PART 3 - Developing the wrap up

For the last few years I’ve struggled with the idea of “development.” What distinguishes it from aid? How can it be self-sustaining? Which foot to put forward first? That kind of thing.
I was also surprised after giving the calendar money to one of the Lamas at Dru Deng, that Qing Zhu told me straight faced that he’d rather do it for profit next time. Many would agree with him. The only way to keep doing that kind of project is to earn some of the cash yourself. I started wondering whether or not to help him connect to the generous and romantic folk in Canada, simply to help him get his business off the ground.
Unpacking these thoughts now in my living room as I get ready to return, the irony almost stings. I earn $900 Canadian a month and am getting an all expenses paid trip to evaluate development projects across Tibet for a small international organisation caught in the corruption of rural China and the philosophy of bringing training manuals and ideas to people who essentially exist on what they can produce in their backyards. It’s called “capacity building” in the industry. And it’s the way that “we” feel justifies spending donated money to influence “long term change” that is supposed to help these people become more mobile in the modern age and hopefully leave them feeling better off for it. I wonder how many TVs could be bought with all that capacity building money, after all, whether it’s a TV, a digital camera, or an expensive meal out, that’s what us generous individuals at home are doing with our share.
While success in our programs can be measured with indicators like reduced rates of infant mortality, endangered species habitat protection, and improved basic health, and it’s true that I couldn’t be helping with the program full time without earning any money, it comes back to the question of what came first, the cry or the help? How much say in the annual budget do the communities we’re working in have?
There are probably as many development agencies in China as there are dairy farms in parts of Europe, supporting a massive work force whose job it is to deliver tid bits of lifestyle fertilizer and help others achieve modern independence.
For the time being, in my new capacity as a project manager, I’ll just do my best to do the most for the people I meet, I’ll savour the experience for the rest of my life, and on the side, I’ve arranged to meet Qing Zhu in Lhasa to pick up a full size Tangka to sell for him over Christmas back home.