Development Talk

When people don’t have bread to eat…

 

September 2, 2010

Protesters in Mozambique are burning tyres to show their dissatisfaction with rising bread prices. Photo: MattWH72182

Protesters in Mozambique are burning tyres to show their dissatisfaction with rising bread prices. Photo: MattWH72182

As you popped your two pieces of bread into the toaster for breakfast this morning, could you ever imagine not being able to afford this basic nourishment? Could you believe that people could die asking for cheaper bread?

This is what is happening in our neighbouring country Mozambique. According to News24 people are rioting, burning tyres and looting shops in protest of the rising bread price.  BBC reports that prices have risen by as much as 30% as the Mozambican currency has fallen against the strengthening South African rand. Wheat prices have also been escalating world wide.

Mozambican media has reported that the police opened fire on protesters and that six people were killed yesterday. But the police confirmed only four deaths, and said 142 people had been arrested and 27 wounded. Police have however, admitted that two children were among those killed.

News24 quote Horatio Antonio, a 45-year-old unemployed man, saying “People are angry because prices are going up: petrol, rice, water, electricity, everything.”

It is a trend that is happening throughout Africa at the moment. In Kenya, Somalia and Egypt there have been protests regarding the rising cost of living.

Could you imagine not having bread to eat? Photo: Jamieanne

Could you imagine not having bread to eat? Photo: Jamieanne

In South Africa, citizens have also been left to the mercy of Eskom’s price hikes, which is making electricity extremely expensive.

If people do not have bread to eat, something is seriously wrong in a country. The story goes that just before the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette responded to the starving population’s cries for bread by saying: “Let them eat cake”, showing the inability of the aristocracy of the time to identify with the lot of the ordinary person. The Revolution took place to create equality between people and to prevent this from ever happening again.

But it seems that history is repeating itself. No longer is there an aristocracy, but there is an elite class that controls wealth in countries. Corruption persists and producers collude to push up prices. What has happened to ubuntu?

Mozambicans have seen the price of a loaf of bread rise by as much as 30% as the value of the national currency, the metical, has fallen against the South African rand.

map

The increase also comes as wheat prices have shot up around the world.

Filed under: Africa, CREATIVE CONSULTING & DEVELOPMENT WORKS, DEVELOPMENT WORKS, Government, democracy, development, politics, poverty, ubuntu — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 12:25 pm

We’ve come so far: 2010 FIFA World Cup and 1GOAL

 

July 9, 2010

Children have enjoyed the 2010 FIFA World Cup and if 1GOAL succeeds they will enjoy the benefits of education even more. Photo: UK Department for International Development

Children have enjoyed the 2010 FIFA World Cup and if 1GOAL succeeds they will enjoy the benefits of education even more. Photo: UK Department for International Development

We have almost reached the end of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Tomorrow Germany and Uruguay will battle it out for third place and on Sunday we will finally know who is going home with the cup when the Netherlands and Spain go head-to-head.

So much has happened in this past month! Just read through the blog entries we wrote every day to remember it all. In one of our first blog pieces we wrote about the 1Goal campaign, the charity supported by FIFA. Since we first blogged about it, the campaign has gone from strength to strength with many celebrities adding their voices to the cause of ensuring education for all.

On Sunday, before the final 2010 FIFA World Cup match kicks off, President Zuma will hold a summit on education which is to be attended by African Heads of State and Government, senior officials of the United Nations and African Union, celebrities and football stars.

What is 1GOAL?

According to www.join1goal.org 1GOAL:Education for All, “is a campaign that tends break the violation of children’s rights to education by using the power of football to ensure that education for all is a lasting impact of the 210 Fifa World Cup”. The aim of this campaign is to use the World Cup to focus attention on education so that 72 million children can have access to education by 2015.

The idea for the campaign started with the drafting of the Millennium Development Goals. Two out of eight goals involve eradication of poverty through education by 2015. The campaign was officially launched at Wembley stadium-UK by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan on 6 October 2009. 9-year-old Gugu Ngubane, from South Africa was the first person to sign up for the campaign.

Who supports this campaign?

1GOAL gives a bright future to little soccer fans.

1GOAL gives a bright future to little soccer fans. Photo: Media Club South Africa

Many well-known faces can be seen supporting the campaign. Among the people who linked up via satellite for the launch was President Jacob Zuma, President John Atta Mills of Ghana, former UK prime minister Gordon Brown, President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapetero of Spain, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende of the Netherlands, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and FIFA President Sepp Blatter.

Other people who are making a big difference towards the success of this campaign includes some of the biggest names in football, such as Pele, Rio Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, and Alessandro del Piero. Shakira doesn’t just have a beautiful voice, she also supports1GOAL and she believes through this campaign every children can have a chance to fullfill their dreams and live up to their full potential through education. Other celebrity supporters include Matt Damon, Jessica Alba, Bono, Kelly Roland and Mick Jagger, to name but a few.

You can also become a supporter by signing up on their website or by SMSing 31970 (if you are in South Africa). The video below shows why this campaign is important. This is the difference that an education can make in the lives of two women born on the same day.

