News Information
- NEWS_POSTED_BY: Haiti Place
- NEWS_POSTED_ON: Dec 24, 2014
- Views : 2108
- Category : General News
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Description :
Posted: 08/11/2011 11:46 am EDT Updated: 10/11/2011 5:12 am EDT
A few years ago, a friend of mine shared with me a Chinese saying that went as follows: "Go to the people, live among them, learn from them, love them. Start with what they know, build on what they have: But of the best leaders, when their task is accomplished, their work is done, the people all remark, 'We have done it ourselves.'" It was a powerful saying with sound advice for practitioners in my field of work -- international development.
Overview
The saying was significant for me on a personal level as well. It was exciting to find a saying that so simply and accurately described the manner in which my relationship with a small rural community in Haiti first started six years ago. In fact, it not only reflected the beginning of that relationship, but it also supported the philosophy for development that my organization, Roots of Development, has so adamantly promoted since its inception.
Since Roots of Development began supporting rural communities in Haiti, a country considered by many as a wasteland of aid money and failed projects, it has seen many successes, which are humble successes when compared to the amount of people still in need of support, but significant and substantive successes nonetheless. I attribute these successes mostly to our unique philosophy for development. We are deeply committed to a set of principles with which we carry out our work. I refer to these principles as ingredients -- the ingredients to a recipe for successful community-driven development. The ingredients, and the manner in which they should be used, are as follows: