An African Example of What it takes to be a Good Leader.

This is an interesting post by Omobola Borisade of African Leadership Review. Omobola is a Public Administrator & Consultant from Ibadan, Nigeria.

Since the 1960s, when most African countries attained independence, the story has always been the same. A lying, crafty politician first appearing as a nationalist, then push through some populist programmes and then unveil what he really is – a real buffoon masquerading as a reformer, an intellectual terrorist in the mould of a Messiah. All but few African political leaders had turned out to be political misfits whose preoccupation is primitive accumulation. Most had bled their countries to almost breaking points. Africa is one continent where some of the leaders are richer than the countries they govern. It is a continent of sit-tight rulers. Muammar Ghadaffi has been in power for 42 years, Cote d'voir's Felix Houphouet – Boigny and Togo's Gnassingbe Eyaedema ruled for over three decades each. Here rulers generally refuse to leave when they no longer make sense. They constitute unnecessary burden to their states, yet they hold on to power. But in this general gloomy sea of despair was one leader who chose to be different. That leader was Joaquim Chissano, President of the Republic of Mozambique, November 4, 1986 to February 2, 2005. An articulate and brilliant leader piloted Mozambique through the transition from a communist to a capitalist ideology, won his country's first and second multiparty elections and made history by deciding not to run for his final term in office. “Let another leader continue from here, I have had enough.”

Famine in Somalia: The untold story

An interesting article written by Ransa Warah on Pambazuka News. The article continues after the jump -- it's well worth the read.

In the absence of a well-functioning central government, Somalia is in effect being ‘managed and controlled by aid agencies’, writes Rasna Warah. But it’s a story that is unlikely to be told by either the global news networks or the ‘aid workers whose livelihoods depend on donor money that will soon flow into Somalia via Kenya.’

I knew the real story about the famine in northern Kenya and Somalia would probably never be told when I watched a young foreign aid worker 'reporting' the famine for CNN in Dadaab camp.

The young white woman, clearly coached to use the opportunity of her CNN appearance to publicise her organisation, wore a T-shirt that had the word OXFAM emblazoned on it.

The look of self-righteous, politically-correct compassion was evident on her face as she talked of starving children and emaciated mothers walking for miles in search of food.

Predictably, CNN viewers saw images of skeletal children and exhausted women with shrivelled breasts, images that have launched a multi-million dollar fund-raising campaign by the UN and donor agencies.

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has asked donors to raise $1.6 billion to assist Somalia alone.

Meanwhile, dozens of humanitarian agencies are clamouring to make an appearance in Dadaab in order to raise funds for their own organisations. Dutch journalist Linda Polman calls it “The Crisis Caravan”.

In her book by the same name, Polman says that an entire industry has grown around humanitarian aid, “with cavalcades of organisations following the flow of money and competing with each other in one humanitarian territory after another for the biggest achievable share of billions.”

According to Polman, disasters like the one in Somalia attract an average 1,000 national and international aid organisations. This doesn’t include “briefcase” charities that collect funds through churches, clubs and bake-sales.

Much of the money raised goes to administrative and logistical costs of aid agencies, including the salaries of bright-eyed aid workers, such as the one described above, who drive big cars and live in nice houses, but tell people back home they live in hardship areas where they help starving Africans.

Are people starving? Yes. Should they be helped? Of course. But how much of the food that is supposed to be distributed will most likely be stolen by militia or find its way to shops where it will be sold?

Also obscured in the media hype is the real cause of famine in places such as Somalia. In a recent article, Michel Chossudovsky, professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa and founder of the Centre for Research on Globalisation, argues that in the 1980s, agriculture in Somalia was severely affected by economic reforms imposed by the IMF and the World Bank. Somalia remained self-sufficient in food until the late 1970s despite recurrent droughts, he writes.

Mandela International Day: the Spirit of Ubuntu

This is a post from the ONE Blog. I decided to post it due to the mention of Unbuntu, one of our core mentoring values. Enjoy!