Filed under: 2010 World Cup, Africa, Awareness, CREATIVE CONSULTING & DEVELOPMENT WORKS, DEVELOPMENT WORKS, South Africa, Videos, basic human right, campaign, children, civil society, development, education, poverty, sport, youth — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 2:57 pm

What will the legacy of the 2010 World Cup be for South Africa?

 

July 8, 2010

Other than the stadiums such as this one in Cape Town, what legacy will the World Cup leave in South Africa?

Other than the stadiums such as this one in Cape Town, what legacy will the World Cup leave in South Africa?

This article originally appeared in our latest newsletter. We would love to hear from you regarding what you think the legacy of the 2010 World Cup will be. Read the article and please leave your comment below.  If you are interested in receiving our newsletter, please email lindy@developmentworks.co.za.

As the 2010 FIFA World Cup draws to a close, it is time to start asking ourselves what the real legacy of the event will be in South Africa.

This is what was discussed at a recent public dialogue seminar held by the Centre for Conflict Resolution in Cape Town. Taking part in the discussion was Dr Orli Bass, one of the editors of  Development and Dreams: The urban legacy of the 2010 Football World Cup and Prof Peter Alegi, author of African Soccerscapes: How a Continent Changed the World’s Game.

“If there are any benefits from the 2010 World Cup, they will be intangible rather than tangible,” Bass predicted. Initially many South Africans expected to benefit personally on an economical level. “Informal traders thought the event would improve their situation,” Bass said.

Tangible economic impact

Development and Dreams

Development and Dreams

In Development and Dreams mention is made of a survey conducted in 2007 by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) on people’s perceptions of the World Cup. As many as 50% of respondents believed that economic growth and job creation would be the two main benefits of the event and a third of respondents thought they would personally benefit from job opportunities.

According to Bass, World Cups are extremely profitable for FIFA and the 2010 World Cup will be even more profitable than the previous tournament held in Germany, but the same benefits are not usually felt by host countries. Bass said that according to their research the contribution of the 2010 World Cup to economic development, improvement in tourism and reduction in unemployment and poverty has been overstated.

In an essay entitled “Anticipating 2011” in Development and Dreams, Richard Tomlinson is critical of the economic impacts of the World Cup. According to him investments have been directed away from productive uses such as the upgrading of the Cape Town harbour to construction of unnecessary stadiums. Tomlinson even thinks that the event can create greater inequality.

Orli Bass discusses the views expressed in Development and Dreams regarding the 2010 legacy.

Orli Bass discusses the views expressed in Development and Dreams regarding the 2010 legacy.

Orli Bass discusses the views expressed in Development and Dreams regarding the 2010 legacy. Kamilla Swart and Urmilla Bob agree with this statement in their essay “Venue selection and the 2010 World Cup: A case study of Cape Town”. The fact that FIFA did not approve of Cape Town building a stadium in Athlone, which would have stimulated development in this low-income area, but pushed the city into rebuilding the Green Point stadium, is to them an indication of how inequality was increased.

In the essay “Sport, mega-events and urban tourism” in Development and Dreams, Scarlett Cornelissen cautions that tourism projections for South Africa after the 2010 World Cup might have been overestimated. She points out that the sports tourism that is generated after a World Cup, often replaces especially business-related tourism. However, the greatest benefit to tourism might be the improvement of the country’s image internationally.

Intangible impact

Peter Alegi, author of African Soccerscapes talks about the impact of soccer on nationhood.

Peter Alegi, author of African Soccerscapes talks about the impact of soccer on nationhood.

Peter Alegi, author of African Soccerscapes talks about the impact of soccer on nationhood. Despite their criticisms, the authors of Development and Dreams do think that the World Cup  will leave South Africa with an intangible legacy of increased national cohesion, an improved image globally, as well as a reduction in Afro-pessimism when it becomes clear to the world that we can indeed successfully host an event of this magnitude. The editors write that it is important to “keep sight of the notion that the 2010 World Cup presents an opportunity to rethink the manner in which African culture, gender and identity are experienced and represented.”

Alegi said that while researching his book African Soccerscapes he realised that historically soccer had played a big role in establishing national pride in Africa. The game was brought to the continent by colonialists, but Africans soon made it their own. “They refused to play the way the colonialists had taught them and brought their own style to the game.”

National unity might be one of the intangible benefits of the 2010 World Cup.

National unity might be one of the intangible benefits of the 2010 World Cup.

When Algeria, for instance, wanted to gain their independence from France, their soccer team traveled the world with their new Algerian flag, encouraging Algerian pride. As African countries gained independence, soccer teams, playing in new national colours, helped to increase a sense of nationhood, although it might have been fragile.

According to Bass it is clear that this expected benefit is becoming a reality when one looks at South Africans proudly displaying their nation’s flag on their cars, organising community gatherings to watch the soccer and taking pride in what their country has achieved in hosting this event.

Creative Consulting & Development Works would love to know what you think about the legacy of the 2010 World Cup. Please post your comment below.

