It’s been 9 months. And they always say that it is good to take time to reflect, so I thought it’d be interesting to try to think about some of the lessons I have learned being in Ghana.
Being called “white man” isn’t so bad – I have to admit that it was pretty frustrating at the beginning with the shouts, following and staring (sometimes mouths open) but it kind of grows on you. And the best thing about being a “white man” is that it is SO easy to make people smile that even I can make it happen - you just have to look at them for more than 2 seconds or flash them a wave and you will get the greatest smile or laugh in return. Plus, I realized being here you can get into habits. Whenever a foreigner comes to town now, I find myself staring or trying to find out all about them!
Moms are right - green stuff is damn good for you – I know this is not a great lesson, especially because moms are usually never wrong. But I never thought I’d miss the sight of lettuce, cucumbers (that one is for you Moe), spinach, peppers so much. On a more serious note, the lack of vegetables and fruits (and thus vitamins and minerals) is a big problem. It causes prevalent malnourishment and weakening of the immune system.
Everybody needs to wear name-tags in Canada – OK, maybe not that extreme (I kind of wanted to relive that Seinfeld episode). But one of the most noticeable differences between here and the Western world is the greetings. Everybody greets everybody. It doesn’t matter where you are from, where you are going, or who you are. And let me tell you, most of the time, beautiful thing. A simple greeting can lift you when you are down, make you feel part of something when you feel alone, and often lead you into awesome stories or exchanges that you would have never expected. That is definitely one thing I am taking home with me and I think we have to start a revolution where GO-Trains, subways, elevators and any other public places are no longer no-talk places.
Development is damn tough but there’s hope – this is probably the most depressing and most inspirational lesson at the same time. Before I came here, I thought it was all about the increase in the number of schools which were built, or the decrease in the number of malaria deaths. Yes, those are all important statistics but it is not as simple as that. There are so many who have gone to school and are not suffering from malaria, who are still living day-to-day because of lack of opportunities.
And how do you create opportunities? In places which have become rifled with politics and corruption? Places which are subject to constant threats of disease? Places which are near cut-off from markets for almost half of the year? Places which lose all their talent to big cities and big salaries?
There’s no silver bullet for sure. But I believe that there is a secret weapon and this is the people. The kids, with no parents, role models (and often no teachers), who are reading all the time to try to become a doctor because there are none in their communities. The young man, who graduated from university and had job offers from the south, but decided to come back and teach kids in his hometown with no pay now for one year going on. The single mother, who toils all day in petty jobs, to support her kids going to school and occasionally buy them new shoes to spoil them a bit. Or the civil servant, honest to a fault, and who works so hard in an environment filled with those who take all the resources and credit. These amazing men, women and children are the hope.
For all the hard challenges in development, there are many amazing people that are so worth fighting for.
We can never stop following our heart – There are so many people in this world who are forced to do things that they don’t want to do just to get by another day. They don’t have any chances to follow their dreams. It’s definitely not easy back in Canada and Amercia, especially right now, but we can always keep trying to do what we really want in our lives.
Some honorable mentions for lessons learnt: Toilets are the greatest invention in the world; the African music and movie industry are a completely untapped resource (e.g – Backstreet Boys, Celine Dion and Jacky Chan are absolutely idolized here), and ice cream and water packaged in plastic has got to come over to the Western side
PS – one last one - Everything you do, no matter how small, can make a difference – I had to include this because I think it is a huge misconception. And its one of the things I realized through my own failures. When I first came here, I had the huge plans of projects and ideas that would “change the world”, work that would eliminate poverty……..but I realized first off, that is not going to happen and secondly, it’s the little things that we all can do that really change the world. Every moment is a chance to something good and even though it is not grand, it is making the world a better place.
Thank you all so much. I’ll save the biggest take-away for last - that I would not be here without incredible family and friends. Your amazingness reminds me of that everyday. All the best.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The Bad Side of Development
I have often talked about the best of people. The people who keep you waking up in the morning to want to go support. The people you are often in absolute amazement of – how can they be so strong? How can they think of others at a time like this? How can they not ever complain? Well, there are those people and those people are incredible. There is the odd time however you are faced with the other side.
I should not have tried to go back home to Saboba from Tamale. But alas, what this Ghana trip has not taught me yet is wisdom. I wanted to go back home despite knowing that buses were hard to come by. The rains had been coming hard and the roads had been often flooded. As a result, many buses did not want to travel back to Saboba (the town I live) past 2 PM. When I reached the bus station, it was about 1:00 PM. Luckily, there were others like me trying to make it back. We sat around for a couple of hours without any luck. No one wanted to go. Finally, we were able to convince one small motorcade, probably a capacity of 6-8, to take us. There were 15 of us but he was happy to get the extra fare. So off we went.
5 minutes into the journey we realized this motorcade’s top speed was 20 km/h and with the extra bunch of us, it was 15 km/h. Our journey would take us late into the night which did not bode well for the river crossing. We went on. Every 30 minutes our so we would jump out of the motorcade to push it up a hill. Still we went on. And then the inevitable happened. The motorcade broke down. We were in the middle of nowhere, almost hitting darkness, and we had nowhere to go. We were about 10 now. Around 5 had seen other motorbikes heading to Saboba and joined them knowing it was a better chance that they would make it.
After hiking 15 minutes up the road, a tractor rolled by with a bunch of people. They had obviously been coming from the farm and were heading home to Saboba. We stopped them and told them our desparate situation. We pleaded for them to give us a ride. The driver conceded and told us he was going to Saboba but wanted us each to give him 2 dollars to ride in the back cart. The ride from the beginning designation 50 km back was 1.50. The difference does not seem much to you and me but for many in Saboba, it is equivalent to a hard day’s work. Knowing we had no other option and seeing that we were in almost complete darkness in the middle of nowhere, we agreed with the driver.