In November 2009, the United Nations General Assembly declared July 18^th “Nelson Mandela International Day”, a day of activism. In response to being bestowed this honour, Mandela said:

“We are humbled by the decision of the United Nations to recognize 18 July as Nelson Mandela International Day. It is our wish that the day be used not to honour an individual, but rather to remember the millions who have contributed to the struggle for freedom throughout the world. The best way to commemorate these struggles is for people everywhere to work with and within communities to make this a better world.

Let us remember that freedom from poverty, hunger and disease, that access to quality education, are as much human rights challenges as political oppression. May Nelson Mandela International Day contribute to those challenges being met.” www.un.org/en/events/mandeladay/mandela_letter_2010.shtml

We at ONE continue to be inspired by the vision of Mr. Mandela and as the world celebrates his 93^rd birthday this week we are reminded to continue to extend ourselves in working towards his dream and vision for a better life for all. It begins with each one of us giving a little bit. While Mr Mandela devoted 67 years to social and political activism, he only asks for 67 minutes of our day to make a difference in someone else’s life, spreading ubuntu, selflessness and love. Ubuntu is an African philosophy centered on the oneness of humanity thus encouraging respect for diversity, promoting dignity, peace, good health and prosperity. It is therefore not limited to one day. Indeed, this year’s theme encourages us to, “Take Action, Inspire Change, Make Every Day a Mandela Day”.

Digital Africa

There's a pretty cool mini series running over at ONE at the moment titled 'Digital Africa'. They're showcasing the latest innovations in technology helping in the fight against poverty across the African continent. If you've been following this blog for a while, you'll know that this is an area I'm particularly interested in.

The series started recently and there are just a few articles on there at the moment. If you have a look now, you'll find posts about the impact of technology in Africa, providing banking solutions for rural areas and and even one about an app for tracking cows. The rate at which new technology is springing up is amazing, particularly in the mobile phone area. Mobile penetration in Africa has been making big news over the past two years or so, and the solutions that African people (and indeed people all over the world) are coming up with to address African problems are a testament to this.

In the next five or ten years, who knows where we'll be? These are exciting times.

10 ways to make your mentees great

I'd like to share part of a post from a blog called 'Leadership Freak'. It was originally posted under 'Great leaders make others great'. Besides the leadership aspect, it provides some pretty sound advice for mentors. Have a read and make your mentees great!

Your greatest challenge isn’t leading, it’s making others great. Settle for nothing less than growing leaders that become greater than you.

10 ways to make others great

1. Think less about what you want and more about what they want. Tap into who they want to be. Ask - how can I help you get where you want to go?
2. Provide opportunities for failure. Nothing succeeds like a good failure. Our failures, more than successes, make us. Organizations that learn from failure go farther than ones that punish them.
3. Accept average performance as long as there’s passion to learn and grow.
4. Throw wood on their fire. Anyone can quench someone. Try igniting them. Passion, passion, passion …
5. Learn from them by honoring what they know. They learn by teaching you. Additionally, Honor opens the door to influence.
6. Listen to your selfishness. Give to others what you want from them. Not so you’ll get it back but so they’ll be built up.
7. Step back so they can step forward. Prepare them. Provide resources. Set deadlines. Remember, leaders learn by leading.
8. Be a safety net. Young leaders need a place of refuge where they can recover, renew, and refocus.
9. Be direct with correction. Don’t play around. Describe wrong behaviors and explain the path to success.
10. Leverage ownership over accountability. The power of accountability fades in light of ownership. Say, “This is your project.”

Execution of some of these points may be a little different in your role as a mentor because we aren't (directly) trying to create leaders for the workplace (i.e. we encourage you to be good leaders for your mentees rather than good managers). I hope it can still be a useful resource for you.

To see the original post, click here.

Fighting hunger with ideas from Africa

A great article from VOA News:

As population growth, resource depletion and climate change strain the world’s food supplies, a new report highlights solutions from some unexpected places. Sub-Saharan Africa harbors most of the world’s hungriest countries. The report from the Worldwatch Institute, a Washington, DC-based environmental group, however, says the continent also is home to a wealth of ideas that can help the world fight hunger and poverty.

