issue 019 3/4/08 17:50 Page 1 interact The magazine of Changing lives How Progressio development workers help change people’s lives Also in this issue: Illegal logging in Ecuador Women’s roles in Somaliland A question of faith in Yemen ISSN 1816-045X Spring 2008 issue 019 3/4/08 17:50 Page 2 interact Spring 2008 Contents editorial 4 3 first person Changing lives 4 news In 2005, on a visit to Peru and Ecuador, I met 6 agenda Progressio development worker Jaime Torres (pictured on the front of this Interact). I wrote insight: changing lives at the time (http://incatrials.blogspot.com/): ‘Jaime is a young Colombian who gave up a prestigious job in Bogotá to come to a rural Breaking new ground community to teach farmers to use computers. 7 Patrick Reilly in Somaliland If that sounds stupid, it’s not. It’s really amazing. There are 13,000 farms in the district Outside the comfort zone and they all rely on water distributed through a 8 Michelle Lowe in Ecuador complex system of irrigation channels. The water is controlled by local irrigation councils, Discovery and renewal which need to know how much water to send 9 Charlie Smith in Peru where, and when. The irrigation councils have to apply to the government to get the water, Growing stronger 11 so need to know how much water is needed, 10 Sanne te Pas in El Salvador and when. The farmers need to know which crops to plant and when, so that they can get Playing our part the best prices, and be sure they will have 11 Stephanie Boyd in Peru enough water for the crops to grow… ‘Jaime has devised a database system to The hurricane that brings good collate all the information, and a wireless 13 Jane Freeland in Nicaragua’s Caribbean Coast internet system to make it accessible to the farmers and the irrigation councils… [He has] viewpoint faced problems head on, solved them creatively, and created a sustainable system that provides a simple, workable solution to a Finding yourself problem faced by an entire district of farms. 14 Culture and identity in Peru It’s like one of those enlarged pictures of snowflakes: it’s complex, simple and beautiful, Steps on the road to equality all at one time. I was very impressed.’ 15 Women in decision-making in Somaliland Meeting Jaime and other Progressio development workers brought home to me the The process of recognition 15 value of the work that we do, and the people 16 Haitian migrants in the Dominican Republic who do it. I hope that this edition of Interact will give you a similar insight into their work. Defending the last primary forest 17 Illegal logging in Ecuador 18 opinion 19 action Cover picture:Graham Freer/Progressio Published April 2008 by Progressio Progressio Ireland Editor Alastair Whitson Unit 3, Canonbury Yard c/o CORI, Bloomfield Avenue Executive Director Christine Allen 190a New North Road Off Morehampton Road Design Twenty-Five Educational London N1 7BJ Donnybrook, Dublin 4, Ireland Printing APG (ISO 14001 accreditation for tel +44 (0)20 7354 0883 tel +353 (0)1 6144966 international environmental standards). fax +44 (0)20 7359 0017 e-mail [email protected] Printed on REVIVE 100% chlorine free e-mail [email protected] Charity reg. in Ireland no. CHY 14451 recycled paper. website www.progressio.org.uk Company reg. no. 385465 Recycle this magazine! Progressio is the working name of the Catholic Institute for International Relations Charity reg. in the UK no. 294329 Company reg. no. 2002500 The views and opinions in Interact are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect Progressio policy. issue 019 3/4/08 17:51 Page 3 first person Frank Tondeur with his counterpart from Harsh realities, ADM, Daysi Rivera. ask poor people to go on bearing the costs of environmental protection, for the simple reason that it is immoral. So, positive attitudes if a tax was imposed on every plastic bottle found on a company’s premises, ANY PEOPLE will have wondered degree of literacy. Even malnutrition instead of the people who threw them why Nicaragua, despite having among the most vulnerable sections of out being fined, it would make those Minvested millions of dollars in the population, which prevents their companies change their attitudes and environmental education (it is said that effectively assimilating information, has look for a solution to the problem. its per capita investment in training is the been taken into account. At the same time, if we offered an highest in the world), has not achieved And of course, it has been noted that incentive to those who do not use the hoped-for results in tackling people living in poverty plunder the pollutants, those who prevent pollution, environmental problems: its rivers are forests in order to survive, even though and those who make an effort to preserve becoming ever drier, its water more they know it is wrong. It has also been natural