Grassroots on a Larger Scale

Guest Lecture by Julia Sanchez on the Inter-American Development Bank

After working in the Peace Corps for almost three years, one volunteer, Jean, told our group that one of the biggest lessons she has learned is that “development and poverty are based in relationships.” Looking at different paradigms of development as part of our poverty and development class, this statement made me think: what kinds of relationships does she mean? Sure, it involves people's relationships with money and resources, but it also goes deeper, to relationships between groups, between individuals and people in power, and between entirely different cultures. In other words: grassroots development.

When we think of grassroots development, we generally think of small nonprofits that help bring change from the “bottom up,” starting with the community. But, how do we reconcile this with the globalized system we have? Is it possible to have grassroots change at a higher level? Perhaps not. But, I would argue that building the relationships necessary for change are not necessarily confined to local, grassroots organizations. Also on our excursion to look at development paradigms, we spoke with a representative of the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB). This bank differentiates itself from other financial organizations by striving to provide direct help to those who most need it. In other words, the IDB tries to cultivate relationships between the lenders and the receivers of aid, requiring visits to the sites and concrete records of what kind of development has been done and where the money has gone.

Julia Sánchez, a Dominican representative of the bank for 30 years before retiring in '92, told us about more than just the bank's set-up and process, but how it developed her relationship with her own country, by showing her what conditions people were living in and what she could do to change them. I think that too often we think of large organizations such as this one as impersonal and unidimensional. The IDB is an example of how, even at the larger level, it is possible to focus on the people and look beyond the dollar sign. In contrast to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Sánchez argues, the IDB only gives small loans at one time, waiting for the follow-through to see where the money went. Furthermore, the interest rates are lower then the IMF's and countries are given grace periods to pay back the loan. In other words, the bank seems to make a conscious effort to work with its members as opposed to merely throwing money at the problem and expecting to be paid back all at once.

Now, clearly, the IDB is not perfect, but, then again, what is? Our responsibility is to ask tough questions and keep working with the bank so that it can be better. How can we ensure that the bank maintains the personal relationships with loan receivers? At a community level, what can we do to make the most of IDB loans? The goal here is to continue cultivating these relationships at both the community and international levels. Community development does not exist entirely out of international development, nor the other way around. It's a hard balance to hit, but organizations like this one are at least trying, fairly successfully, to feel the waters of this new combinations of ideas.

As service learners, human developers, and people, our challenge is to cultivate these relationships and learn from our exchanges. In anything we do, we must remember to work with people instead of for/in spite of them. For me, that was the take-home message this weekend, the paradigm of human development. Only by empowering ourselves and others can we enact change, because, truly, it's all about the people.

Zoe Ingerson

Whitman College

Comments

[Davika Parris]

I think you hit the nail on the head with you statement of development beginning with the idea of working with people as opposed to working for or in spite of them. As frustrating and complicated as development may seem I think the answer, at its core is simply that; The need to work with people. We have been here for almost 4 months now, and while we work in our communities the majority of the week, I can only imagine the countless number of things we don't know about our community or the people who live in it. Then, who is to say what I may think is the best plan of action for someone I have never had an interaction with? The same goes for those sitting behind desks in non-profits making decisions and plans, they may truly believe will help a community, but ends up either being useless, or causing more harm than good. Granted, there are communities that need help, but this help should never be a plan created in a far place just thrown at a community with the hope that it sticks. It needs to be born form a partnership between those who can help and with those who are receiving the help.

[Fátima A.]

 Hey Zoe- your post is definitely one of my favorites due to the themes of “solidarity” (“work with people”) and grassroots development. It often gives me hope when people understand the difference between “help” and “solidarity” when working with communities facing adversity. When I studied white privilege, systemic racism and grassroots activism in the 9th Ward (New Orleans) six years after the flood (Hurricane Katrina), I came across a quote that perfectly encompassed my thoughts on solidarity: "If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your Liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together,” stated by an Aboriginal activists group in Queensland during the 1970s via Lila Watson. Radical social change begins when we humanize one another and realize that we need each other to be truly Liberated from systems of oppression.
However, your post might also be my favorite because it somewhat challenged me and my perspectives while here in Northeast Thailand. For instance, your experience with the IDB and its work with communities immediately made me question, “Well, why do communities need to be so dependent on the banks in the first place?” Aside from my leftist views, I also realized that that reaction was also a response to the fact that communities we have worked with here have not really brought up banks or loans as major issues. I also remembered that Thailand and the DR communities have different needs. I still asked myself, “Did the DR communities that work with the local bank ask or demand a local bank to work with them? Was it an initiative taken by the communities?” If so, then by all means I definitely support the local banks in that area as well, as long as it caters to a community need/desire. As one of the recent NGOs we recently had an exchange with, P’Suwit, stated, “The change must always come from the communities.” Thank you for writing this! It was definitely mind-boggling and nurtured a different perspective :)

[Mina Dinh]

I like your observation about the general idea of big institutions being impersonal and without dimension. While you speak of banks, I think the most important organization that Thai villagers interact with is the government. Thailand’s government system is interesting because it is top-down. The central government, embodied by the Cabinet of Ministers, makes decisions that affect all the way to the sub-district level. When we studied mining in Loei province, we were surprised to learn that Huay Muang village had a good relationship with a local Royal Forest Department (RFD) office. The RFD office allowed villagers to grow and collect food in the reserved forest. Bpiew, a local, told us that the RFD office will have to give up the land for a mine if the central government told them to. Although villagers don’t have much access to the central government, they can work with local government offices to achieve their ends. In the end, government institutions are filled with people, and the people have certain ability to maneuver within the laws.