Now, you know those stories or movies where riding in a tractor looks like fun. Yeah, they are not as good as they look haha. At least this one wasn’t. We sat in the back of the tractor, sitting on bags of fertilizer. The tractor ran through the road bumps with little haste and it was basically like that game where you press the bottom and the stuff in the box goes flying around. We were the stuff and it was not such a fun game. Add to it that water was flying everywhere (while running through the potholes of water) and it was a journey that we wanted to end quickly. Soon, one of the members of our crew, a visitor to Saboba, started to get quite sick from the shaking. We pleaded with the driver and his colleagues to take caution while driving. No response, just laughs. We went on trying to comfort the member of our group. About ½ hour in the journey, the driver stops and demands that we pay the money + another 0.50. At this point, it is complete darkness and we are still far from our destination. He threatens that we either pay or he drops us here. After pleading and pleading to no avail, we are forced to pay the fare plus the extra charge. He asks that we take out our bags so he can go empty his fertilizer first. So here we are, waiting in the darkness for him to finish his work before we head home to Saboba. After 20 minutes, we are back on course. The road gets rougher and our friend begins to get really sick. We ask for him to slow down especially on the bumps but again only laughter. It is as if he sped up. Just as we saw the light at the end of the tunnel and we approached the main road to Saboba, he inexplicably branches off to another road. We ask why but no answer. After 20 minutes of the detour, he stops and asks for a man from the farm. They begin speaking and from what we can piece together, he is doing business for his farming products. We were furious. Our colleague was getting more sick as time went, the journey in the tractor had taken 2 more hours then it should have, it was 11:30 and this man had stopped to do business. After doing his business, we got back to the main road to Saboba. We asked the driver to stop at a guest house a bit outside of town so we could drop the visitor. He said he would let off the other members in town and then we would go to the guest house. When getting to town, not surprisingly, he demanded that we all get off there. I could not look at him.
The sick visitor had no place to go and the town was almost empty (it was past midnight). We had to call up a kind friend to take the visitor on a motorbike down to the guest house. After dropping my bags off, I went to the night spot to get a bite to eat and there I see the tractor driver munching down on food.
Now, I know it could have been a lot lot worse. And things like that could have definitely happened back home in Canada. But here, the difference is that it happens more regularly. The corrupt people are able to do things like that and often take advantage of people who have no other options. And there is little accountability or consequences for anything. This was a small thing but it becomes a lot more significant when it deals with people’s jobs, money or freedom. The poor become poorer and the rich become richer at an even faster pace. Young people need to be able to look around and have the hope that if they are honest and work hard, that their dreams can come true.
Lately, I have been struggling with the fact that I can’t put myself in people’s shoes and I can’t judge. That it is tough to say how people would act if they are desperate and in real need of money. Maybe they are good people but poverty is just too much. How would I act? I don’t know.
I know this however, that integrity in tough circumstances is an incredible thing and is one of the main things that is needed to lead Africa out of poverty. It needs to be good people willing to sacrifice even though they are poor. And I personally know people here who could take money wrongly and live their life with no qualms and nobody saying anything, but choose to do the right thing even though it is much harder for them because they believe in it. It is their amazing courage that is making the small steps to development and whose spirit we pray spreads throughout.
“Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you’re saying” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
I should not have tried to go back home to Saboba from Tamale. But alas, what this Ghana trip has not taught me yet is wisdom. I wanted to go back home despite knowing that buses were hard to come by. The rains had been coming hard and the roads had been often flooded. As a result, many buses did not want to travel back to Saboba (the town I live) past 2 PM. When I reached the bus station, it was about 1:00 PM. Luckily, there were others like me trying to make it back. We sat around for a couple of hours without any luck. No one wanted to go. Finally, we were able to convince one small motorcade, probably a capacity of 6-8, to take us. There were 15 of us but he was happy to get the extra fare. So off we went.
5 minutes into the journey we realized this motorcade’s top speed was 20 km/h and with the extra bunch of us, it was 15 km/h. Our journey would take us late into the night which did not bode well for the river crossing. We went on. Every 30 minutes our so we would jump out of the motorcade to push it up a hill. Still we went on. And then the inevitable happened. The motorcade broke down. We were in the middle of nowhere, almost hitting darkness, and we had nowhere to go. We were about 10 now. Around 5 had seen other motorbikes heading to Saboba and joined them knowing it was a better chance that they would make it.
After hiking 15 minutes up the road, a tractor rolled by with a bunch of people. They had obviously been coming from the farm and were heading home to Saboba. We stopped them and told them our desparate situation. We pleaded for them to give us a ride. The driver conceded and told us he was going to Saboba but wanted us each to give him 2 dollars to ride in the back cart. The ride from the beginning designation 50 km back was 1.50. The difference does not seem much to you and me but for many in Saboba, it is equivalent to a hard day’s work. Knowing we had no other option and seeing that we were in almost complete darkness in the middle of nowhere, we agreed with the driver.
Now, you know those stories or movies where riding in a tractor looks like fun. Yeah, they are not as good as they look haha. At least this one wasn’t. We sat in the back of the tractor, sitting on bags of fertilizer. The tractor ran through the road bumps with little haste and it was basically like that game where you press the bottom and the stuff in the box goes flying around. We were the stuff and it was not such a fun game. Add to it that water was flying everywhere (while running through the potholes of water) and it was a journey that we wanted to end quickly. Soon, one of the members of our crew, a visitor to Saboba, started to get quite sick from the shaking. We pleaded with the driver and his colleagues to take caution while driving. No response, just laughs. We went on trying to comfort the member of our group. About ½ hour in the journey, the driver stops and demands that we pay the money + another 0.50. At this point, it is complete darkness and we are still far from our destination. He threatens that we either pay or he drops us here. After pleading and pleading to no avail, we are forced to pay the fare plus the extra charge. He asks that we take out our bags so he can go empty his fertilizer first. So here we are, waiting in the darkness for him to finish his work before we head home to Saboba. After 20 minutes, we are back on course. The road gets rougher and our friend begins to get really sick. We ask for him to slow down especially on the bumps but again only laughter. It is as if he sped up. Just as we saw the light at the end of the tunnel and we approached the main road to Saboba, he inexplicably branches off to another road. We ask why but no answer. After 20 minutes of the detour, he stops and asks for a man from the farm. They begin speaking and from what we can piece together, he is doing business for his farming products. We were furious. Our colleague was getting more sick as time went, the journey in the tractor had taken 2 more hours then it should have, it was 11:30 and this man had stopped to do business. After doing his business, we got back to the main road to Saboba. We asked the driver to stop at a guest house a bit outside of town so we could drop the visitor. He said he would let off the other members in town and then we would go to the guest house. When getting to town, not surprisingly, he demanded that we all get off there. I could not look at him.