Here in one of the largest slums of Africa, Danielle Nierenberg, a researcher at the Worldwatch Institute, said there's something surprising and hopeful. "We've met with some great women farmers who are doing this really innovative way of growing food so they don't have to buy anything from the market."

These urban farmers in Nairobi are growing vegetables just outside their doorsteps using nothing more complicated than old sacks filled with soil. What they don't eat, they sell, and use the revenue to put their children through school.

Back in Washington, Nierenberg said it’s not what she expected from a neighborhood plagued by poverty. "It’s a slum. It’s depressing. It’s crowded. It’s dirty. It’s noisy. But these people are finding ways to make their lives better."

With half the world’s population living in and around cities, experts are increasingly looking to these kinds of ideas to feed malnourished city dwellers - not just in Africa, but around the world.

Off-grid power solutions in rural Kenya: Pt 2

Here's a great article from the New York Times. It's a bit long so I've posted it in two separate parts like they did. It's a great read though!

**Update: Check out the corresponding picture slideshow here!

“There are many small islands of success, but they need to go to scale,” said Minoru Takada, chief of the United Nations Development Program’s sustainable energy program. “Off-grid is the answer for the poor. But people who control funding need to see this as a viable option.”

Even United Nations programs and United States government funds that promote climate-friendly energy in developing countries hew to large projects like giant wind farms or industrial-scale solar plants that feed into the grid. A $300 million solar project is much easier to finance and monitor than 10 million home-scale solar systems in mud huts spread across a continent.

As a result, money does not flow to the poorest areas. Of the $162 billion invested in renewable energy last year, according to the United Nations, experts estimate that $44 billion was spent in China, India and Brazil collectively, and $7.5 billion in the many poorer countries.

Only 6 to 7 percent of solar panels are manufactured to produce electricity that does not feed into the grid; that includes systems like Ms. Ruto’s and solar panels that light American parking lots and football stadiums.

Still, some new models are emerging. Husk Power Systems, a young company supported by a mix of private investment and nonprofit funds, has built 60 village power plants in rural India that make electricity from rice husks for 250 hamlets since 2007.

In Nepal and Indonesia, the United Nations Development Program has helped finance the construction of very small hydroelectric plants that have brought electricity to remote mountain communities. Morocco provides subsidized solar home systems at a cost of $100 each to remote rural areas where expanding the national grid is not cost-effective.

What has most surprised some experts in the field is the recent emergence of a true market in Africa for home-scale renewable energy and for appliances that consume less energy. As the cost of reliable equipment decreases, families have proved ever more willing to buy it by selling a goat or borrowing money from a relative overseas, for example.

The explosion of cellphone use in rural Africa has been an enormous motivating factor. Because rural regions of many African countries lack banks, the cellphone has been embraced as a tool for commercial transactions as well as personal communications, adding an incentive to electrify for the sake of recharging.

Off-grid power solutions in rural Kenya: Pt 1

Here's a great article from the New York Times. It's a bit long so I've posted it in two separate parts like they did. It's a great read though!

**Update: Check out the corresponding picture slideshow here!

For Sara Ruto, the desperate yearning for electricity began last year with the purchase of her first cellphone, a lifeline for receiving small money transfers, contacting relatives in the city or checking chicken prices at the nearest market.

Charging the phone was no simple matter in this farming village far from Kenya’s electric grid.

Every week, Ms. Ruto walked two miles to hire a motorcycle taxi for the three-hour ride to Mogotio, the nearest town with electricity. There, she dropped off her cellphone at a store that recharges phones for 30 cents. Yet the service was in such demand that she had to leave it behind for three full days before returning.

That wearying routine ended in February when the family sold some animals to buy a small Chinese-made solar power system for about $80. Now balanced precariously atop their tin roof, a lone solar panel provides enough electricity to charge the phone and run four bright overhead lights with switches.

