A New Life
So many updates in life! Adam got married this weekend! Melissa is now my sister, and I am SO excited! She's such a fun girl, and I love seeing just how in love those two are. While in Vernal, Sara a
nd I got a little bored and decided to dye our hair. I added a [what I call drastic] haircut to to it off. BLACK is this year's pink! At least... that's what Galinda says...
nd I got a little bored and decided to dye our hair. I added a [what I call drastic] haircut to to it off. BLACK is this year's pink! At least... that's what Galinda says...
Kristie is now officially nicknamed Katy Perry with her tagline being, "I'm talking about ZITS here, people!"
I'm Edna with the line, "No capes!" Or, as Sam (friend here at school) noticed, I could be Lucy from Charlie Brown. Tee hee
Now the more serious note, and the reason why I decided to write today. (This and I feel both compelled and a degree of competition against *someone* to maintain my blog). I still partially view a blog as being an online journal with pictures and videos, as mom sees it. But blogs are public information, so THAT generalization can't hold. I've seen more people using blogs as means to transmit information and ideas, whether it be Nathan's on revolutions and political rants, Jeff's on what he's learning in his classes, Adrienne's on her insights into life and the decisions she's making, or Julie's from Julie & Julia on recipes and her successes & failures.
This comes from an article titled Why Foreign Aid is Hurting Africa that Carrie Brock sent to me; I
find it very interesting. I never had much of an opinion nor knowledge on development work and how globalized the world is becoming until I went to Africa this summer. Looking onto my very productive life thus far, this last summer was the GREATEST change I have expereinced. Really, it was a pivotal moment, and not the type that Shania Twain talks about. :)
"Stuck in an aid world of no incentives, there is no reason for governments to seek other, better, more transparent ways of raising development finance."
This makes me think of today in International Development class, where
we had guest speakers from the Social Venture Contest and Social Entrepreneurship Organization come in and speak; I want to find better ways to do things, but I don't feel like i am equipped with the knowledge to REALLY empower people, to REALLY understand situations well enough that I have something intelligent and meaningful to contribute. I don't have a Tipping Bucket type of idea.
Yet.
I feel like I have the potential to one day create something like that. And really, I choose to yes or no. I choose if I'm going to make great, amazing things happen or if I will become passive and let them pass by.
As I read on, I questioned:
I'm Edna with the line, "No capes!" Or, as Sam (friend here at school) noticed, I could be Lucy from Charlie Brown. Tee hee
Now the more serious note, and the reason why I decided to write today. (This and I feel both compelled and a degree of competition against *someone* to maintain my blog). I still partially view a blog as being an online journal with pictures and videos, as mom sees it. But blogs are public information, so THAT generalization can't hold. I've seen more people using blogs as means to transmit information and ideas, whether it be Nathan's on revolutions and political rants, Jeff's on what he's learning in his classes, Adrienne's on her insights into life and the decisions she's making, or Julie's from Julie & Julia on recipes and her successes & failures.
This comes from an article titled Why Foreign Aid is Hurting Africa that Carrie Brock sent to me; I
find it very interesting. I never had much of an opinion nor knowledge on development work and how globalized the world is becoming until I went to Africa this summer. Looking onto my very productive life thus far, this last summer was the GREATEST change I have expereinced. Really, it was a pivotal moment, and not the type that Shania Twain talks about. :) 
"Stuck in an aid world of no incentives, there is no reason for governments to seek other, better, more transparent ways of raising development finance."
This makes me think of today in International Development class, where
we had guest speakers from the Social Venture Contest and Social Entrepreneurship Organization come in and speak; I want to find better ways to do things, but I don't feel like i am equipped with the knowledge to REALLY empower people, to REALLY understand situations well enough that I have something intelligent and meaningful to contribute. I don't have a Tipping Bucket type of idea. Yet.
I feel like I have the potential to one day create something like that. And really, I choose to yes or no. I choose if I'm going to make great, amazing things happen or if I will become passive and let them pass by.
As I read on, I questioned:
What is being given in aid? How can local people be spurred to make, build, or engineer what is being given to them? Is our knowledge helpful, or have they found a better, cheaper, more innovative way to do it because they live in the circumstances on a daily basis?
“Governments need to attract more foreign direct investment by creating attractive tax structures and reducing the red tape and complex regulations for businesses. African nations should also focus on increasing trade; China is one promising partner. And Western countries can help by cutting off the cycle of giving something for nothing. It's time for a change.”
Dambisa Moyo, a former economist at Goldman Sachs, is the author of "Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa."
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