Comments on: A tale of two villages

By: marlo

marlo — Fri, 25 Dec 2015 10:16:48 +0000

More effort is needed to inspire these people to shift certain paradigms particularly on the issue of money and resources if reversal of fortune has to happen . . Poverty starts in one’s mind and the process of ending it must start there too . This issue of ending poverty is close to my heart.

By: James O Sullivan

James O Sullivan — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 09:01:55 +0000

As an educationalist having experienced many developing countries worldwide I can concur that education is ONE of the keys to progress. There is a bigger obstacle. Too often education is also the key to learning how use bribes and corruption to progress. To simply get a local council job of sweeping the streets one must pay bribes. The more one tries to progress the more and higher bribes that need to be paid. Most simply give up or resort to crime to get the necessary bribe money.

By: rameshsunam

rameshsunam — Thu, 29 Jan 2015 05:15:07 +0000

In reply to thomas.kaydor.

Thank you, Thomas, for your comment. I am with you that the poor should have control over the development processes, not the ‘development workers’.

Stephen, thank you for your encouraging words.

Ramesh

By: thomas.kaydor

thomas.kaydor — Sun, 25 Jan 2015 21:55:38 +0000

This is an interesting article. It reinforces the argument made under the participatory approach that should allow the actual voices of the poor and marginalised to be heard. What matters most is what policymakers do after listening, hearing, recording and publishing these voices. Do we use them to raise donor funds for higher salaries for the “development workers” or do we investment funds raised directly in the villages and towns like the poor village in this story to unlock the potential of the poor? I think the latter is preferred than the former.

By: stephen.priest

stephen.priest — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 04:53:14 +0000

Fascinating article, Ramesh, particularly in the age of ‘big data’, where a lot more reliance is being placed on finding the poverty panacea in metrics (see https://datafloq.com/read/big-data-developing-world-beat-poverty/168 or https://blog.transparency.org/2014/11/07/can-big-data-solve-the-worlds-problems-including-corruption/).

While helpful, the data isn’t the whole story. The stories and anecdotes of those on the ground, used as case studies, often reveal a lot more about what needs to be done.