The sick visitor had no place to go and the town was almost empty (it was past midnight). We had to call up a kind friend to take the visitor on a motorbike down to the guest house. After dropping my bags off, I went to the night spot to get a bite to eat and there I see the tractor driver munching down on food.
Now, I know it could have been a lot lot worse. And things like that could have definitely happened back home in Canada. But here, the difference is that it happens more regularly. The corrupt people are able to do things like that and often take advantage of people who have no other options. And there is little accountability or consequences for anything. This was a small thing but it becomes a lot more significant when it deals with people’s jobs, money or freedom. The poor become poorer and the rich become richer at an even faster pace. Young people need to be able to look around and have the hope that if they are honest and work hard, that their dreams can come true.
Lately, I have been struggling with the fact that I can’t put myself in people’s shoes and I can’t judge. That it is tough to say how people would act if they are desperate and in real need of money. Maybe they are good people but poverty is just too much. How would I act? I don’t know.
I know this however, that integrity in tough circumstances is an incredible thing and is one of the main things that is needed to lead Africa out of poverty. It needs to be good people willing to sacrifice even though they are poor. And I personally know people here who could take money wrongly and live their life with no qualms and nobody saying anything, but choose to do the right thing even though it is much harder for them because they believe in it. It is their amazing courage that is making the small steps to development and whose spirit we pray spreads throughout.
“Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you’re saying” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Friday, September 11, 2009
The Road gone Wild
Development - we usually think schools, hospitals, microcredit, agriculture, etc. Here is one that often slips the mind and one I did not think of before coming to Ghana – roads. In the Western world, we see problems with roads as potholes, lack of guard-rails, or those yellow painted lines. In the developing world, problems include huge, impassable gaps; rivers overflowing and washing out bridges, and vehicles getting stuck for days.
So currently, it is rainy season in Northern Ghana. There are daily downpours of rain and floods are very common. The two roads connecting our town to the main city has become cut-off except for the truly adventurous types. Road A is completely washed out by water and a vehicle cannot pass through it. The only opportunity there is to take a motorcycle on a pretty dangerous canoe. Once you cross the river and empty all the water in the canoe, you take the motorcycle and continue. In fact, the man who built the rickety canoe has made a pretty good business out of it, now charging customers. Road B has the river running over the road but it can be crossed by lorries (oversized vans fitting over 20 people). The process is the lorry is emptied, the people roll up their pants, take off their shoes and wade across the river. Then they watch and hope that the lorry does not get stuck! One morning our lorry got stuck so there we were pushing from every direction for a couple of hours trying to get it unstuck. Now I have to admit, I was pretty useless in the whole operation. I was trying to push but mostly I was just not get washed away by the river. And in those moments, the most difficult ones, I again was able to see the best of human beings. Women with babies at their back pushing with no complaints. Men going under water and trying to lift the tires with serious risk of getting crushed or toppled. Children carry others’ luggage probably weighing more than themselves on their head to ensure that it does not get wet. After an hour, and tons of attempts, the car was able to get unstuck and moved.
Since then, a truck was stuck for over 4 days making it completely impassable for anybody. It again took a communal effort, but this time by hundreds from the town to remove it (pictures are attached). The impact of the roads problem cannot be understated. A journey to the city which usually takes 2-3 hours now, if possible, takes 6-7 hours. Few drivers even agree to take the risk of going to and the town with their car and many are often left stranded in the city, wanting to come back but with no means. An incredible amount of business is lost; as one prominent member of the community put it – “all economic activity comes to a standstill”. People who depend on selling or obtaining products from the city (and that is big majority) are helpless. There are no financial service institutions in our town so many are forced into a habit of saving the little they have until they are able a trip to the city. Good health services are all in the city so who knows the impact on actual well-being of people. And here is the most amazing part of the whole story – this has been a problem for numerous years now. Every year, there is a promise by the government to fix the road and there is no action until it is too late. No accountability and no action.
This is a problem that cities, towns and countries face all over the world but it just feels more magnified here. Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton talked about it a lot in their recent trips to Africa – good governance. But I think we often hear good governance and hear only lack of leadership. Good governance everywhere, I believe, is as much a responsibility of the communities as it is of the government. There needs to be more community organization, grass-roots movements, and interactions with the government. It is going to be hard and take sacrifice. It may take people becoming unpopular, going against the norm, maybe even risking their lives. But alas, if we want to achieve something worthwhile in this lifetime, there is always going to be a risk and sacrifice.
So currently, it is rainy season in Northern Ghana. There are daily downpours of rain and floods are very common. The two roads connecting our town to the main city has become cut-off except for the truly adventurous types. Road A is completely washed out by water and a vehicle cannot pass through it. The only opportunity there is to take a motorcycle on a pretty dangerous canoe. Once you cross the river and empty all the water in the canoe, you take the motorcycle and continue. In fact, the man who built the rickety canoe has made a pretty good business out of it, now charging customers. Road B has the river running over the road but it can be crossed by lorries (oversized vans fitting over 20 people). The process is the lorry is emptied, the people roll up their pants, take off their shoes and wade across the river. Then they watch and hope that the lorry does not get stuck! One morning our lorry got stuck so there we were pushing from every direction for a couple of hours trying to get it unstuck. Now I have to admit, I was pretty useless in the whole operation. I was trying to push but mostly I was just not get washed away by the river. And in those moments, the most difficult ones, I again was able to see the best of human beings. Women with babies at their back pushing with no complaints. Men going under water and trying to lift the tires with serious risk of getting crushed or toppled. Children carry others’ luggage probably weighing more than themselves on their head to ensure that it does not get wet. After an hour, and tons of attempts, the car was able to get unstuck and moved.
