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156 pages

English

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One morning on the outskirts of Nairobi, a Kenyan policeman stops a driver and orders him to the side of the road. "Sir, you have committed a crime." "What crime, officer?" "You crossed the white line in the centre of the road. I must give you a fine." "But there is no white line on this road...it is a single carriageway with potholes and no markings at all." "When the road was constructed there was a white line" came the reply. The poorly paid policemen would receive wages at the end of the month, if lucky. But they would need extra money just to keep going, and shaking down motorists was a good way of making ends meet. The motorist should have known better than to cross an invisible white line as the month was coming to a close. This was just one example of "Little Corruption." "Big Corruption" was another story...As a relief to the sombre academic literature on issues related to developing countries in Africa and Asia, this book takes a critical but light-hearted look at the international aid industry. It follows the author's career from a youthful "dogooder" in the Philippines to Director General of the Kenya based African Medical & Research Foundation (AMREF) and its renowned Flying Doctor Service. Topics covered include the Peace Corps, debt relief, the aid business, health, food and cultural practices, among many other subjects. Tales from Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Philippines, India and additional countries form the backdrop to this entertaining, critical and eye-opening book.

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Lettres et linguistique

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Publié par	Troubador Publishing Ltd
Date de parution	09 juin 2007
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781848769106
Langue	English

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Extrait

Dr. Michael S. Gerber received his BA degree from the City College of New York and MA and PhD degrees from New York University. Since 1969, he has worked in some of the poorest countries of Asia and Africa, retiring in 1998 as Director General of AMREF (African Medical Research Foundation) and its well-known Flying Doctors. Earlier in his career he received a Fulbright award to study in India, then served, with his family, as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer on the faculty of Bicol University in the Philippines. He has held voluntary positions on numerous non-governmental and international organization Boards and is currently Chairman of IIRR (International Institute of Rural Reconstruction) with its headquarters in Silang, Philippines. He lives with his wife in Portimao, Portugal.
SWEET TEETH AND LOOSE BOWELS
THE ADVENTURES OF AN INTERNATIONAL AID WORKER
Michael S. Gerber
Copyright 2007 Michael S Gerber and Troubador Publishing Ltd
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.
Troubador Publishing Ltd 9 De Montfort Mews Leicester LE1 7FW, UK Tel: ( 44) 116 255 9311 Email: www.books@troubador.co.uk Web: www.troubador.co.uk
ISBN 978-1905886-463
Cover photo courtesy of the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF)
Typeset in 11pt Times New Roman by Troubador Publishing Ltd, Leicester, UK Printed by The Cromwell Press Ltd, Trowbridge, Wilts

