DEVELOPMENT

Here now we are watching with constant prayers, bated breath, and hope the hurricanes in the Americas—Gustav, Ike, etc. So my prayers are with all those in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico (especially Texas) who have been hit and have lost power or are experiencing flooding and other damage.

It reminds me how relief and development can go hand in hand. Sometimes with greater development, less relief is needed. Or with less development, more relief is needed (New Orleans). And there are people across the globe needing relief help, as in India these days.

One of the most important parts of development for me is health and sanitation development. A few updates ago I was questioning the meaning and efficacy of development. I didn’t mean to suggest that all development was bad. It’s especially good when you are saving lives such as development in the public health/health and sanitation arena. These are important advances for all of humanity. And the world is still looking for such developments in malaria, TB, and HIV though in the US we are not as hard hit.

Rather I was pondering what would African development look like without colonization. Would it have taken place faster or slower? Would it hold the same value? What would it look like? Would development and say globalization have occurred in a way to preserve cultures and the environment much more than it has today? Those are the questions brewing. And remember, I’ve given examples of the great open trade that occurred between great ancient civilizations like Egypt, Mali, Ghana, etc.