"Poverty has always been with us in our communities. It was here in the past, long before the Europeans came, and it affected many - perhaps all of us. But it was a different type of poverty. People were not helpless. They acted together and they never allowed it to squeeze any member of the community. They shared a lot of things together: hunting, grazing animals, harvesting. There was enough for basic survival. But now things have changed. Each person is on their own. A few people who have acquired material wealth are very scared of sliding back into poverty. They do not want to look like us."
- Ugandan farmer cited in Voices of the Poor, by Deepa Narayan; Oxford University Press: 2000.
On a very similar note, In a 2006 article entitled "OPEN THE BLINDS", now RPCV Dan Mueller tells us of a fictional African village that was developing at its own pace before the world started trying to develop Africa. It would seem that Mueller is saying that organic grassroots development is made impossible or improbable by the promise of the developed world driving up in a 4 x 4 and magically developing the village with money. That prospect drastically changes the rules of the game of getting ahead and tears apart the fabric of the developing society. Mueller continues, saying that the prospect of emigrating to the "developed" rich world and living the good life blinds Africans and leads them to forget the organic development that their ancestors, like ancestors all over the world, were engaged in. Mueller sees this state of affairs as being quite obvious to the observant development worker.