resources, many people would contaminated and its forest-cover less said that other attitudes exist that have soon change their attitudes. Because we extensive. nothing to do with survival (such as also need a new culture that goes beyond Naturally, there are a number of throwing rubbish out in the street) and the principle ‘the polluter pays’. factors at work, but our present concern which, despite the campaigns that have International development is to find out if training programmes are been waged, do not appear to change. organisations and governments have really changing the behaviour of those What is certain is that to change invested millions in educating people involved. People have spoken of the people’s attitudes requires a process of often without measuring the real impact pressures affecting society: the training and consciousness-raising that of these efforts. For those organisations impossibility for a human being to may take many years. How, for example, maybe the time has come to think about concentrate, when listening to a talk, can we explain to people the importance following a new strategy [one that because of the many problems besetting of collecting rubbish when they have involves listening and empowering] if we him or her. And that is a harsh reality in lived in the midst of it since they were want things to change, before it is too Nicaragua. children, and see it as normal? late. Questions have also been raised about The other approach is to exert one’s talks given by development workers that influence so that the real polluters, those Franck Tondeur is a Progressio involve little participation, and the lack of who produce the rubbish and the development worker with ADM (the a methodology for popular education agrochemicals, bear the costs of Association for Municipal Development) needed to ‘teach’ groups with a limited decontamination. We cannot continue to in Boaco, Nicaragua. He is from Belgium. Spring 2008 interact 3 issue 019 3/4/08 17:51 Page 4 news Participants brought experiences from across Latin America to the conference Somaliland in Cuenca, Ecuador. media Michelle Lowe/Progressio churches have been active in covers HIV prevention, training and care of people living with HIV, others have and AIDS been silent or indifferent to the problem. stories Religious leaders working on HIV and AIDS in eight countries in Latin America presented their OURNALISTS IN SOMALILAND met experiences to an audience drawn with people living with HIV from churches, faith-based Jand AIDS at a Progressio- Latin American organisations and social sponsored meeting in December, organisations including Anglican, to hear their stories and gain a churches discuss Jewish, Methodist, Baptist, better understanding of how to Evangelical, and Catholic churches. present HIV and AIDS issues in the responses to HIV Development workers and staff media. from Progressio also took part. Following the meeting, and AIDS Participants were encouraged Progressio and partner to analyse HIV not just as a organisation Talowadag helped set IVERSE FAITH COMMUNITIES from medical problem, but as an issue up an editorial committee to across Latin America came which causes rights violations, advise and support newspaper Dtogether in Cuenca, poverty, emotional trauma and journalists writing on HIV and Ecuador, in March to discuss damage to bodies and souls AIDS. The initiative is supported by experiences and perspectives on through discrimination and the Mandeeq group of HIV and AIDS. isolation. newspapers whose journalists will The conference – titled ‘Know At the end of the event a joint be encouraged to write regular the truth and it will set you free’ declaration was drafted which articles on the realities of living (John 8:32) – was organised by the takes a stand against moralistic or with HIV and AIDS. Social Pastoral of the Cuenca simplistic responses and the idea Progressio development worker Archdiocese (a Progressio partner that HIV and AIDS is a Eliezer Wangulu commented: ‘This organisation) with the support of ‘punishment’ inflicted by God. The will be a major breakthrough in the Catholic Relief Service and declaration affirms Christians’ and enabling people living with HIV Progressio. churches’ support, love and and AIDS to share their The organisers were keen to solidarity for all people living with experiences and hence contribute open up an ecumenical dialogue HIV and AIDS and their immensely in the fight against on the topic because they commitment to work on the stigma and discrimination, which recognise that while many theme. is rife in Somaliland.’ Film challenges attitudes to migration TTITUDES TO MIGRATION are migrate to the US and Europe, explored from the how they live, what they do and Aperspective of Dominicans the social prejudice surrounding and Haitians in a new film directed them.