Good aid :: Bad aid

Not all aid to poor countries is good. In fact some people say that all aid is bad. There are volumes of examples where well-meaning aid has turned out to be harmful. For example, African street markets have lots of second-hand clothes stalls that feature the clothes bagged and put into charity bins in wealthy countries. The abundance of these cheap clothes means that no local clothes manufacturers can compete, and garment industries simply don't get off the ground.

Beyond any Drought is a report on development and aid in three countries in the African Sahel – Niger, Mali, and Burkino Faso. The key recommendations in the report can be applied to development projects in Tanzania, and to the School of St Jude specifically.

Sahel area of Africa

1. Increase long-term assistance; stay the course. All interventions should be over at least 10 years.

• The School of St Jude meets this requirement, because Gemma has family roots in Tanzania and this is her life work. Current activities are set within a long term framework that extends decades into the future.

2. Accept that the situation has changed

• The School of St Jude has shown that it can adapt to rapid change by gearing up rapidly when world-wide support flourished. Gemma has the management skills to keep a goal in view, while adapting to changing circumstances.

3. Understand the detail

• The School is managed right there, on the ground. The impact and effectiveness of every bag of cement is known. This deep familiarity with detail means that the School develops appropriately and effectively.

4. Plan to improve capacity

• The School has programs and training in place to develop leadership capacity in staff, so that the leadership team grows with the school. This local expertise will underpin the long term viability of the School.
  

5. Build on successes

• In her book, St Jude's, Gemma describes how she has learned from mistakes and events that didn't turn out as expected. From these experiences, she has learned what works, and she continues to apply these lessons. For example, she has learned to be rigorous in selecting capable children from poor families, and she has learned to check and check again to avoid dishonest practices.

6. Believe in flexibility

• The School of St Jude aims to support the best elements of Tanzanian culture combined with Australian excellence. The cross-cultural approach and rapid growth of the school have meant that flexibility has been a key requirement!

I have great confidence in this project. The School of St Jude delivers quality education to 870 capable children from the poorest households. The local demand for places in the school is massive. 15,000 applicants try for the 170 places each year. There is no doubt that there is local demand for quality education, and that the School of St Jude, delivers what parents want for their children.

This is only possible with the help of people who care to share what they have with others who have less.

Giving and receiving

Here is one way that the School of St Jude acknowledges our donations.

Isn't that colourful? Last month we opted to donate to the boarding school, and ticked the 'Industrial Cooker' option. So I smiled to receive this certificate by email.

We send a donation each month, and often choose the 'general donation' option. Here is what the School says about general donations.

The child sponsorship schemes help to run the school, but it is only thanks to donations that we have been able to expand the capital infrastructure of the school so as to be able to keep up with the exploding enrolment.

Larger donations can buy things outright, and smaller donations can go towards the full purchase of specific items such as generators or a photocopier.

The School has simplified the options for making donations online. Previously we have used the direct bank transfer option, but now we find it simplest to use the Paypal option and use our credit card.

I'm sure you'll find that it is an easy process. Give it ago – at the School of St Jude.

Tanzanian Bloggers Association

What’s this? A Tanzanian Bloggers Association?



Yes, indeed it is. And of course, I’ve joined – because my blog is so focused on Tanzania.

Most (almost all?) the blogs in the Association are in Swahili, so if you speak Swahili, you’ll find lots to interest you here.

I can't join the discussions of other Jumuwatas, but they've welcomed me into the world of Tanzanian blogging. Global Voices does an occasional roundup of topics on Tanzanian blogs, so I keep in touch that way. Here is the Global Voices interview with Jeff Msangi, one of the main Tanzanian bloggers.



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Tanzania's prize winning solar

Look who is winning international prizes! Zara Solar – providers of PV solar in Northern Tanzania.


Zara Solar has won the Ashden African Award for sustainable energy. Funded by British industry, the Ashden Awards are based on an annual competition to identify and reward organisations which have carried out truly excellent, practical, yet innovative schemes, demonstrating sustainable energy in action at a local level. Zara Solar's prize is worth (£30,000).

Zara Solar is cited as:

Zara Solar is the leading provider of solar PV in Northern Tanzania. Given that only 10% of the whole population and 2% of the rural population have access to the electricity grid in Tanzania, solar energy would seem to be an obvious alternative. However, the up front costs and the problems with providing technical support to more remote areas, limits its appeal.

