Knowing the problems

The common theme in this article about the Asia Tsunami, and another article about the Kashmir Earthquake, has been the inability to truly understand the problems. Funds came in fast, and relief efforts were immediately initiated, but in many cases these efforts were genuine though misdirected. Even after a year, almost 67,000 tsunami victims in Indonesia are living in tents, and only now has there been a real push to replace tents with temporary shelters. Fishermen were bombarded with offers of new boats, but factories which supplied ice to preserve their catch are not yet running. Efforts to restore education for school children have received more importance from the World Bank than funding to clean clogged ports. Similarly, resort reconstruction has begun in full swing to restore tourism, but roads have not been reconstructed in many parts as yet. Another article also talks in detail about this situation. The situation is even worse in Kashmir where supply is short for plastic sheets and tarpaulins for the tents in the fierce winter, because the areas affected by the earthquake are so inaccessible.

I am not saying that intentions for good work have fallen short in any way. Recovery efforts in both these disasters have been faster than ever seen earlier in history, but it is very important to recognize the problems and prioritize/plan accordingly. The same principles should be kept in mind whenever somebody plans new ventures for rural upliftment, be they related to agriculture, or education, or power supply. Simply setting up an Internet kiosk in a village is of no help unless easy to use applications can be built upon it. Setting up hospitals is no of help unless medical facilities are readily available. Setting up garbage disposal dumps is of help unless sanitation is properly done. Similarly, just opening a school in a village may not encourage people to send their kids to school when they could have lent a helping hand in the fields instead, but if schools are coupled with vocational education like handicraft skills which can generate revenue, then this may be a starter. Such things are not obvious at all: to realise what are the prerequisites for any kind of a project. This also goes into a lot of questions about the social setting and culture as well.

I will encourage all the readers to comment on this, maybe taking the categorization of rural upliftment needs to bring in some organization in the thinking. And a Happy New Year to everybody!