"My main motivation was the phone, but this has changed so many other things," Ms. Ruto said on a recent evening as she relaxed on a bench in the mud-walled shack she shares with her husband and six children.

As small-scale renewable energy becomes cheaper, more reliable and more efficient, it is providing the first drops of modern power to people who live far from slow-growing electricity grids and fuel pipelines in developing countries. Although dwarfed by the big renewable energy projects that many industrialized countries are embracing to rein in greenhouse gas emissions, these tiny systems are playing an epic, transformative role.

Since Ms. Ruto hooked up the system, her teenagers’ grades have improved because they have light for studying. The toddlers no longer risk burns from the smoky kerosene lamp. And each month, she saves $15 in kerosene and battery costs — and the $20 she used to spend on travel.

In fact, neighbors now pay her 20 cents to charge their phones, although that business may soon evaporate: 63 families in Kiptusuri have recently installed their own solar power systems.

More on technology & development

You might remember an article I posted a while back about Zack Matere, a Kenyan farmer who found that being able to access the internet on his mobile phone was able to help in all sorts of ways. Now, with help from the International Finance Corporation and the Soros Economic Development Fund, Esoko will be giving this same opportunity to several other farmers in Ghana and other African nations. More from AfricaNews:

Ghanaian technology firm Esoko has received a $1.25 million equity investment from the World Bank's International Finance Corporation and the Soros Economic Development Fund.

Esoko gives farmers access to timely crop information that can be shared via text messaging, enabling them to increase their incomes. The investment in Esoko will help to give smallholder farmers and businesses in Ghana and other African countries timely crop information that can be shared via text messaging, enabling farmers to increase their incomes.

The Esoko technology takes advantage of the mobile phone and the internet to provide current agriculture and market information to interest groups within the agriculture and trade sectors.

Through its network of enumerators in 31 markets in Ghana, Esoko is able to provide market prices on various agricultural commodities directly unto the mobile phones of farmers.

Managing Director of Esoko Ghana, Bernard Otabil told Luv Fm the additional investment from the IFC and SEDF is a manifestation of growing confidence in the business.

According to him, the funding offers Esoko the opportunity to sustain support for farmers over the long term.

"Funding provides you the opportunity to actually implement your plan on paper and before anyone commits to taking up any investment in any organization, they have to be really sure that over the long term, the return on investment will be achieved.

"We know what our critical market really is; we have a plan in terms of making sure every farmer everywhere have access to the information that we provide. We are committed to improving livelihoods to help them to achieve their goals of poverty alleviation and also overall contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals", Otabil stated.

The Esoko software is currently being used in nine African countries.

Ghana & Vietnam among top MDG peformers

An article from the Oversees Development Institute (ODI):

The first new ODI study, the MDG Report Card, provides a country-by-country analysis of progress toward meeting the MDGs.

A second new study, Development Progress Stories, showcases outstanding examples of national progress in eight major areas of development: economic conditions, health, water and sanitation, education, governance, environmental conditions, agriculture and rural development, and social protection. The first stories appear today on a new website.

"Both these projects grew out of a growing awareness that there was too little attention paid to progress being made in development," says ODI Director, Dr. Alison Evans. "We believe that by providing robust and accessible information on progress at national level, this project will offer lessons for policymakers and support the evidence base for continued international engagement."

MDG Report Card - Measuring progress across countries:

The MDG Report Card presents an analysis of progress on the MDGs and a set of league tables of selected indicators. It shows where substantial advances have been made, as well as inequities and uneven progress for seven MDGs. The eighth MDG on global partnerships was not included in the analysis.

The report makes a crucial distinction between absolute versus relative progress. Both measures are needed to tell the full story of progress over the past ten years. Relative progress measures a country's progress relative to initial conditions. This highlights the degree to which they have closed the gap on MDG targets. Absolute progress measures change regardless of initial conditions. Low-income countries, especially those in Africa, tend to rank top on absolute progress, whereas middle-income countries tend to do better at closing the gap.

