IDSers Around the World 2009!!!

http://idsers.blogspot.com/ is the address for IDSers Around the World, a new blog managed by David S. If you posted on IDS Summer 08, please start posting at (and reading) the new blog. It will be exciting to see what everyone is now up to both at home and abroad.

Back from the Dead!

One of the main reasons many people choose the George Washington University's M.A. in International Development Studies program is the Capstone requirement. The Capstone Project requires students to form small groups to find and contract their services to an organization (private/governmental/non-governmental) for a project in a developing country. Their are projects in most fields, including health, tourism, governance, and aid effectiveness.

This spring many groups will go all over the world to get practical development experience, from the joy of seeing projects coming to fruition to the frustrations that come with it. Some of our groups have already traveled and will share their stories. There may even be stories from previous year students. If you are a current student or an IDS alumnus/a and interested in writing for the blog, write me at macton at gwu dot edu and we'll set you up!

Channeling Alden Pyle...

I'm writing this post from Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon), Vietnam, where I have decided to spend a weekend. And more importantly, where we IDS students first began our adventures as we read Graham Greene and asked ourselves "do we really get to read novels in this cirriculum?". Being here, and being almost exactly one year into GW's program, it's hard not to think about the beginning of last year when we all met. Speaking as one of the few people who hadn't really traveled much before school, it's kind of hard to conceive all the stuff that has happened between then and now. It also makes me wonder if our new class of IDS students will end up having to read the same things we did. Methinks not.

Now, in the spirit of the upcoming academic year, I will leave my fellow IDSers with a multiple choice question.

Which type of American is it better to be?

A) Quiet (Graham Greene)
B) Angry (Toby Keith)
C) Ugly (William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick)
D) Well-Meaning-And-Culturally-Sensitive-But-Also-Equipped-With-The-Technical-Skills-To-Enact-Meaningful-Change-In-A-Way-That-Incorporates-Participatory-Economic-Development.

If you answered D, you're...wrong. Nobody can save the world with that many hyphens.

I'll see you all soon, but not soon enough.

-Jarrett

Not in Rwanda this week!

This past week I was in Malawi visiting our very own Michael Bardgett and having a little therapy-by-fun. Do I feel guilty that I've been in Rwanda for only two months and have deemed myself in need of a vacation while people living in much worse conditions and in much worse pain have no escape? Yes, yes I do. But that's not what this update is about. Nope,this update is about fun and under no circumstances am I to write about the g-word, the r-word, or the p-word. Ugh, I have quite the bloody little alphabet soup going on there. But that's Rwanda. And this update is about Malawi: "the warm heart of Africa." Or at least that's what the sign at the airport said. It may just be propaganda, but isn't this whole trip about escaping from reality?

The trip started out with take-your-friend-to-work day, when I had the privilege of visiting a USAID funded project that promotes safe schools through community education and teacher training. We got to hear some students tell their own stories about escaping from forced child marriage, stopping sexual harassment, and resolving conflict amongst themselves. After we finished the first school visit, our host announced, "Well, thanks for coming. We just need to stop by the chief's house to take a picture of his pet monkey Bob and then we'll be off." Gosh, I love Africa.

Then the real vacation began! No more reality for me! I think it was sometime between pancakes in the US Ambassador's gorgeous mountain cabin and sunbathing in a kayak in the middle of a crystal clear lake that I began to wonder if this could actually be my life. In fact just being with a friend was pretty fantastic after a summer of relative isolation. I think I need more people in my life who reply "Atta girl!" when I announce that I'm going to the kitchen to eat another cookie. And for those of you who are keeping track at home, I had my second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh shower of the summer on this trip and all of them were incredible! Actually, it kind of felt like I was drowning at first, but I readjusted quickly.

You know, the only thing that I couldn't really get into on this vacation was how eager people were to serve me. Malawian men did our dishes, washed our car, built us a fire in the fireplace, made us breakfast on the beach, and did just about everything else for us. By the end of my time there, I wanted to wear a sign around my neck that read, "You may be confused because I am traveling with a big wig US
government official (read: intern), but please be advised that I am 23 years old, that I am not even slightly a big deal, and that you don't have to do anything for me." I don't think even that would have dissuaded them though and I suppose I can't really complain that much about someone else doing my dishes. Of course, the other thing I couldn't really get into was flushing toilets--I'm just not used to it! Seriously, I forgot to flush about every other time I went to the bathroom. Sorry if that's too much information for you. Ever since I started peeing in holes in the dirt, my gross-o-meter has gone a little wacky.