Since then, a truck was stuck for over 4 days making it completely impassable for anybody. It again took a communal effort, but this time by hundreds from the town to remove it (pictures are attached). The impact of the roads problem cannot be understated. A journey to the city which usually takes 2-3 hours now, if possible, takes 6-7 hours. Few drivers even agree to take the risk of going to and the town with their car and many are often left stranded in the city, wanting to come back but with no means. An incredible amount of business is lost; as one prominent member of the community put it – “all economic activity comes to a standstill”. People who depend on selling or obtaining products from the city (and that is big majority) are helpless. There are no financial service institutions in our town so many are forced into a habit of saving the little they have until they are able a trip to the city. Good health services are all in the city so who knows the impact on actual well-being of people. And here is the most amazing part of the whole story – this has been a problem for numerous years now. Every year, there is a promise by the government to fix the road and there is no action until it is too late. No accountability and no action.
This is a problem that cities, towns and countries face all over the world but it just feels more magnified here. Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton talked about it a lot in their recent trips to Africa – good governance. But I think we often hear good governance and hear only lack of leadership. Good governance everywhere, I believe, is as much a responsibility of the communities as it is of the government. There needs to be more community organization, grass-roots movements, and interactions with the government. It is going to be hard and take sacrifice. It may take people becoming unpopular, going against the norm, maybe even risking their lives. But alas, if we want to achieve something worthwhile in this lifetime, there is always going to be a risk and sacrifice.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Blog 4
Imagine this situation: You are working for the government of an area in extreme need of services and infrastructure like schools, clean water, health care staff, etc. You have all of these separate donors who want to give you money and implement projects they think will help the people of your area. Some of these donors have never been to your area. Some of the donors are doing projects that overlap. You can’t say no to these donors because you don’t want to lose their support and money - it is often their money which is keeping your District above float. So you go along with all of their projects and do the best you can and although some problems are solved, often the real causes of problems are left lingering.
Unfortunately, this is a situation too often faced in developing countries. I am not saying that donors (including world governments) are causing serious problems and should be blamed. There are those people who believe this but I am not one of them. I believe many donors like World Vision and UNICEF are working hard, and doing work that saves lives and makes a difference for so many. But I believe that things could still be done more efficiently, and if sustainable development and progress is to be made in developing countries, changes need to be made by all of us. Currently, it often seems that we all are placing band-aid over band-aid instead of working on the deeper issues. And let’s be honest, looking deeper is going to be harder – it’s going to require us all to work harder, collaborate and it may not produce the immediate results we all want to hear.
Here are a few observations:
1) There needs to be more coordination among donors
Many donors have a great deal of resources, but no one donor can solve all problems. All donors could work more as a team contributing and collaborating their resources, expertise and experience to the issues that face them all. Furthermore, from a beneficiary’s (like a District government) perspective, you are now accountable to far less people and can spend more time focusing on what actually needs to be done for the District. You can work together with the donor team to plan, achieve and improve; instead of just trying to complete numerous projects with so many donors.
2) There needs to be a change on how donors, and the public see development
Currently, we the general public, often look at development as generalized results like schools or hospitals built. Less focus is put on actual long-lasting impacts because these impacts are not as attractive and take more resources. Many times, a severe donor dependency from developing areas is also created as a result.
I was told a story by a colleague here that once he was involved in building a beautiful school. It was state-of-the-art for that area and was fully furnished. Unfortunately, there were no teachers and even though they were able to get an initial group of teachers; they were not as qualified as they should be and learning was affected. Furthermore, little money was set for ongoing maintenance of the school. As a result, the school soon became non-functioning. This is one example and aspect; more effort also needs to be centered on training (e.g – vocational), facilitating, supporting people in developing countries so they can take their countries to the next step and sustain it. Citizens of developing countries have the best knowledge of their country and what needs to be done. Many times, they just need support to make it happen. Unfortunately, these types of results are often unquantifiable. I am very guilty of it and often find myself trying to stop trying to make things happen and create results, and instead support others in their pursuits.
3) There needs to be more information and follow-up from the donors
Donors often, (sometimes through no fault of their own) send sporadic amounts of money or spring workshops on beneficiaries. As a result, beneficiaries like local governments here are taken away from their own work or plans and thrown into something completely different. Often, they can’t say no because they do not want to lose vital support. Developmental planning becomes ineffective because schedules from any donor are unpredictable.
Furthermore, when donors do these workshops or projects, very little is spent on follow-up after. And as a result, local governments and communities often go idle and are not held accountable for what happens afterwards (which is often the most important time). I have seen where even a little follow-up from donors afterwards has spurred continuous positive action from the local government.
I have talked a lot about deficiencies from donors. And I will emphasize that this is not the complete picture and also that I believe donors are creating some positive results. The above are observations of ideas on how we can do better.
I also want to state I believe beneficiaries and developing countries are ultimately responsible for successful development (that is a huge discussion in itself). For some context, Barack Obama made an amazing speech Saturday to the Ghana House of Parliament with many points on that subject.
I definitely admit that I don’t have the answer. And I am probably not even close to having it. But I know one thing now for sure, it is not as simple as more aid and more money.
I would love to hear any of your thoughts or ideas on this topic or anything! Thank you so much.
All the best and keep giving em your all!!