The report reveals a number of high achievers. Vietnam made unprecedented progress in improving the lives of the poor. It featured in the top ten of several indicators, including halving the proportion of underweight children, and reducing the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day from nearly two-thirds to one-fifth in just 14 years. Ghana outperformed all other countries around the world by reducing hunger by nearly three-quarters, from 34 percent to 9 percent, between 1990 and 2004. It will achieve MDG 1 before 2015.

Many other African nations have made considerable progress. Ten African countries, including Ethiopia, Egypt, and post-conflict Angola, have already halved their absolute poverty levels. Angola and Niger have reduced their under-five mortality ratios by more than 100 per 1,000 deaths in less than two decades. The West African nation of Benin ranked in the top ten in education improvements with school enrolments increasing from 43 to 83 percent between 1992 and 2007.

September 8th: World Literacy Day

This is a little late getting in, but yesterday was International Literacy Day. Celebrated since 1966, International Literacy Day aims to both celebrate literacy and to highlight the importance its importance both to individuals and society as a whole. Despite this worldwide attention, collective literacy rates remain worryingly low. According to UNESCO's Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2010 (click here for a summary), approximately 759 million adults lack basic literacy skills; two thirds of them women. A further 72 million primary school children do not have access to formal education, which significantly lowers their chance of being literate in the future. With targets for MDG2 hanging in the balance with only five more years to go, urgent action needs to be taken.

Here at the YLMP, we not only believe that literacy is imperative for development (for both person and country), but we also believe that society robs itself of massive potential without it. Let's take the case of William Kamkwamba for example. Forced to leave school at 14 due a lack of funds, William continued to satisfy his appetite for knowledge by making regular visits to his local library. It was there that he saw the book that inspired him to build three working windmills from local scrap material that would become a power source for his family and village (initially, he had only planned to generate enough electricity to power a small light bulb in his room to allow him to read past sunset - click here for more details). Literacy opens up all kinds of opportunities, and it is a massive shame that for reasons beyond their control, so many people are denied them.

Our library project at Kinbu is designed with the purpose not only to make books more accessible to students, but also to develop a love for reading. We should all be grateful for the gift of literacy and as besides promoting it, we should try to help others who can read and write make the most of what they have.

Ghana leads the way on MGD 1!!!

Here's a fantastic post from the Gates Foundation blog by Melinda Gates. You might have already heard - news of this development made the front page of today's Daily Graphic. Hope you enjoy the read nonetheless:

"In the fight to reduce hunger and poverty around the world — part of the ambitious set of development targets known as the Millennium Development Goals — one country that really stands out for me is the West African nation of Ghana.

Ghana’s progress has been remarkable. Between 1990 and 2004, Ghana outperformed all countries globally in reducing hunger by 75 percent. It’s also making great strides to reduce the number of people living in poverty. In fact, Ghana is on track to become the first country in Africa to achieve the MDG goal for halving poverty and hunger from 1990 levels by 2015. That’s remarkable, especially when you consider the devastating drought, dwindling harvests and rising poverty that Ghana experienced in the mid-1980s.

How did they do it? In Ghana, as in many parts of the developing world, the poorest people get their income by farming small plots of land. So finding ways to help these farmers produce more food and get it to market is a critical element in reducing poverty and hunger. That’s also the goal of the foundation’s agricultural development initiative, which we launched in 2006.

And that’s just what Ghana has done. During the past 25 years, Ghana’s increased government investments in agriculture have led to some amazing results. Ghana commits nearly 10 percent of its budget to improving agriculture, putting it among the top investors in the sector in Africa. It’s experienced steady growth in agricultural productivity, almost 5 percent a year since 1985, making it one of the world’s top performers in agricultural growth. A dramatic increase in cocoa production has helped to increase exports. And child malnutrition in Ghana has almost been cut in half since the end of the 1980s.

There is still work to be done in Ghana – only half of the land suitable for agriculture is currently under cultivation and there are still complaints from farmers that the market for some crops is underdeveloped. But there is no disputing the fact that Ghana is on the right path: just two decades ago, Ghana was a country that struggled to feed its own people; now it has ambitions to become the breadbasket for West Africa.