Unfortunately my escape from reality had to come to a close, so I said goodbye to Michael at the airport and found a seat to wait with the six other people who had a random reason to travel from Lilongwe to Lusaka. I passed the time by journaling about my awesome vacation and half watching a flickering TV turned to the 700 Club. Pat Robertson was interviewing a couple from Oklahoma who have recently made a fortune buying foreclosed houses, fixing them up, and then reselling them. He concluded the interview by looking into the camera and saying, "Folks, that's what happens when you TRULY believe in God!" Next to me an old Malawian man who sells wood carvings to tourists was leaning against the wall. I started to wonder what he must think of that statement as he squinted up at the screen through his milked over eyes. But you know, I am technically still on vacation and trying to avoid serious thoughts, so I'm going to channel an old Calvin and Hobbes comic strip when Calvin yells, "Careful! We don't want to learn anything from this!" So that's the end of this paragraph. Draw your own conclusions.

In fact, this trip was so good that even the part I thought would be a drag—my overnight layover in Ethiopia—turned out to be fun. After checking into my hostel in Addis Ababa, I asked the owner if there was a restaurant nearby where I could get some good Ethiopian food. She looked horrified and asked, "Are you eating alone?" I shrugged my shoulders, "Well, yeah…" She shook her head and told me that in Ethiopian culture people do not eat alone and asked me to wait a second. She piled her kids into the car and drove me to their favorite restaurant where I shared a giant plate of food with her family, listened to a local singer, and drank super strong Ethiopian coffee. Have I mentioned that I love Africa?

Now, having just moto-ed back into my life in Rwanda, I can't help but feel like I'm coming home. It's bizarre to realize with only a week left that I like it here. I like the people, I like my work, I like the culture... I could make this home. Of course, I can't do that yet, GW is already sending me tuition bills for next semester. What I can do is invest everything I have left for the next week and try to get on the plane with no regrets. This perspective of gratefulness that I have for my last few days is the gift that Malawi has left me with, so I'm going to try not to waste it.

Chris Blattman's Blog: Cheap advice, twice

I really enjoy his blog...if I haven't said before. The reason I linked this post of his is there are a list of blogs I had never heard of that focused on global poverty. (I didn't know the WB blogged!) He also gave a shout out to the Institution, so I have to give him props.

Unfortunately, there aren't too many world poverty research blogs, but the ones that are out there are pretty good: CGD, Dani Rodrik, and the World Bank blogs (1, 2 and 3) come to mind. There are other poverty-related blogs (many of which I link to frequently) but none that commonly highlight new research.

The summer is coming along well, may get a job soon at Brookings with one of the Development centers. Last night's HH went well, though I found out this morning that at least one of the new students couldn't find us. (Do we have a phone list?) I am also considering going out of the country for winter break to get some on the ground experience. I am in the very preliminary stages, but would love some advice.



Chris Blattman's Blog: Cheap advice, twice

Time for a change of TP Scenery

Call me spoiled for even having a toilet, but I for one am looking forward to the simple pleasure of tossing used toilet paper into the bowl instead of having to touch said-used-toilet-paper for greater than my prefered 0.5 seconds, in order to ball it up and throw it into the trash can. God Bless America.

Gratuitous Plug

This past week I had the good fortune of visiting ten primary schools over the course of three days. It was a much needed break from the office, especially for this teacher-turned-development worker. It reminded me that there is life beyond the cubicle if I can just get somebody to pay me to go out and play with kids in Africa. Any takers???

In our classes and in various discussions in DC and in Africa there is a lot of skepticism if not downright cynicism about the work that the US government (through USAID) is doing in poor countries. People always ask the question, Have we really accomplished anything? The skeptics (realists?) always point out that Africa is actually poorer than it was in the 1960’s, measured by the size of the economy. But I’m convinced that that’s a poor way of looking at this thing we call “development”. Just because an economy does good or bad does not mean that I am developing or not. Real “development” takes place on an incremental level in households. When economies grow, that usually only aggrandizes the wealthy. But when education improves or money goes towards health, it benefits everyone. My grandfather was big on education. He used to say that it’s one of the few things they can’t take away from you. And, barring frontal lobotomies, that’s mostly true.

I think that’s why the trips out to these schools were so good for me. We’re spending a lot of (but not nearly enough!) money on primary school education. It’s a long-term commitment that won’t yield returns for maybe 20 years. But there is real progress taking place in primary schools in Malawi. The projects that I visited in rural parts of Malawi have all been going for about 3 or 4 years now and every school I visited was so proud of their progress in that short amount of time. One of the biggest improvements came in the methods teachers use. From my own experience I know how easy and inefficient it is to try to stand up and lecture to students. That’s what we see in college, so that’s what we know. Well, when you’re staring at a classroom of 100 first-graders, that’s not really going to be very effective. So USAID has been training teachers to break the classes up into small groups and encourage more hands-on learning. The results were stunning. After visiting several schools that were not using this technique, it was amazing to see how much progress was being made in the teacher-trained schools. The kids were speaking nearly perfect English by 7th grade and were dictating to me the parts of the ear and fractional math. And with the kids learning more, the parents were taking a renewed interest in their kids’ schools and donating more money for building construction and maintenance and teacher salaries.