Love and best wishes,
Shamir
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” – Helen Keller
Unfortunately, this is a situation too often faced in developing countries. I am not saying that donors (including world governments) are causing serious problems and should be blamed. There are those people who believe this but I am not one of them. I believe many donors like World Vision and UNICEF are working hard, and doing work that saves lives and makes a difference for so many. But I believe that things could still be done more efficiently, and if sustainable development and progress is to be made in developing countries, changes need to be made by all of us. Currently, it often seems that we all are placing band-aid over band-aid instead of working on the deeper issues. And let’s be honest, looking deeper is going to be harder – it’s going to require us all to work harder, collaborate and it may not produce the immediate results we all want to hear.
Here are a few observations:
1) There needs to be more coordination among donors
Many donors have a great deal of resources, but no one donor can solve all problems. All donors could work more as a team contributing and collaborating their resources, expertise and experience to the issues that face them all. Furthermore, from a beneficiary’s (like a District government) perspective, you are now accountable to far less people and can spend more time focusing on what actually needs to be done for the District. You can work together with the donor team to plan, achieve and improve; instead of just trying to complete numerous projects with so many donors.
2) There needs to be a change on how donors, and the public see development
Currently, we the general public, often look at development as generalized results like schools or hospitals built. Less focus is put on actual long-lasting impacts because these impacts are not as attractive and take more resources. Many times, a severe donor dependency from developing areas is also created as a result.
I was told a story by a colleague here that once he was involved in building a beautiful school. It was state-of-the-art for that area and was fully furnished. Unfortunately, there were no teachers and even though they were able to get an initial group of teachers; they were not as qualified as they should be and learning was affected. Furthermore, little money was set for ongoing maintenance of the school. As a result, the school soon became non-functioning. This is one example and aspect; more effort also needs to be centered on training (e.g – vocational), facilitating, supporting people in developing countries so they can take their countries to the next step and sustain it. Citizens of developing countries have the best knowledge of their country and what needs to be done. Many times, they just need support to make it happen. Unfortunately, these types of results are often unquantifiable. I am very guilty of it and often find myself trying to stop trying to make things happen and create results, and instead support others in their pursuits.
3) There needs to be more information and follow-up from the donors
Donors often, (sometimes through no fault of their own) send sporadic amounts of money or spring workshops on beneficiaries. As a result, beneficiaries like local governments here are taken away from their own work or plans and thrown into something completely different. Often, they can’t say no because they do not want to lose vital support. Developmental planning becomes ineffective because schedules from any donor are unpredictable.
Furthermore, when donors do these workshops or projects, very little is spent on follow-up after. And as a result, local governments and communities often go idle and are not held accountable for what happens afterwards (which is often the most important time). I have seen where even a little follow-up from donors afterwards has spurred continuous positive action from the local government.
I have talked a lot about deficiencies from donors. And I will emphasize that this is not the complete picture and also that I believe donors are creating some positive results. The above are observations of ideas on how we can do better.
I also want to state I believe beneficiaries and developing countries are ultimately responsible for successful development (that is a huge discussion in itself). For some context, Barack Obama made an amazing speech Saturday to the Ghana House of Parliament with many points on that subject.
I definitely admit that I don’t have the answer. And I am probably not even close to having it. But I know one thing now for sure, it is not as simple as more aid and more money.
I would love to hear any of your thoughts or ideas on this topic or anything! Thank you so much.
All the best and keep giving em your all!!
Love and best wishes,
Shamir
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” – Helen Keller
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Follow-Up to Mission Obama
Thank you so much everyone for your feedback. Its keeping us going!! Here is a follow-up:
We are hoping to collect over 1000 letters here in Ghana and hopefully get a few hundred letters to the White House. We will be hosting a march in Tamale (main city in the North) on July 1st. We have teamed up with the Sister City of Tamale, Louisville Kentucky, to see how they can support the campaign. In the coming week we will reach out to the New York Times and the local media to see if they can pick up the story.
So what can you do:
-watch our video on youtube and send the link to friends and family http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r72tsUC9_zQ (you could also view as many times as possible a day! we trying to get it high on the view list! lol)
- urge any American friends or even Canadians to get in touch with the White House
White House - http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/
List of Representatives and Contact Info - https://writerep.house.gov/htbin/wrep_findreptative
List of Senators and Contact Info - http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
-Advertise for the campaign / video via your Facebook or Twitter account until July 1st
If you have any ideas on how we can get our message heard by the White House please let us know!
Thank you all SO MUCH and lots of love from Ghana!
We are hoping to collect over 1000 letters here in Ghana and hopefully get a few hundred letters to the White House. We will be hosting a march in Tamale (main city in the North) on July 1st. We have teamed up with the Sister City of Tamale, Louisville Kentucky, to see how they can support the campaign. In the coming week we will reach out to the New York Times and the local media to see if they can pick up the story.
So what can you do:
-watch our video on youtube and send the link to friends and family http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r72tsUC9_zQ (you could also view as many times as possible a day! we trying to get it high on the view list! lol)
- urge any American friends or even Canadians to get in touch with the White House
White House - http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/
List of Representatives and Contact Info - https://writerep.house.gov/htbin/wrep_findreptative
List of Senators and Contact Info - http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
-Advertise for the campaign / video via your Facebook or Twitter account until July 1st
If you have any ideas on how we can get our message heard by the White House please let us know!
Thank you all SO MUCH and lots of love from Ghana!
Monday, June 15, 2009
The Need for Inspiration to Combat Poverty
Hey everyone!! How you all doing? Hope life is treating you well, and as usual, im thinking about you all and missing you a lot........
so one HUGE thing that is happening in Ghana, is that Barack Obama is visiting on July 10th and 11th. But unfortunately he is not coming to the Northern Region and is only scheduled to stay in Accra and Cape Coast (the south). So we have made it our mission (we are calling it "Mission Obama") to get him coming to the North. This involves creating a Barack Obama Day in some communities, trying to hold a march in the city, doing huge letter writing campaigns in schools, and contacting the White House and State Department or whoever else to invite them to come!