[Hannah]

I really enjoyed your post. I especially liked your questions about grassroots efforts : “When we think of grassroots development, we generally think of small nonprofits that help bring change from the “bottom up,” starting with the community. But, how do we reconcile this with the globalized system we have? Is it possible to have grassroots change at a higher level?”. I have often talked about this back in my classes in the U.S. We often look at grassroots as the best way to implement change, for those in power rarely want to give that power up. Yet in our modern world, globalization has concentrated so much power into the hands of those at the top. Will grassroots efforts ever be effective as bringing the kind of drastic change that I personally think the current global capitalist system needs? If everything is from the bottom up, will it ever have enough power to change those at the top? I think it needs to be a bit of both, some grassroots efforts from the bottom up, and some change from those at the top, some top-down efforts. Yet how do we reach those at the top? They are people too, yet with their efforts I think they sometimes forget that. I think their power frees them from feeling the effects of their actions, because I sometimes don’t understand how people can act so harshly against others. I remember hearing about a coke company that sold their toxic waste to locals as ‘fertilizer’. Some person had to make that decision, yet how could they do that to another human being? While this system is based on humans, it seems that in some cases our humanity has been lost…. Several thoughts, but this article really got me thinking!!

[Coral Keegan]

Your observation of the IMF is interesting, in that we have made similar ones in our Development and Globalization program in Khon Kaen, Thailand. Unfortunately, due to the fact that the IMF must give out “x” number of loans a year, it often supports large scale projects in the name of development. However, many of the locals are not supportive of these projects. This is especially apparent in large scale dam projects. During our time studying dams, we watched the documentary “FLOW”. In it, one of the academics said, “The IMF and World Bank know how to spend a million dollars in one place but what we really need is to spend $100 in 1,000 places”. From what you’ve written, it seems that the IDB is striving to do this. I would be interested to see what kind of specific projects the IDB tends to support and how the local communities feel about working with the IDB. In general, it sounds like a great organization but I would love to learn more.

[Molly]

Zoe, I really enjoyed reading your article! It’s always exciting to hear about what is going on halfway across the world and to join together for a better tomorrow. It sounds to me like the IDB is involved in some pretty neat work in the Dominican Republic! In a recent exchange we had with an NGO in Northeastern Thailand, a man named P’Suvit said, “If you want to work against poverty, you have to go and live there, and then you will know what to do.” This quote stuck out to me when I read in your post that the IDB requires site visits. Julia Sanchez’s remarks seem to echo this same feeling. Being on a study abroad program that involves homestays, I have gotten to see firsthand how the physical act of GOING to a place completely informs your perspective. I would recommend that anyone interested in getting involved in community development or similar activities actually physically go and spend time with the people who are affected by the issue. It is out of these exchanges that true beauty and passion through solidarity really can happen. Keep up the good work!

[Julia]

I agree that you nailed it in saying that we must work with the communities instead of for or in spite of them. I think it is an extremely valuable lesson to learn, especially while being abroad and immersed in cultures different from our own. In Thailand, we are beginning our final project time, and this is a conversation in which we often engage, asking ourselves “how, as American students, can we be the best tools for these communities?” In searching for the answer, we talk to the community members, NGOs, companies, and analyze each situation from a more academic standpoint. You’re right—it is all about the people. In order to help cultivate social change, we American students, as outsiders, must try to adopt the cultural standpoints and struggles of the communities in order to fully understand the situation. It is only then that we can be in solidarity with the community, and work with them, instead of for them.

[Brenna Kelly]

Great post Zoe. It is so interesting to read posts from other people who are involved around the world like my student group and I who are involved here in Thailand! Your post brought forth alot of beliefs and observations that you have had about grassroots organization on the larger scale around where you are studying abroad. And alot of your ideals parallel to things I have observed in different villages around Northern Thailand and the communities who work and participate in the grassroots organization. I really stand by your comment you made towards the end of your blog post by saying, "As service learners, human developers, and people, our challenge is to cultivate these relationships and learn from our exchanges. In anything we do, we must remember to work with people instead of for/in spite of them." You are commenting on remaining in solidarity instead of helping from an arms length! And I could not agree more! It makes the most sense to stand with them and thats where there is the most change brought forth.

[Ellery]

This sounds like it was a really cool perspective to gain. It feels like a lot of us villanize any organization that is as overarching as international development. It sounds like you had a humanizing experience talking with this woman. I think that’s the best thing for any of us to feel. To see that everything isn’t always the way we always imagine it when we read its title. There are many good people in every organization. I just hope that this organization never becomes just a money-giving organization and not a group of people trying to help other people. To give my 2 cents on your questions Zoe, I think it is only possible to be grassroots if a group of passionate people are mobilized to do something for themselves. So it is a question of whether these people who receive these loans feel empowered to change their lives for the better, or whether they were simply handed money to spend.