Filed under: 2010 World Cup, Africa, Book, CREATIVE CONSULTING & DEVELOPMENT WORKS, DEVELOPMENT WORKS, Employment, Gender, Inequality, Research, Small Business, South Africa, community, cultural issues, development, economy, identity, nationhood, poverty, spatial poverty, sport — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 3:33 pm

African hopes now rest on Ghana in 2010 FIFA World Cup

 

June 24, 2010

Ghana proceed to the second round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup

Ghana proceed to the second round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Photo: Ghana Football Association

Ghana’s football team, the Black Stars, qualified last night for the second round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. While South Africa and other African countries have fallen out of the tournament, African hopes now rest on Ghana to keep the continent’s World Cup dreams alive.

Ghana lost last night when they conceded a goal to Germany, but they had performed well enough in their previous games to advance to the next round. They will play USA on Saturday.

If you are going to support this team, you need to at least know a little about the country. Don’t worry, Creative Consulting & Development Works will quickly clue you up:

Ghana is located in North West Africa, next to Ivory Coast and Togo and its capital is Accra. The country has a population of more than 20 million and there are about 26 different languages spoken in the country.

History and Politics

According to Wikipedia, the word Ghana means “Warrior King” and derives from the Ghana Empire in pre-colonial times. According to BBC.co.uk it was the first place in sub-Saharan Africa where Europeans arrived to trade – first in gold and later in slaves.  Ghana became a British colony in 1874, but it also became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve independence in 1957. Kwame Nkrumah was the first president. The current president, John Atta Mills, was elected in 2008.

Economy

Some of Ghana’s major exports are  gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, and diamonds. Major off shore oil reserves were discovered in 2007. Ghana is one of the leading exporters of cocoa in the world. According to Ghanaweb.com the country’s economy is dominated by agriculture, which employs about 40 percent of the working population.

Watch a video of President John Atta Mills talking about Ghana’s economy and education system below:

Some NGOs working in Ghana include:

  • Ghana Outlook, a UK registered charity, with the objectives of supporting education and health through self help projects in rural communities in Ghana.
  • Ghana Rights and Voice Initiative, which is targeted at strengthening the voices of people living in poverty and who are marginalised to engage with Government on fundamental human rights issues.
  • Good Work Ghana, a Dutch organisation that organises trips for Dutch volunteers to go do good work in Ghana.

South Africans may be disappointed that Bafana Bafana did not advance to the second round of the World Cup, even though they definitely made the nation proud with the win over France. But South Africans now need to rally behind other teams and still enjoy this spectacular event in our country. Maybe you will support the remaining African team, or maybe you have another favourite. Whoever you choose, continue to go to fan parks and matches and make the visitors in our country feel welcome. Support the South African World Cup!


Filed under: 2010 World Cup, Africa, CREATIVE CONSULTING & DEVELOPMENT WORKS, DEVELOPMENT WORKS, Ghana, Government, History, NGOs, Videos, access to health care, aid, community, development, economy, education, healthcare, politics, sport — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 11:06 am

Elano’s shin guards and fatherhood

 

June 21, 2010

Elano Blumer scored a goal for his children.

Elano Blumer scored a goal for his children. Photo: http://pesindeyizgs.blogspot.com

After Brazilian football player Elano Blumer scored a goal last night in the 2010 FIFA World Cup match against Côte d’Ivoire, he took out his shin guards and showed them to the camera. The names of his children were written on them.

What a wonderful gesture on Father’s Day! Creative Consulting & Development Works acknowledges the potential that fathers have to protect and ensure the healthy, positive development of children. This is emphasised by the African Fathers Initiative which “aims to be a continent-wide institutional base for the generation, collection, and dissemination of knowledge and skills about responsible and involved fatherhood across all races and faiths in Africa”. Their website provides research on fatherhood in Africa, refers to policy involving fathers and gives tips to fathers on how to perform their role well. This includes how to tell your children you love them, how to raise a daughter and how to support your pregnant partner.

Teenage Tata - HSRC Press

Teenage Tata - HSRC Press

In South Africa the Human Sciences Research Council runs The Fatherhood Project. This Project aims to, among other things, “rally peer professional support to enable men to be more involved in children’s lives”. They recognise that fathers are often absent in South Africa and that cases of neglect and abuse are rife. However, the project celebrates those father figures, including brothers, grandfathers, uncles and cousins, friends, teachers and preachers that truly have a positive impact on the children for whom they are rolemodels.

The HSRC has published the books Teenage Tata: Voices of young fathers in South Africa and Baba?: Men and Fatherhood in South Africa.

But let’s not forget about Brazil’s  opponents in the game last night: We also have a story to tell about fatherhood in Côte d’Ivoire. Watch this video about a father’s love for his HIV positive son, posted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Living Proof Project on You Tube.

Filed under: 2010 World Cup, Africa, Book, CREATIVE CONSULTING & DEVELOPMENT WORKS, DEVELOPMENT WORKS, Family, Fatherhood, Gender, HIV/AIDS, Policy, Research, Videos, access to health care, aid, children, development, healthcare, initiative, men, sport, youth — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 12:06 pm
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