Yeah our dream would for him to speak in the Northern Region (the reasoning is below).....but more importantly, our goal is that this mission helps inspire people to keep taking initiative and strive for goals and dreams. To know that we can come together to share knowledge, ideas, and support for one another to go for something that some may say is impossible. To reflect on what it means to be a leader and who are some of those people we admire and why.
Hopefully, this goal will be accomplished because we could never have enough of that attitude anywhere in the world!
Here's a letter/article talking a little bit about our reasoning for having Obama come to the North.
P.S - for some bros out there who remember the times during the election (one person in particular lol)....i tried spreading the idea of getting Hilary Clinton up here as well.....but nobody knows her :P
Thank you all so much for reading and all the best.
Love from Ghana
Another amazing quote from an amazing friend.....
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. -- Gandhi
ARTICLE:
This piece has been written hopefully as justification, reason and encouragement for President Barack Obama to visit the Northern Region of Ghana. His trip to Ghana is currently scheduled for the south, namely in the capital of Accra.
We are volunteers who work with local governments (District Assemblies) in the Northern Region. Firstly, to ensure that all biases are out in the open, we see President Obama as a great and inspirational leader and are doing everything we possibly to have him come here. However, as much as he means to us, it does not compare to how much he means for so many here and the potential great impact his visit could have for them and for so many more.
Very few world leaders visit the Northern Region of Ghana. The North is among the poorest where subsistence farming is the livelihood for the majority and widespread disease, malnutrition, illiteracy and corruption are harsh realities thousands face. The economic potential here is low especially when compared to the South. However, people persevere. They manage each day through tough obstacles. They work tirelessly to feed their families, put their children in school, and support those who are sick. Yes, the economic potential may be low but the human spirit is off-the-charts.
There is courage here like no other. But often people here in the North, they almost feel like they are forgotten people. If Barack Obama were to visit them, send a video-taped message, even acknowledge them, it would be a dream come true, and they would cherish this memory and pass on to for generations to come. For them, Obama is an inspiration, a hero and a savior to their daily existence. He will uplift them and give them a hope that it is possible for them and their children to dream again. He will do what he has done throughout the United States for Barack Obama is not only America’s leader, but he is a leader to them as well.
In the various solutions to poverty out there, few detail inspiration, community leadership and teamwork as answers. They are not on the grand scale of millions of dollars, large contracts, or news publicity but they can create great impacts. Small-scale farmer groups coming together to market a new crop and support each other, an informal school by village elders to teach underprivileged children in the night, volunteers in a village learning basic first aid and nursing so they can provide basic health care at no costs – these are some of the initiatives that can change the world for so many and who knows, could give a chance to a future Barack Obama. These are the projects that spring up and need to be scaled up all over. However, these all need a little faith – a little faith that stepping beyond the routine work and life activities can lead to great things.
A leader, who is able to inspire teamwork, compassion, hope and initiative, would have an impact like no other. Barack Obama is a perfect example of this type of leader – he not only speaks the words loud but he has acted on them throughout his career and life.
The Northern Region of Ghana sincerely hopes that we have the privilege and honour seeing or hearing President Barack Obama.
so one HUGE thing that is happening in Ghana, is that Barack Obama is visiting on July 10th and 11th. But unfortunately he is not coming to the Northern Region and is only scheduled to stay in Accra and Cape Coast (the south). So we have made it our mission (we are calling it "Mission Obama") to get him coming to the North. This involves creating a Barack Obama Day in some communities, trying to hold a march in the city, doing huge letter writing campaigns in schools, and contacting the White House and State Department or whoever else to invite them to come!
Yeah our dream would for him to speak in the Northern Region (the reasoning is below).....but more importantly, our goal is that this mission helps inspire people to keep taking initiative and strive for goals and dreams. To know that we can come together to share knowledge, ideas, and support for one another to go for something that some may say is impossible. To reflect on what it means to be a leader and who are some of those people we admire and why.
Hopefully, this goal will be accomplished because we could never have enough of that attitude anywhere in the world!
Here's a letter/article talking a little bit about our reasoning for having Obama come to the North.
P.S - for some bros out there who remember the times during the election (one person in particular lol)....i tried spreading the idea of getting Hilary Clinton up here as well.....but nobody knows her :P
Thank you all so much for reading and all the best.
Love from Ghana
Another amazing quote from an amazing friend.....
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. -- Gandhi
ARTICLE:
This piece has been written hopefully as justification, reason and encouragement for President Barack Obama to visit the Northern Region of Ghana. His trip to Ghana is currently scheduled for the south, namely in the capital of Accra.
We are volunteers who work with local governments (District Assemblies) in the Northern Region. Firstly, to ensure that all biases are out in the open, we see President Obama as a great and inspirational leader and are doing everything we possibly to have him come here. However, as much as he means to us, it does not compare to how much he means for so many here and the potential great impact his visit could have for them and for so many more.
Very few world leaders visit the Northern Region of Ghana. The North is among the poorest where subsistence farming is the livelihood for the majority and widespread disease, malnutrition, illiteracy and corruption are harsh realities thousands face. The economic potential here is low especially when compared to the South. However, people persevere. They manage each day through tough obstacles. They work tirelessly to feed their families, put their children in school, and support those who are sick. Yes, the economic potential may be low but the human spirit is off-the-charts.
There is courage here like no other. But often people here in the North, they almost feel like they are forgotten people. If Barack Obama were to visit them, send a video-taped message, even acknowledge them, it would be a dream come true, and they would cherish this memory and pass on to for generations to come. For them, Obama is an inspiration, a hero and a savior to their daily existence. He will uplift them and give them a hope that it is possible for them and their children to dream again. He will do what he has done throughout the United States for Barack Obama is not only America’s leader, but he is a leader to them as well.
