Is This Development?
Development is hailed as the cure all for the 3rd world or as we label these days, the developing world. It may well be but there is often a huge mess created in the process and western nations and people can be in too much of a rush to ‘help’ the developing world develop. Case in point; the water pump in the Bodhgaya near Mohamed’s guest house. It is common knowledge that a Japanese group donated the money for the much needed water pump and yes it was great in the beginning, but that was before the advent of the plastic bag invasion. In the late 1990’s plastic bags and coke were the new craze in India, goodbye to recycled newspapers glued together to make bags and hello to modernity in the form of a bright colored, various sized, non biodegradable plastic bags. Everything from loose flour and sugar to already packaged items went into plastic bags and every shop keeper worth his salt had to be seen giving away plastic bags with every purchase. Maybe it was some kind of shop keeper status symbol. Anyway, all the soap, shampoo and dish detergent went into plastic bags which were then discarded at the water pump. Now that alone should not create such a problem but the Japanese in their rush to help India develop forgot to put in a drainage system in this low laying area. A pump with no drainage system? So the water pumped up has to drain back into the soil and with plastic bags everywhere the water just stagnates and stagnates becoming an attraction for malaria carrying mosquitoes, until monsoon when the bags get washed away further downstream and become someone else’s problem. Lesson learned here, 1) pumps need drainage system too and if you do not have the money for drainage, do not put in the pump; 2) development of the mind has to happen when introducing new technology so that age old habits will change as well. 3) think before you rush in to ‘develop’ and come back to check on the project.
Development is hailed as the cure all for the 3rd world or as we label these days, the developing world. It may well be but there is often a huge mess created in the process and western nations and people can be in too much of a rush to ‘help’ the developing world develop. Case in point; the water pump in the Bodhgaya near Mohamed’s guest house. It is common knowledge that a Japanese group donated the money for the much needed water pump and yes it was great in the beginning, but that was before the advent of the plastic bag invasion. In the late 1990’s plastic bags and coke were the new craze in India, goodbye to recycled newspapers glued together to make bags and hello to modernity in the form of a bright colored, various sized, non biodegradable plastic bags. Everything from loose flour and sugar to already packaged items went into plastic bags and every shop keeper worth his salt had to be seen giving away plastic bags with every purchase. Maybe it was some kind of shop keeper status symbol. Anyway, all the soap, shampoo and dish detergent went into plastic bags which were then discarded at the water pump. Now that alone should not create such a problem but the Japanese in their rush to help India develop forgot to put in a drainage system in this low laying area. A pump with no drainage system? So the water pumped up has to drain back into the soil and with plastic bags everywhere the water just stagnates and stagnates becoming an attraction for malaria carrying mosquitoes, until monsoon when the bags get washed away further downstream and become someone else’s problem. Lesson learned here, 1) pumps need drainage system too and if you do not have the money for drainage, do not put in the pump; 2) development of the mind has to happen when introducing new technology so that age old habits will change as well. 3) think before you rush in to ‘develop’ and come back to check on the project.
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