Development That Actually Develops

"We dont need streetlights just a new star
Not paralysed by appearences with big ideas
And just way too smart to walk around on the surface
When theres an ocean just beneath its blue-green smile
All the while nothings stopping me from jumping in it"

I have been trying to maintain at least some vague academic aspect to this trip up to this point, but I will probably have fewer opportunities for the remainder of the trip, as I will be moving fast to make it to all the places I still want to visit. I will be moving fast, that is, when there is actually a bus to take me to the next destination. I got stuck in Mwanza, Tanzania for a while in the process of going to Rwanda. I finally caught my last bus at 4:30 am the other morning, after staying up all night worrying I might miss the bus because I couldn't figure out if it was leaving at 4:30 am western time or Swahili time.

I managed to see everything I was planning to see in Malawi and more. I made it as far south as Cape MacLear, hitchhiking in the back of incredibly old, tiny pickups that managed to fit about 20 people in the bed. I usually had to help hold the odd toddler, as long as he or she wasn't too afraid of the mzungu. At Cape MacLear I went diving in Lake Malawi in one of the few fresh water protected areas in the world. It is home to a high concentration of cichlid fish. In theory, fishing is not allowed there; in practice it is difficult to prevent. That afternoon I also managed to find a place to go water skiing and was treated to dinner by my traveling companion, Rachael. Not a bad day considering it was my birthday.

On my way back north, I met up with Trent Bunderson, from WSU, who directs an organization called Total Land Care. He arranged for me to join the Speaker of the Malawian Parliament to tour some of the projects. The organization works to prevent soil degradation and deforestation around Malawi. Their strategies are very simple and easily implemented by many farmers. For example, they teach farmers to plant thick grass and trees between crop plots, parallel to the river in order to prevent rain run off during the wet season, so that the soil is once again capable of holding water which feeds the river throughout the year.

I then continued north to the small village of Nkhotakota, where a branch of the organization exists. The branch is run almost completely by locals. It was amusing to see one man wearing a WSU pin on his shirt collar. There, all the projects relate in some way to maintaining the Chia Lagoon. There are a lot of crop diversification projects, which not only protect soil integrity, but also increase surplus for the local farmers. The most interesting project I saw was the mushroom house, which allows farmers to cultivate mushrooms year round rather than only during the wet season.

The last project I happened to stumble upon while passing through Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania. While having breakfast at a guest house, I met a local journalist who was trained and is funded through USAid. He explained that the project aims to reduce corruption through journalism exposure. He was trained as a journalist through the program and is now supposed to train others. Perhaps more importantly, he explained how he is now safer in his profession. Apparently even though Tanzania has enjoyed a fairly long peaceful period and relatively little corruption, journalist can still be threatened and even killed for writing controversial stories. He said that within the last few years, a journalist was killed for exposing money being taken away from national park funds. When I asked how USAid could possible make journalists safer in Tanzania, he explained that he is substantially safer just through receiving a decent salary. With adequate money he can live in a secure house (just by having windows and locking doors), he can afford to move out of a dangerous area and he can afford to take safe, secure transportation. It all seems too simple, but at the same time, it makes sense to me.

Seeing all these projects helped me have a slightly more positive outlook on development projects and aid money in Africa, as I have become slightly jaded through traveling here and through reading Robert Guest's book "The Shackled Continent". I highly recommend the book to anyone traveling in Africa or anyone who is interested in Africa or foreign aid. The book is not an altogether negative book, but does point out a lot of the current problems in African politics, in the way development projects are managed and in the way aid is distributed. Go read it now!