In the various solutions to poverty out there, few detail inspiration, community leadership and teamwork as answers. They are not on the grand scale of millions of dollars, large contracts, or news publicity but they can create great impacts. Small-scale farmer groups coming together to market a new crop and support each other, an informal school by village elders to teach underprivileged children in the night, volunteers in a village learning basic first aid and nursing so they can provide basic health care at no costs – these are some of the initiatives that can change the world for so many and who knows, could give a chance to a future Barack Obama. These are the projects that spring up and need to be scaled up all over. However, these all need a little faith – a little faith that stepping beyond the routine work and life activities can lead to great things.
A leader, who is able to inspire teamwork, compassion, hope and initiative, would have an impact like no other. Barack Obama is a perfect example of this type of leader – he not only speaks the words loud but he has acted on them throughout his career and life.
The Northern Region of Ghana sincerely hopes that we have the privilege and honour seeing or hearing President Barack Obama.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Blog 2
Malaria and Katra
Sorry for the delay in posts. I have wanted to write about this for a long time!
Malaria is a scary word. Before I came here, when I heard about it, I associated it with tens of thousands of deaths a year. But when I arrived, it was weird that people would talk about it in passing as though it was like it common cold or sickness in Canada. And essentially, that is what it is (if treated early and properly). Don’t get me wrong, when I got malaria, it sucked. I was out of commission for a day or two (and pretty scared I have to admit!) but I took the $3-4 dollar medicine and I eventually got better.
So why is malaria a huge global killer?
From speaking with people, here a couple of the main reasons:
1) Many of the deaths are from babies, children under 5, and pregnant mothers who get hit with malaria and don’t have the immune system to fight it
2) Simply, people can’t buy the $3-4 medicine needed to stave off malaria. I was lucky – I live near in a town with a health centre and was able to diagnose my symptoms ($3 for a lab test) and get medicine the day I was affected. Others in more remote areas are not as lucky. They may be forced to wait too long before they get tested (malaria becomes severe and dangerous as time passes), not have access to drugs or $3-4 is often more than people can spend so they take their chances and fight it.
I guess the reason why I wanted to write this post was to say that malaria is not AIDS. It is most often curable (I can’t say 100%). But by a Canadian’s standards, it can be most often cured easily if diagnosed and treated early. So what are some possible things we could do to stop malaria from killing so many:
1) Get bed nets (approximately $5) to as many people as possible and have them using it! Mosquitoes (who carry malaria) come out strongest at night so sleeping under a bed net is a huge help in preventing one from getting bitten by mosquitos and getting malaria. Bed nets would be particularly important and helpful for babies and pregnant mothers.
2) Get medicine to as many people as possible. I know this sounds obvious and unrealistic but there must be a way to mass-produce these drugs so they are readily available to those who need it and can’t access them because of costs or distance from health centre.
These are just a couple of thoughts on possible solutions. The situation is definitely harder and more complex than what I made it out to be (and I definitely don’t have extensive knowledge), I just wanted to share a realization I made here that malaria, which is one of the top three killers in the world, is not a death sentence if early, simple, and low-cost treatment is done. I would love to hear your comments, thoughts, feedback, on what you think.
Part 2: Katra
A few people asked why I named the blog “Katra in Ghana”. And the reason originates from an amazing Seinfeld episode (I am trying to think of any that aren’t amazing!). It is the one where Kramer is doing karate and tells the story where he was initially scared but found his “katra”, the “I can” feeling inside of him to face the face fear and tough circumstances (the summary of the rest of the episode is below **). Basically, the reason why I named the blog this way is that “I can” feeling is so prevalent here. It is incredible to see the courage of men, women, mothers, fathers, children to keep going, try and fight every day facing hunger, sickness, poverty, corruption, etc. One shining example is in the morning is to ask someone how they are doing. No matter what has happened or how tough the night was, they will say smile and say “Thank God”…thank God for being alive. Life can be incredibly unfair for many here but very seldom will you ever hear a complaint. I hope one day to carry one tiny portion of their wisdom, resolve and bravery.
Love and best wishes from Ghana,
Shamir
P.S – thank you all for the great feedback. I will do my best to write well about what you would like to know (and will include some pictures / stories from life down here next time). Definitely keep the comments/suggestions/feedback coming. And thank you all so greatly as well for your amazing support. I can’t thank you enough or say it enough so I will be writing (as many times as possible) about how much your support means to me, and how much it boosts me up when times are low. You all are inspirations.
** Continuation of episode: So with this “katra”, Kramer becomes the best in his dojo and is “dominating the class”. It is only later that it is found that he is fighting little kids in his class and he got the “katra” talk from Star Trek: Search for Spock. Haha.
Please tell me they are still showing Seinfeld like 5 times a day on TV!
Oh and a last quote (props to a special friend for this one…)
“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.” – Mother Teresa
Sorry for the delay in posts. I have wanted to write about this for a long time!
Malaria is a scary word. Before I came here, when I heard about it, I associated it with tens of thousands of deaths a year. But when I arrived, it was weird that people would talk about it in passing as though it was like it common cold or sickness in Canada. And essentially, that is what it is (if treated early and properly). Don’t get me wrong, when I got malaria, it sucked. I was out of commission for a day or two (and pretty scared I have to admit!) but I took the $3-4 dollar medicine and I eventually got better.
So why is malaria a huge global killer?
From speaking with people, here a couple of the main reasons:
1) Many of the deaths are from babies, children under 5, and pregnant mothers who get hit with malaria and don’t have the immune system to fight it
2) Simply, people can’t buy the $3-4 medicine needed to stave off malaria. I was lucky – I live near in a town with a health centre and was able to diagnose my symptoms ($3 for a lab test) and get medicine the day I was affected. Others in more remote areas are not as lucky. They may be forced to wait too long before they get tested (malaria becomes severe and dangerous as time passes), not have access to drugs or $3-4 is often more than people can spend so they take their chances and fight it.
I guess the reason why I wanted to write this post was to say that malaria is not AIDS. It is most often curable (I can’t say 100%). But by a Canadian’s standards, it can be most often cured easily if diagnosed and treated early. So what are some possible things we could do to stop malaria from killing so many:
1) Get bed nets (approximately $5) to as many people as possible and have them using it! Mosquitoes (who carry malaria) come out strongest at night so sleeping under a bed net is a huge help in preventing one from getting bitten by mosquitos and getting malaria. Bed nets would be particularly important and helpful for babies and pregnant mothers.
