaikh's combined "How to get a job in international development." I would add one more...just show up. I've done that before; they were surprised, but willing and I started a(n unpaid) job...that has ultimately led to me writing to you here! :-)

4. I've been wondering for sometime why even in wealthier parts of the developing world, the sewage treatment is beyond bad. This article will explain why!! On one hand, it could lead to more innovation; on the other, with no enforcement, its leading to mega mega problems.
Governance at its worst.

5. Finally someone is saying it...MBA = Most Bloody Awful. I am SO happy that someone is finally calling it what it really is, a degree for some of the most overrated people in the world.

6. 500 Million Indians are flipping each other off, in what will easily be the world's largest election. Why?? You'll laugh....

7. Via Boing Boing, http://doihavepigflu.com/

Getting Kids Involved in the Poverty Dialogue

Get kids involved in the dialogue early! (photo courtesy: Josh Hough)

BOPreneur blogger, Paul Hudnut has written an excellent blog entry about getting kids engaged in the poverty dialogue. He provides 6 ideas for moving forward:

It is that time of year... students are coming back on campus, faculty are scrambling to finalize syllabi. Sustainable design, social entrepreneurship, and and international development are hot topics on campus. If you are a teacher planning coursework in these areas (or at their "intersection"), or if you are a student that wants to do a project in one of your classes, check out these resources [...]

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!!