Third World Development Sans Boundaries.

noreply@blogspirit.com (Arun Mohan) — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 18:35:00 +0200

The three subsequent pieces are all based on issues and events that were covered by the recent edition of the developments magazine. Unless mentioned otherwise, photos are attributed to the same.

The 3rd Homeless World Cup.

The Third Homeless World Cup was organized in Edinburgh (Scotland) recently. Besides proving to be a motivational source for the players (who usually are street vendors from all corners of the globe), the World Cup has been instrumental in trying to transcend cultural and political boundaries. The term "Third World", we realise, has been a misnomer all the while. Destitute people from Britain meet and share thoughts,opinions (everything except the football) with Namibians. The Third World is all about people rather than defined geographic locations. As mentioned earlier, for the players, the tournament has been an inspiration to struggle and succeed in life. In fact, many have received offers from professional football clubs;most of them return with lucrative sporting opportunities under the wing. Obstacles of a cultural nature still persist. The Homeless World Cup, "which sidesteps the usual sporting elite to turn the floodlights on those at the bottom of the heap", has nonetheless turned out to be a splendid idea to foster rapid development through excellent human connectivity.

Facilitating Development via Blogging.

The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development has equipped select Ethiopians in rural areas with digicams, enabling them to chronicle their life in vibrant fashion. The experiment, with an objective to motivate the people to come out with their bios (complemented by pics), is indeed a novel one. The results are quite encouraging; more and more Africans have come out of their shells to depict their lives on the Net. Not only do these tales provide exposure to the other-wise ignorant developed countries, but they also end as wholesome pre-occupation (sometimes even jobs) for the bloggers. The logs are posted in EthiopiaLives. Picture courtesy Alefu,EthiopiaLives.

Grameenphone.

Grameen Bank, the popular micro-credit provider in Bangladesh has come out with a cracker of a scheme that entails development vis-a-vis technology. Titled Grameenphone, it encourages to-be "micro-entrepreneurs" to purchase handsets (with the aid of a loan) and then rent out airtime. "When you get a mobile phone, its almost like having a card to get out of poverty in a couple of years", so says Mohammed Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank. Best news is, women have utilized the opportunity to the max. Over 100,00 'phone ladies' and counting....

Thinkin' on your stomach. - blog

Third World Development Sans Boundaries.