Development

Development - the act or process of developing; growth; progress.

That is a pretty ambiguous definition of development, or perhaps you need to further define it according to what precisely you are doing, and what your goals are. Many buzz-words get tossed around in development work (my favourite being "capacity building"), including the word "development" itself. A lot of money is pumped into this country by governments around the world for the sake of development (in 2008 30% of Uganda's GDP was foreign aid, tough down from 50% in 2005), but what I think we aren't talking enough about is an end-goal: development to what? I get comments in the village apologizing about the poor quality of roads and citing the fact they aren't developed. I tell them it's okay, it's a gravel road, don't apologize for it. Are we trying to develop so that everyone has two cars and a lawn mower? I hope not. I don't want Uganda, and other developing countries, to be like the West. I don't want them to lose their culture and way of life (indeed, if every Ugandan drove a car I'd be running for my life).

Good education, responsible citizenry, and entrepreneurship are some of the key things I'm trying to focus on for "development" because they are seriously lacking here. The education in primary schools is so rigorous, they're learning math and sciences in 4th grade we don't learn until high school. They are excellent at spouting out facts, but ask them a question that applies the information and they're stumped. Improved education, focusing on independent thinking, is greatly needed.

My friend Dave and I have been talking about development, and he proposed three key things needed: 1) Transportation, 2) Communication, and 3) Access to Money. Let's briefly look at each as they apply here in Uganda (briefly because I can talk a lot about them, and I think my internet time is running low):

Transportation
Most of the major roads in Uganda are murram/gravel. The rural villages are only reached by washed-out dirt roads and cow paths, full of ruts, puddles, mud, etc. The way to increase efficiency, commerce, and education is by better maintaining major and minor roads.

Communication
Cell phones have been a blessing. Telecommunications otherwise would not exist. Everyone has a cell phone, and prices are getting cheaper as competition increases. In addition to being able to speak with family and friends, farmers can now access market information, and news can travel quickly (remember the riots in September?).

Access to Money
Big banks only exist in the big cities - if the rural situation is going to improve, the villagers need capital. This has been answered by village savings and loan schemes, and SACCOs (Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations), both informal local ways to save and access money.

Development here is obviously happening, and I think focusing on some of these issues and, dare I say, capacity building, is what we're focusing on and what we should continue to pursue. The locals may envision a Western house and a car, but we need to be focusing on developing their potential as people do be able to achieve for themselves, which is a completely different blog topic that I will probably discuss later.

Some photos for those who like to see me out being productive:



<-- Here I am with a village group.












<-- A village woman from a group. Note the cell phone - ie communication, even in poverty situations.

















<-- Dave and I, looking like the schmucks we are, during our meeting with Fruits of the Nile in Jinja.











<-- Bujagali Falls on the Nile. Yes, I know they aren't really "falls," but it's a giant river and this is where the rafting trips put in. The rapids are class III-V.