What is it that they say? "Better to be a small fish in a big pond, than a big fish in a small pond?" I first heard that from a friend while he was referring to the Advertising Sector. He and another friend were playfully bantering about each others jobs. I can't remember if he did indeed mean that being a small fish (big pond) was better than being a big fish (small pond).
In the development sector, the pond has gotten so huge, that it is almost a default that we are all small fishes. You have the UN agencies and other multilaterals, the bilateral organizations or Development Cooperation orgs (USAID, GIZ, etc), the big INGOs and their regional platforms and the country based NGOs and other civil society organizations, to name a few. Then, you can choose a theme: education, microfinance, health, emergency relief, housing, children, youth, disabled, elderly, indigenous groups -- and the list goes on.
This big web of actors have the ultimate vision of addressing poverty -- and yet it has become big business as well. Graham Hancock's Lords of Poverty provides quite a bothering picture of how development aid is just flowing through like a massive flood of money that can provide more damage than good to its supposed beneficiaries.
Another point of critical reflection is about who is doing the developing? Who is leading the show and deciding what needs to be done. The Guardian recently released article written by Fairouz El Tom showing that, among the Top 100 NGOs ranked in 2012, 72% were headquartered in the Western World. Furthermore, the diversity of the leadership just shows that the Global South, the intended beneficiaries of development are severely unrepresented.
I conducted a training in Sub-Saharan Africa with a partner organization. It was a truly inspiring organization that did quite amazing work with a team that was just as impressive. My only point of wonder was that their whole management team, save for one person, were 'muzonges' (foreigners).
But... as there is always a but... at least in terms of diversity, the picture is changing; and for some reason or another, we are all still here in this sector, believing that we are still making a difference. Because, every now and then, amidst the critique and amidst the chaos, you hear a story -- of how one of your programmes, or one of your trainings, managed to transform a person's way of thinking, way of living, and way of being. And that would reaffirm our faith that it's good to be a small fish (or turtle) in this development pond.
In the development sector, the pond has gotten so huge, that it is almost a default that we are all small fishes. You have the UN agencies and other multilaterals, the bilateral organizations or Development Cooperation orgs (USAID, GIZ, etc), the big INGOs and their regional platforms and the country based NGOs and other civil society organizations, to name a few. Then, you can choose a theme: education, microfinance, health, emergency relief, housing, children, youth, disabled, elderly, indigenous groups -- and the list goes on.
This big web of actors have the ultimate vision of addressing poverty -- and yet it has become big business as well. Graham Hancock's Lords of Poverty provides quite a bothering picture of how development aid is just flowing through like a massive flood of money that can provide more damage than good to its supposed beneficiaries.
Another point of critical reflection is about who is doing the developing? Who is leading the show and deciding what needs to be done. The Guardian recently released article written by Fairouz El Tom showing that, among the Top 100 NGOs ranked in 2012, 72% were headquartered in the Western World. Furthermore, the diversity of the leadership just shows that the Global South, the intended beneficiaries of development are severely unrepresented.
I conducted a training in Sub-Saharan Africa with a partner organization. It was a truly inspiring organization that did quite amazing work with a team that was just as impressive. My only point of wonder was that their whole management team, save for one person, were 'muzonges' (foreigners).
But... as there is always a but... at least in terms of diversity, the picture is changing; and for some reason or another, we are all still here in this sector, believing that we are still making a difference. Because, every now and then, amidst the critique and amidst the chaos, you hear a story -- of how one of your programmes, or one of your trainings, managed to transform a person's way of thinking, way of living, and way of being. And that would reaffirm our faith that it's good to be a small fish (or turtle) in this development pond.