I invite you to take a look at this photo gallery — featuring the story of Ghanaian cocoa farmer Peter Owoahene Acheampong — on Ghana’s progress."

This is fantastic news; hopefully progress in the seven remaining goals will follow soon!

Ghana lowest ranking African country on 2010 FSI

The recently published Failed States Index* for 2010 reveals that Ghana (ranked 122nd from the top) has the most stable government in Africa. Unfortunately on the other end of the scale, seven out of the top 10 states are African. It seems bad governance and corruption (amongst other things) are leaving the governments of our brothers an sisters in a chronically sorry state of affairs; a mere 15 states - 10 of which are African - have shared the top 10 slots since records first began in 2004. More from Foreign Policy:

"This year's index draws on 90,000 publicly available sources to analyze 177 countries and rate them on 12 metrics of state decay - from refugee flows to economic implosion, human rights violations to security threats. Taken together, a country's performance on this battery of indicators tells us how stable - or unstable - it is.

At the top of the list, Somalia saw yet another year plagued by lawlessness and chaos, with pirates plying the coast while radical Islamist militias tightened their grip on the streets of Mogadishu. Across the Gulf of Aden, long-ignored Yemen leapt into the news when a would-be suicide bomber who had trained there tried to blow up a commercial flight bound for Detroit. Afghanistan and Iraq traded places on the index as both states contemplated the exit of U.S. combat troops, while already isolated Sudan saw its dictator, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, defy an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court and the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of the Congo once again proved itself a country in little more than name."

It is heartbreaking to see our leaders continue hold on to power with such gusto that they forget what true leadership is all about. I decided to focus on Ghana's position on the list early in the article so as not to characterize the whole post on the unfortunate crisis of leadership Africa seems to be battling with. I hope that we're successful in training and encouraging our next generation of leaders to be more responsible.


*This Foreign Policy site is very Flash-heavy and can take a long time to load. For a simpler version of the Index, click here.

Young African Leaders Conference

Today - in a year when 17 African countries are celebrating their 50th anniversary of independence - President Obama's three day Young African Leaders conference will start. The conference was announced during this years G8 summit, which was extended to include various African leaders. He will be meeting with 115 young African leaders to discuss "their vision for Africa for the next 50 years". It will be very much in the spirit of a sentiment expressed during Obama's visit to Ghana earlier in the year that Africa's future is very much up to Africans themselves. It will be interesting to see what they are able to come up with. More information here and here.

--Update-->
If you'd like to see a transcript of the entire meeting (including questions and answers at the end), click here.
Click here to download the video and here for the mp3.

For all US residents out there

I've recently noticed on our blog counter that we seem to been getting quite a few hits from the United States. I've got a little something for you guys:

Our friends over at ONE are running a petition to push Congress to pass a bill essential for the delivery of President Obama's promise of donating over a billion dollars to Haiti to help with reconstruction. You can add you name to show your support here.

Similarly, the Millennium Campus Network is pushing for Obama and Congress to make the necessary policy changes to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 (specifically, global education, global health and sustainable development in Haiti). You can sign their petition here.

Unfortunately, those of us outside the United States are unable to add our voices to these causes. We hope those of you who can will join us in holding leaders accountable for their promises in the fight against poverty. I'll be sharing any updates as I see them, so keep an eye out for those!

--Updates-->>
Great news! early this morning (last night for you Yanks), Congress voted to pass the bill that will make the promised funding to assist with Haiti's reconstruction and debt relief possible. More details here. Result! Now let's rally behind the Millennium Campus Network campaign to see those policy changes happen!!
***
President Obama has released his MDG plans; you can check them out here! I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported these campaigns... little by little, we're all able to make a difference :)

15th AU Summit draws to a close

Although the theme for this years AU Summit was supposed to revolve around maternal and infant health, the issue of Somalia quickly became a priority. One week before the Summit was due to start, a series of bombings targeted at innocent civilians watching the World Cup occurred in Kampala. These incidents were subsequently found to have links with Somalia. The AU has agreed to deploy an additional 2000 troops to Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

Other issues, such as climate change, NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development), and of course, maternal and child health were discussed. For a more detailed account, see here. Here is a summary of issues discussed and the measures agreed to address them (from New Vision Online):

Bashir and the International Criminal Court
Mutharika said the AU asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to suspend its indictments against Sudanese president Omar El-Bashir for one year as the union investigated the allegations against him. The ICC issued two arrest warrants against Bashir, accusing him of crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur. The latest warrant was issued last month. Mutharika asked if the court had a right to try Bashir, when Sudan is not a member of the ICC.

AMISOM’s mandate in Somalia unchanged
Mutharika said the UPDF together with the Burundi forces making up the AMISOM made strident gains against the Al-Shabaab terrorists. He appealed for co-operation from international bodies like the UN, saying the problem was no longer for Africa alone. He added that the recent terrorist bombings in Kampala were meant to discourage them from attending the summit, but their attendance had shown that terrorism has no place in today’s world. Asked whether the summit had changed the mandate of AMISOM from mere peacekeeping to combat, he said they had not debated it but it would be decided by the Peace and Security Council. Ping added that changing the mandate would call for new equipment like helicopters, which are not available. Guinea and Djibouti willing to contribute troops, he added.

Maternal, infant and child health
Ping said the members agreed to form a group to monitor and report on the progress of maternal, infant and child health. Mutharika said the summit had agreed to place the welfare of women and safe motherhood at the forefront of their development agendas this year. “If we improve the welfare of women, access to food and health care, maternal mortality will significantly reduce,” he said.

Technology & Development

We are, as they say, in the age of the computer. To many, it seems strange to imagine keeping in touch without mobile phones, or looking for information without the internet. With technological advances come many different possibilities for advancement... to save time here, to make more money there. Smart phones are becoming more and more common place, bringing with them a wealth of applications that support a vast range of functions. Technologies are now able to work in a synergy with each other - phones with the internet, mp3 players with maps and satellite navigation, even watches serve as USB data storage systems these days. All these allow for an increased free-flow of information which is crucial to development.

Developing countries are often cited as being technologically backward, and (perhaps more often) lagging behind their more developed counterparts. Encouragingly however, increasing numbers of people are realising the benefits of technology and are becoming more and more innovative in its use. Even better, individuals in developing countries are adapting this technology and making it work to solve their specific problems and address their needs.

The question about technology is not whether or not it brings benefits - because for the most part, those are clear for all to see. To some, technology is simply a means by which to make life easier. To others, it has become an absolute necessity. Can we then say that technology is absolutely necessary for development? In cases such as areas of rural Zambia were the internet is allegedly more accessible than clean water, you have to wonder whether priorities have been set correctly, if at all.

This is not to say that these targets should be made at the expense of technological advancement. In some areas, mobile phone technology is being used to save lives, and to say advances in technology should be scrapped in favour of other 'more important' issues would be foolhardy. Where then, do we draw the line?

Some would say there is no need for such a line to exist. If, for example, there is a way of using one to achieve progress in another, that would optimise benefit for all concerned. An example of such a case can be found with Zack Matere, a Kenyan potato farmer - and from what it sounds - a would-be entrepreneur and philanthropist as well.

The 50 Kenyan shillings (about 66 US cents) he spends a day accessing information on the internet each day proves to be too expensive (or as some might say, frivolous) for the majority of people in his local community. Recognising the benefits and potential for advancement that can be gained by the wealth of information online, Zack plans to post useful information (on agriculture, health and education) on his local information boards.

"The internet is quite an individual pursuit. But a noticeboard is more of a group thing", he explained to the BBC. "So if I post an item on a noticeboard on potato disease, for example, the community can read it, talk together and come to a decision."

You can read more about Zack's story here. It is this kind of innovative thought that can propel development in rural and even urban areas, even if this can only initially be achieved by taking baby steps.

