Eddie Burke

The personal side to MDGs in Africa

As part of Blog Action Day 2008, I want to share a personal encounter I had with poverty earlier this year.
 
In April, I had a rather unique opportunity to visit Africa for the first time at the the invitation of Africare, one of the most respected NGOs in the US. The trip gave me a chance to see how a major US operation works on the African continent as globally we look to stay on course to meet the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. Moreover, the trip drove home the magnitude of the task ahead of us to eradicate poverty in Africa.
 
It's one thing to be engaged in public diplomacy on development in Africa sitting at your desk in Washington, DC, but quite another to see poverty in person. It really grabbed my heart to see such destitution up close. I remember picking up one little boy and smelling the urine on him. It was his normality. How can that be right?

No one thing sticks in my mind more than seeing young kids so disenfranchised from their childhood because of circumstance. To see a young child carrying heavy water containers along the roadside (in most cases with no shoes on) first thing in the morning is tough to see as a father knowing my own child back in the US safely tucked into bed with not a decision to make in his day. How does the rest of the world really view the continent of Africa, or any developing country for that matter? Maybe we all need to see this reality up close to fully appreciate the need to help.

There is plenty we can do to change to what I've described. But I don't think it's all about donating articles of clothing (yes, it is needed) or money (again needed). It has to be about sustainability and maintenance of appropriate infrastructures left behind by business, NGOs and other organisations. Many corporations build foundations such as roads, however it's the continued maintenance of those motorways that is most needed for economic development.

I do see hope though (it's not all grim, I promise). For example, the $16 billion in country commitments made at the UN General Assembly in New York in September keeps the world on track to meet MDGs in 2015. After my trip, I have a new understanding of why that is so important.

Posted at 13:07 15 October 2008 by Eddie Burke  |  Comments[4]