What is development? Is it… The process of people bettering their lives? Industrial and economic development? The building of buildings? Does it even have to improve things? Isn’t development just like… the continuation of the story? Why is this important to ask this question? Because it affects the entire way that we do things. Take, for instance, building a dam — that dam could be a great project, that employs a lot of people and makes the country much richer and allows the people to get access to electricity. But it could also leave many homeless, destitute, and increase the debt that a country owes out to foreigners. Is this development? Is this what we as an organization desires? So it’s important to get our bearings. What about Zambian Electrical Engineers (ZEE)? Our mission is to promote human development through access to technology.ZEE sees development as the promotion of human dignity; the ability for people to have the freedom to choose the life that they want to live, and not be hampered by the fact that they have no money or they have a debilitating water-borne illness that they can do nothing about. So what is development? Is it a bunch of backpacking rebels trekking across the sand-swept dunes of the Sahara looking for victims to save? Is it a bunch of striped ties talking around waxed mahogany tables, crunching crackers and numbers? Is it both? In my humble opinion, it is neither. It is about Dorothy – the woman pounding Cassava so that her children can eat. It is about the man selling his Maize at the market to make enough to pay school fees so that his kids can go to school. It is about respect – respect for these people’ livelihoods, cultures, traditions, and dignity, and that by telling them “we know what’s best” is patronizing and dangerous. Development isn’t necessarily the Western vision of high-rise buildings, high-income salaries, and high-powered executive positions. Development could be simply spending time with your family, or enjoying the dirt between your toes. It is about choice - letting Dorothy decide how she wants to live her life, and giving her ownership over that. After all, isn’t that how we must mature? By making decisions on our own: that can only be done when the people around us respect our decisions and don’t govern our every step. Or at least, that’s my take on development. What’s yours?
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 13:12:48 +0000
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