2) Get medicine to as many people as possible. I know this sounds obvious and unrealistic but there must be a way to mass-produce these drugs so they are readily available to those who need it and can’t access them because of costs or distance from health centre.
These are just a couple of thoughts on possible solutions. The situation is definitely harder and more complex than what I made it out to be (and I definitely don’t have extensive knowledge), I just wanted to share a realization I made here that malaria, which is one of the top three killers in the world, is not a death sentence if early, simple, and low-cost treatment is done. I would love to hear your comments, thoughts, feedback, on what you think.
Part 2: Katra
A few people asked why I named the blog “Katra in Ghana”. And the reason originates from an amazing Seinfeld episode (I am trying to think of any that aren’t amazing!). It is the one where Kramer is doing karate and tells the story where he was initially scared but found his “katra”, the “I can” feeling inside of him to face the face fear and tough circumstances (the summary of the rest of the episode is below **). Basically, the reason why I named the blog this way is that “I can” feeling is so prevalent here. It is incredible to see the courage of men, women, mothers, fathers, children to keep going, try and fight every day facing hunger, sickness, poverty, corruption, etc. One shining example is in the morning is to ask someone how they are doing. No matter what has happened or how tough the night was, they will say smile and say “Thank God”…thank God for being alive. Life can be incredibly unfair for many here but very seldom will you ever hear a complaint. I hope one day to carry one tiny portion of their wisdom, resolve and bravery.
Love and best wishes from Ghana,
Shamir
P.S – thank you all for the great feedback. I will do my best to write well about what you would like to know (and will include some pictures / stories from life down here next time). Definitely keep the comments/suggestions/feedback coming. And thank you all so greatly as well for your amazing support. I can’t thank you enough or say it enough so I will be writing (as many times as possible) about how much your support means to me, and how much it boosts me up when times are low. You all are inspirations.
** Continuation of episode: So with this “katra”, Kramer becomes the best in his dojo and is “dominating the class”. It is only later that it is found that he is fighting little kids in his class and he got the “katra” talk from Star Trek: Search for Spock. Haha.
Please tell me they are still showing Seinfeld like 5 times a day on TV!
Oh and a last quote (props to a special friend for this one…)
“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.” – Mother Teresa
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Blog 1
Well, this is my first post from
So for this first one, I thought I would write a bit about what I am doing here. I am working with the District Assembly (like district government) to encourage evidence-based decision making. What does that term mean? That’s what I am trying to find out still! J But basically what it boils down to is that the District Assembly is in charge of choosing where boreholes (water sources), schools, health centres, latrines (toilet holes), essentially any infrastructure are built. What we are trying to promote and help with is the planning process in all of these – ensuring that the appropriate amount of data collection, analysis, and strategic thinking goes into making the decisions on what infrastructure is built and where it goes. The planning process is vital because:
a) Funds are limited (only few communities can be assisted at a certain time)
b) There are communities out there that are in dire need: some communities which get all their water (drinking/bathing/cooking) from a river/pond, or those which have 0 children going to school because it is too far or they are blocked by water, or those communities which have to travel 3-4 hours by foot to reach a health facility which may be too expensive.
Our goal (the organization I am with – Engineers Without Borders) is that with an effective planning process, the communities that are in most urgent need will be helped first with the right interventions when there the opportunity exists (funds are available). Now, as you can imagine, it is not as simple as finding out what the communities need and providing them with it. There are many other factors which come into play (let me know if you want me to go in more detail about this). But we figure that if we help the District Assembly provide as much clear evidence and useful analysis on where infrastructure should be placed, then it will give the best chance that people who are in greatest need will be most effectively helped.
Now a little more about my role. What we are trying to do here is build capacity to plan. Essentially, whenever something is being done, we are encouraging the government to go through a planning process! There are two parts to this – building the capacity and skills to collect data, organize, analyze (using the computer), and perhaps more importantly, encouraging the mindset and behaviour to plan, strategize and make decisions based on detailed evidence.
So for me, this involves trying to be a part of any process, however big or small – (whether its being part of the financial budget team for the district, monitoring current projects, preparing strategic plans and community needs to the national & regional governments/donors, typing annual reports, even organizing shelves of old data or collecting and entering data for a district-wide needs survey). And then trying to build the desire and capacity with everyone to consult different officers and departments, collect data, analyze it (primarily using the computer and best friend, Microsoft Excel!), and utilize it to make conclusions or decisions. The eventual dream is that this type of rigorous work will not be included only in planning, but it will become common-place in monitoring & evaluation, or testing out and justifying any initiative that is done by the government, etc.
Ok, I do not want to ramble too much….I am sorry for this long post! And really if it sounds complicated, it’s not! In one line – using data as evidence for decisions! The complicated part is getting this done! Haha.
Anyways, I promise that the next post will be shorter and hopefully I will get a little more interesting everytime or my writing will improve.
Lastly, I also just wanted to say how much I miss you all back home. There isn’t a day I don’t think about you all, and hope that you are all doing really great! Probably the thing that has hit me the hardest is how absolutely grateful I am to have incredible family and friends.
Much love!
P.S – my e-mail is shamir.tanna@gmail.com if you get a chance, shoot me an e-mail on how you are doing – would love to hear about anything. I can’t get on Facebook from here (yeah…it hurts bad! And I am trying every which way to connect somehow.. lol…….So if there are updates on FB, its from my sister)..… And again if there is anything you would want to hear about or you want to talk more about my work above or things happening here in general, that would be really great – let me know by email. Thanks so much.
PPS – I thought every post I would try to include an inspirational quote. These babies get me by a lot of the time (in addition to a little Akon music)! J
“You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this think we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down” – Mary Pickford
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