Following up: G8 and maternal health

Some of you may have seen an earlier request to support ONE's G8 campaign. On the 26th of June, the G8 announced they would be contributing $5 billion towards maternal and child health through the 'Muskoka Initiative'. Donations from other nations such as the Republic of Korea, Spain and New Zealand, and organisations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation takes the ground total to $7.3 billion. Although it is definitely a step in the right direction, it comes as somewhat of a disappointment to groups like ONE who would have liked to see provision for 3.5 million healthcare workers to be trained by 2015.

The Muskoka Initiative will work with several global partners to achieve the targets for Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. These are to reduce child mortality by two thirds, maternal mortality by three quarters, and to achieve universal access to reproductive health by 2015. The Muskoka Initiative has a strong focus on outcomes, and has set various targets to be reached between 2010 and 2015.

Addressing recent concerns about the accountability and trustworthiness of the G8 on coming through with promises, the Canadian prime minister has announced that the Muskoka Initiative includes an accountability mechanism to ensure the G8 follows through on its commitments.

You can read more about the Muskoka Initiative here, in an official statement from the G8 (also available in pdf).

Go Black Stars!!

A Library Success Story: 'The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind'

After a discussion between Elinam Adadevoh (YLMP Programme Manager) and Adobea Akuffo (Senior Mentor), I've decided to post an amazing story of a boy who was inspired to do great things by a book in his local library. Here is a short review:

"William Kamkwamba was born in Malawi... a country plagued by AIDS and poverty. Like most people in his village, his family subsisted on the meager crops they could grow, living without the luxuries — consider necessities in the West — of electricity or running water. Already living on the edge, the situation became dire when, in 2002, Malawi experienced the worst famine in 50 years. Struggling to survive, 14-year-old William was forced to drop out of school because his family could not afford the $80-a-year tuition.

Though he was not in a classroom, William continued to think, learn — and dream. Armed with curiosity, determination, and a book he discovered in a nearby library, he embarked on a daring plan — to build a windmill that could bring his family the electricity only two percent of Malawians could afford. Using scrap metal, tractor parts, and blue-gum trees, William forged a crude yet working windmill, an unlikely hand-built contraption that would successfully power four light bulbs and two radios in his family’s compound. Soon, news of his invention spread, attracting interest and offers of help from around the world. Not only did William return to school but he was offered the opportunity to visit wind farms in the United States, much like the ones he hopes to build across Africa.

A moving tale of one boy’s struggle to create a better life, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is William's amazing story — a journey that offers hope for the lives of other Africans — and the whole world, irrefutably demonstrating that one individual can make a difference." (SOURCE)

Kudos to William Kamkwamba for his courage, innovative spirit and determination to see this project through from start to finish. It is encouraging to see that young people are interested in learning, and can (and do) get information from books. It makes the work we're doing at Kinbu seem all the more relevant... who knows how many budding 'Williams' we have amongst us?

You can read an article on this story (including details of how William created water pumps and introduced solar power to his community) here. Aside from the book, a documentary and a Foundation have been created in William's honour.

April 25th: World Malaria Day

I know this is (for the most part) unrelated to the work we do at the YLMP, but I would like to draw your attention to the fact that this coming Sunday (the 25th of April) is World Malaria Day. Living in Ghana, malaria is something that is bound to have affected us all in one way or another at some point, and it would be good to recognise this day and reflect on the work so many people are doing in order to combat this disease.

There's a link below which will take you to the World Malaria Day website. This site is part of a year-round campaign that has been working tirelessly in the arduous fight against malaria. I'd like to encourage you to get involved in any way you can; and if you do, please let us know about it! Either way, try to spread the word about the day as much as possible. Together, we can do more to stamp malaria out.


Clicking on the right hand side of the link will take you to the Roll Back Malaria site. You'll be seeing this logo around on several sites addressing the issue of malaria. And for all you Twitter fans out there, ONE (listed on our 'Interesting Blogs' widget on the right hand side) has launched a twitter campaign to help put a stop to malaria. You can view their Twitter page here.