Vivvo CMS 4.1 http://www.pri.org/ amp;copy;2007 Spoonlabs d.o.o. http://www.pri.org/files.php?file=rss_682409203.gif http://www.pri.org/ http://www.pri.org/business/global-development/technilogy-developing-world1716.html Global Development Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -0600 Why technological fixes often fail to deliver in the developing world – a story with a lesson and an online discussion. http://www.esperanzaenaccion.org Global Development Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:40:53 -0600 I don't think anyone should be shocked that the first thing people did was go out and buy televisions. I live and work in Nicaragua and one of the first things that someone told me when I got here is that as being someone from a developed country I could never imagine how boring it is to be poor. When one struggles to even put food on the table there is no money available to be able to go out and enjoy oneself in a manner which we are accustomed as being privileged people from a developed country. When you are in your house day in and day out and there is nothing to do it's natural to turn to television as a way to escape your daily life. My work involves constant contact with artisans who often work in their homes. While they are working they are often watching television as a way to pass the time while they are working. Oftentimes people from developed countries cannot understand the necessities or difficulties of the majority that live in extreme poverty, but it is important that we do so in order to understand the reality that most of the world lives in. Global Development Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:34:43 -0600 As i read your article about the work in Nicaragua, I was reminded of the struggles my granddaughter felt as she worked in community projects in Panama. Thanks for sharing the article and I still believe that we need to walk in another's moccasins before we can truly understand how others think and feel.9 http://joannbutrin.com Global Development Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:07:31 -0600 Might have been a good idea to do a community assessment first and actually begin asking people what their priority needs were. Clean water may have been a far more important use of the money spent on windmills. Will we ever learn? PRI: Public Radio International: National and World News, Talk, Arts, Entertainment and Music