Irreconcilable differences

Red Card for Fifa! Go Black Stars!

Red Card for FIFA

Patrick Bond blows a loud vuvuzela in FIFA’s ear. For what its worth, I agree with him. South Africa will probably lose money on the World Cup and why South African taxpayers should be on the hook for financing the stadiums and infrastructure for the games while the profits go to FIFA is beyond my comprehension.

PS: Go Black Stars! Make those Aussies wish they never came to South Africa!

Homeward bound

At the airport. DUR-JNB-AMS-IAD (that is, Durban-Johannesburg-Amsterdam-Washington, DC). I hope that stupid volcano in Iceland takes a rest for the next few days. This has been a great trip and I am really going to miss Orlean. I also hope that the program we put together – a documentary on life in Chatsworth from the perspective of the community’s youth – helps to engage kids to do something other than hang around street corners waiting for something to happen (i.e., start using drugs).

A worthwhile trip

I am in Durban, South Africa to write a report on how research can help make NGOs more effective for International IDEA. The NGO I chose to examine is the Westcliff Flats Residents Association (WCFA) in Chatsworth, a poor suburb of Durban. The head of the organization, Orlean Naidoo, is an amazing woman and is also not real keen on outsiders mucking around her organization (there is a big problem in South Africa with outsiders using social movements to advance their own agendas). For this reason, I worked really hard to get Orlean’s trust – but was never quite sure I had earned it. Needless to say I was more than a little nervous when I gave my final presentation. Not only did she like it, but she agreed to be one of the co-authors of the report and we have already begun work on some of the report’s recommendations (engage youth to keep them off drugs). This is one of the best compliments I have received in a long time. This was a worthwhile trip.

Why I do what I do

Because sometimes I can make a difference. Today I spent five hours with the Westcliff Flats Residents Association helping them figure out how to address a really difficult problem in their community, how to get rid of drugs and drug dealers. Westcliff is a poor suburb of Durban, South Africa. While we didn’t solve the problem, I helped them think of things that had not occurred to them before that might help get a handle on it. I am increasingly convinced that one of the best ways outsiders can help improve development and governance is by helping people achieve their own goals. I was able to do that a little bit today.