A Development Story During a poverty reduction assessment mission in an Asian country, a team was formed out of various development area specialists. They identified a few solutions meant to improve the livelihoods of villagers in the community. These experts noted that women, who were doing a number of heavy chores and had to walk almost an hour to fetch water from the nearby river. The experts thought that if a water well was built by the village, women would save time and energy that were required in the daily walks to the river. Thus, a technically sound proposal was done funds were made available and the water well was quickly built! One year later a follow-up mission returned to the same community. To the experts’ surprise, the newly built water well was rarely being used by the women! The experts learned later that the walk to the river was one of the few daily moments in which women could be together and socialize. Taking away that walk meant taking away their only moments of sharing part of their lives and having some relaxed moments away from the hard chores they carried out individually. If dialog and simple two-way communication had occurred before making the decision to build a well, this aspect would have probably emerged and a more culturally appropriate alternative would have been found. What should be the center of development?
A Development Story
During a poverty reduction assessment mission in an Asian country, a team was formed out
of various development area specialists. They identified a few solutions meant to improve
the livelihoods of villagers in the community. These experts noted that women, who were
doing a number of heavy chores and had to walk almost an hour to fetch water from the
nearby river.
The experts thought that if a water well was built by the village, women would save time
and energy that were required in the daily walks to the river.
Thus, a technically sound proposal was done funds were made available and the water well
was quickly built!
One year later a follow-up mission returned to the same community. To the experts’
surprise, the newly built water well was rarely being used by the women!
The experts learned later that the walk to the river was one of the few daily moments in
which women could be together and socialize.
Taking away that walk meant taking away their only moments of sharing part of their lives
and having some relaxed moments away from the hard chores they carried out individually.
If dialog and simple two-way communication had occurred before making the decision to
build a well, this aspect would have probably emerged and a more culturally appropriate
alternative would have been found.
What should be the center of development?
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