Zara Solar has tackled this problem by selling high-quality, reliable systems at affordable prices and by creating a network of trained technicians that provide technical support to the more remote rural areas. Zara Solar and its sister company Mona-Mwanza Electrical & Electronics, have sold over 3,600 solar PV systems, directly benefiting over 18,000 people and this figure is expected to increase significantly over the coming year.

In order to reach yet more people, Zara Solar is exploring micro-finance packages that will allow customers to use the savings made from replacing kerosene, to pay back the cost of the system over time. From savings on kerosene alone, Zara Solar customers in the rural areas could easily pay back the cost of a PV system in less than two years if the right financing methods were available.

We all need encouragement, and encouragement that includes both recognition and money, is the best kind!

You will know from this blog about the difficulties the School of St Jude has had with electricity blackouts. They have had to buy big diesel generators to guarantee their electric supply. I wonder whether solar panels are an option for their new boarding facilities, or the new campus at Usa River? I wonder whether Zara Solar can help them? Perhaps the first priority is to get the new buildings up and running, and the solar power can come later.



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Africa Awakes!

Check out this short video clip on France24 about an exhibition at the City of Sciences and Industry ( Cité des sciences et de l'industrie) in Paris. Called When Africa Wakes Up, the exhibition demonstrates the role of science and technology in African development.

Exhibitions and reports like this are important because they show us a different side to Africa – a side more like the daily life of millions of Africans. Things are changing in Africa and we are part of the story.

Navy blue socks for 1740 busy feet

As I noted yesterday, navy blue socks are on St Jude's wish list this month. Actually, navy blue socks are on St Jude's wish list EVERY month – local socks are expensive and low quality. The School provides full uniform for students, and, as I noted earlier, these uniforms are symbols of pride in the local district.

Thanks to the generosity of one supporter, the School is able to help parents keep their child's uniform in good working order by employing a Sewing Lady to attend to daily repairs. In December, I told the story of how St Jude's came to have a Sewing Lady.

Today, thanks to Bill Pavey, who keeps me up to date with the Parkwood Rotary Club activities that support the school, I can share the story of John Tunnicliff, who has responded to the call for socks by packing his bags with bundles and bundles of navy blue socks.

John Tunnicliff, Gemma Sisia, students and socks!

John is the International Service Director at Parkwood Rotary Club, and he has been a great supporter of the School of St Jude from the early years. So, when he was planning a trip to visit the School this year, it was only natural that he stuffed his luggage with as many navy blue socks as he could.

It doesn't sound like much, does it? A few dozen pairs of socks for a country where one in five children die before the age of five. But this is just a small indicator of the great care and generosity of spirit of people like John Tunnicliff, who actively support powerful on-the-ground projects that are making a huge difference to individual lives, and to the future of one of the poorest countries in the world.

Hundreds of visitors go to St Jude's every year, and all of them carry something in their luggage. This is material support that speaks what is in their hearts – great loving care for people who struggle to give their children opportunity and prosperity.

We have so much. In this affluent country, we have so much.

To get your material goods circulating through the world, you can click on the ChipIn button at the top of this blog and send a few dollars to the School of St Jude. You can stick 'Rentabook' labels in your paperbacks so they can earn dollars for the best development project in Africa – the School of St Jude. Download them here.



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Wishlist

The School of St Jude in Arusha, Tanzania, relies on the support of enthusiastic Friends worldwide. Where ever possible, it tries to source local materials so that local businesses and livelihoods are supported. However, it publishes a wishlist of items that are either non-existent, poor quality or very expensive to buy locally.

Here's the latest wishlist. If you are travelling to Arusha, could you add some of these items to your suitcase?

• Headsets for computer classes
• Clear Contact for covering books - REALLY URGENT (10/07/07)
• Industrial pencil sharpeners - they must be really strong or they break quickly!
• Any good educational software to teach students Maths, World Geography, Science (our bandwith is so narrow we can't use the internet and need offline software)
• The latest Encarta and Encyclopedia Britannicus CDs
• Children’s Socks (age 7 -16 in navy, knee-length)

Do you like lists? Things seem to take on fresh meanings when they are lined up with neighbours. This odd assortment of items reflects the real efforts made at the School of St Jude as it tackles the goal of providing excellent education to bright children in a country that is starved of resources.

Even if you're not traveling to Tanzania, you might find a way to send the School one of these items.




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