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Finding our way

7th September 2014:

Almost ten years ago we went to Malawi first, having no great love for going to Africa, ever, but we got interested in the stupidity of a World that couldn’t do anything about a simple water crisis. We have enabled over half a million of the poorest to access clean, safe drinking water. It costs far less than 1 Euro to give someone clean water, bet you didn’t know that.

We really have no interest in numbers, we are just interested in people, each one person, and how they have the potential to develop themselves.

We have not and will never be an AID organisation. AID is worse than AIDS and needs to have a serious re-examination. This enormous Aid Business will remain because too many people make a great living out of it. Of course I fully realise that there are so many people everywhere who need help, but 50 years of AID has been such an unmitigated disaster, that there must be another way to help the poor.

The morning before we headed out into the big unknown, which is the warm heart of Africa, I found this quote, by Lao Tao, a philosopher and poet of ancient China, which Mary had already used in some Thesis of hers, and we have adopted this Taoist philosophy of development, as follows: ( a bit of a strange revelation for someone who has recently been accused of possibly promoting Fundamentalist Catholicism in Malawi, but that’s another story)

“Go to the people. Live with them. Learn from them. Love them. Start with what they know. Build with what they have. In such a way that when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will say “We have done this ourselves.””

This evening Mary decided not to cook, for just the two of us, so we headed out and we found today’s Sunday Independent. While we waited Mary read today’s article by our friend, Board Member, Author and Journalist , John Waters, looking at a new way of tackling poverty, in all its forms.

It was inspiring for us and the approach we have in trying to Inspire, Educate and Challenge our women’s groups in Malawi.
Of course there is nothing there about handouts or development agencies, but much about people.

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