Probably the most interesting part of my entire trip to Africa also happened during my tours around Malawi’s schools. There’s a secret society in Chewa culture here in Malawi called the Gula Wamkulu. Induction into the group is so secretive that even your wives and mothers are not supposed to know that you’re in it. When they go out in public they wear ostentatious and brightly colored costumes. The group kind of carries on the traditions and morals of Chewa society. It’s kind of the traditional glue from one generation to the next. Kind of like Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve in America.

I encountered this group because up until a couple of years ago they were actually encouraging kids to stop going to school because they saw no benefit for the kids. They actually chased kids away from school in their scary costumes while wielding clubs. So when USAID went into these rural areas and started improving schools, one part of the program was to show the community the improvements and how they’re helping kids learn. Soon the Gula Wamkulu was on board with the new program and turned about face in their policies. Now there are actually pictures of them chasing kids TOWARDS school. You should see the scared looks on the kids’ faces as they’re being chased by men dressed up as roosters and sheep. In those areas school enrollment almost doubled, along with the attendance rate. Now that’s a truancy officer. On my visit the Gula Wamkulu were hosting a fundraiser for local schools in which they performed their native dances for the villages and received donations. I was the only westerner amongst a crowd of about 500 watching this dance. I can’t hope to describe what I saw, but I did take several videos which I can show you when I’m back.

Ah, but here’s the rub. The US Congress has limited how much money we can spend on education in Malawi. Most of the money from the US government has to go to health because Congressmen like to say they’re giving money for health. So as a result we’ve only been able to implement these projects in 4 of the 26 districts in Malawi. So we’re only barely making a dent in a huge problem in Malawi. So feel free to write your Congressman to get some more money for programs like this in Malawi.

So that’s just a recent perspective I’ve had here in Africa’s warm heart. In the midst of all that I thought that I had contracted malaria, but it turns out I just picked up some other random virus in one of the dozen or so villages I visited among the hundreds of hands I shook in my time out there. Blood and urine tests came back negative, so God only knows what it was. Unfortunately it took 3 painful pricks into my veins to draw enough blood from me. (Note to self: don’t give blood in the middle of Africa)

I’m now under three weeks left in Malawi before I head off again for some more overland travel across Africa, and, I’m sure, more fun African travel stories. Before then my friend Stephanie comes to my little country this weekend to experience the joy of Lake Malawi. I would say time is flying by for me, but in reality it seems like it’s moving at a normal pace. Not too fast; not too slow. Just like Malawi.

Before I sign out, here are some more fun tidbits I picked up about Malawi during my travels. While visiting schools I was surrounded by Malawians all day with no Westerners anywhere to be found, so I got to learn some more about the culture:

-Driving down the ol’ M1 in the Northern Region of Malawi we passed by an official-looking road sign that read “CAMEL” just off the road. My driver informed me that the owner of that house brought the first camel to Malawi just a few years ago so they put a sign up in front of his house. Apparently he uses it to sow his fields and ride into town.

-If the Gula Wamkulu was the most incredible thing I saw in Africa so far, this is number 1b. There’s a boy named William who read a book in a library (donated by USAID) about wind power. William was 14 at the time and had dropped out of school because his very rural parents could not afford the school fees. As William read about windmills he got the crazy idea in his head that he could build one and provide free electricity for his very rural house. So he did just that, in spite of the crazy looks he got from his family and friends. And to everyone’s amazement, it worked! Having never left his rural village and with no knowledge of electricity other than what he read in that book and another one on Chemistry he built a real working wind-powered electrical source. He even invented his own type of outlets and switches. And all of it was made with junk that he found laying around local villages. William’s house today has a tv, dvd, and ipods, all donated by a wealthy American and powered by this amazing boy. He’s now building a second windmill that will power a water pump and allow his family to irrigate an entire field. William is 19 now and has been given a scholarship to a prestigious school for future leaders of Africa in Johannesburg.,

-With so many animals living basically on the roads here in Malawi, I’ve been wondering what happens if you hit one of them. This week I found out the answer – you must negotiate with the owner a fair price for the animal. I got an estimate from some of my guides. If you hit a chicken you pay about $10. If you hit a dog (the local guard service) you pay about $15. And if you hit a goat you pay $25. You can also negotiate whether or not you get to take the animal with you for food.

-One of the local delicacies in Malawi is field mice, which they serve either boiled or fried, and sell on sticks along the sides of the road. Not every Malawian eats them, but the ones that do eat them eat the whole thing, starting with the head and working their way down. The tail is supposed to be the tastiest part of the mouse. It is said a good wife is one that serves a field mouse with the tail attached and a bad wife will cut it off.