t 2 is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd
Contents
About The Authour
Author S Note
Book One
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Book Two
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Book Three
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Footnote
For Ina
AUTHOR S NOTE
Authors frequently begin their acknowledgments by expressing thanks to many individuals who had an impact on their lives and writing. I want to begin by recognizing three organizations that in essence, made what you will read in all of the following pages possible. First, there was the United States Peace Corps, whose professionalism could often be questioned during the time of our association, but it nevertheless gave my family an opportunity for three years of total immersion in a country we came to love - the Philippines. Secondly, AMREF or the African Medical and Research Foundation, provided the chance to really know and appreciate a continent whose fascination can only be matched by its great needs. And lastly, IIRR, the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, whose Board of Trustees in a moment of madness, elected me Chairman, which has allowed my continued involvement with both Asia and Africa.
In reading, you will find that not everything was completely rosy during the time of my involvement with the above-mentioned groups, especially Peace Corps. There were definite ups and downs, and as in marriage we were joined for periods of time, as the saying goes, For Better Or For Worse. At least it wasn t Until Death Do Us Part. I am still writing.
Over the past thirty-nine years of living and working in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States, many people influenced my work and directly or indirectly, contributed to the production of this book. Without them, there could not have been the stories you will read about in the following pages. Though in numerous cases, while their names have been altered, hopefully they will be able to recognize who they are. In some other instances, with a bit of good fortune on my part, they will not be able to do so.
One can be considered lucky if in a lifetime, there is one extra special person who shares the same values, the longing for adventure, the ability not to take oneself too seriously, and the perseverance to put up with me. That singular person is my wife Ina who for the past forty-four years has been able to bear the burden of my wanderlust and was almost always willing to share many of the adventures described in this book. Without her love and companionship, patience, sharp eyes, and critical judgment, this enterprise would not have been possible. To Ina I can only say: Salamat Po; Mabalos; Asante Sana; Obrigado; Thank You.
Portimao, Portugal January 2007
PREFACE
One day, some twenty-five years ago, my youngest son who was eleven at the time, asked me, Dad, what do you do?
I responded with, What do you mean by that question?
Like when my friends ask me what does your father do, what should I tell them? What is your job?
I then went into a rather lengthy explanation of what it entailed to be the head of a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that works with and tries to help poor people in Africa.
Where does the money come to pay you? he wanted to know.
One of the most important parts of my job is to help raise all the money we need to do the work in Africa and also to pay me and other people who are employed by the organization. I spend a great deal of my time trying to raise money.
Now I understand your job. I can just tell my friends you are a professional beggar.
At that time, the boy was able to describe what his father did in simple terms that his friends could understand. Had he been born twenty years later and asked that same question, he would have answered, My father is an Aid Worker, whatever that means. I, however, preferred to characterize my job somewhat less simply.
For nearly forty years, my professional life has taken me to some of the world s poorest nations, from India and the Philippines in Asia, to Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and other countries in Africa. I have worked extensively as a salaried employee and as a volunteer on both continents. While great physical beauty, fascinating history, wonderful people, and interesting cultures can be found in each country mentioned in this book, most of them would probably not be voted as top choices to live in by the average westerner.
I have had a truly fortunate and peripatetic life, which has been shared with my wife of forty-four years and with our three sons while they were growing up. There are strong memories of adventures and experiences from both Asia and Africa. Some of these one wants never to forget. Others I have tried to wipe from the conscious part of the mind, usually without success.
My job, at times, involved meeting with Presidents, Kings, Queens, Princes (Royal and of the corporate world), Princesses, Prime Ministers, Maharajas and Maharanis, and prominent world leaders. This book, however, is not about any of these famous people. It is about the average and the exceptional, about some enormously rich and some extremely poor, about many who have crossed my path and either enriched my life or made it more difficult. The individuals described, whether Asian, African, European, or North American, are for the most part, not household names.
Although witnessing a number of horrific disasters, some brought about by natural causes and others instigated by man doing harm to his fellow man, I have also observed great courage, dignity, and generosity by people who struggled to survive day after day. Early on, I realized that balance, perspective, and humour were the keys to maintaining a calm state of mind. One must be able to balance great tragedies and human cruelty with wonderful success stories and maintain compassion without becoming emotionally wiped out. One must be able to come face to face with the extreme poverty of many in Asia, with hardships in refugee camps of Africa, with genocide in Rwanda, and continue to work with people so their lives and those of their children will become better.
Realizing that a balance was needed happened on my first trip to India in 1969. Arriving in Calcutta at about five o clock in the morning, I was too excited to sleep and went out for a walk at first light. The streets were already teeming with people. On the Howrah Bridge, which crossed the Hooghly River, a group of people were gathered in a circle. A woman was sitting on the pavement with a straw mat in front of her. On the mat was a dead infant. People were tossing coins onto the mat. The baby was too young to be cremated in the Hindu tradition so money was being collected for its burial.
That was my introduction to Calcutta. It had an immediate and profound effect. As the years went by, such sights became all too familiar. By the second, third, or fourth time, the shock wears off. Because similar scenes are all too common, as time passed it became too easy to keep on walking without stopping to pause. And that is the danger, taking so much for granted that one s compassion moves into a subconscious level. The true test for maintaining balance is never allowing for a loss of compassion while recognizing that it is not possible to change the whole world at once.
Looking at the humorous side of things is also a wonderful tool for maintaining perspective. And life fortunately allows such opportunities. My career began with the situation of the dead infant in Calcutta and its emotional toll. As it was about to end with retirement towards the end of 1998, a less stressful incident allowed for a di