In the Guardian’s article, “Guinea’s Anti-Corruption
Activists Raise Doubt Over Mining Crackdown”, they write:
There
is a saying in Guinea that is popular among those who work in development:
"Everything is a priority". It is a wry observation that, in a country
in which almost nothing works, it is difficult to work out what to tackle
first. The facts are stark. A recent survey showed that 62% of Guineans have no
access to running water, 62% have no access to electricity, 65% say they have
inadequate access to roads, and 72% think the
justice
system is broken. The country's human development indicators are well below
those of other sub-Saharan African countries – the UN ranks the country's
development 178th of 185 in the world.
Wow.
This is the country that I have called home for nearly two years. I know the
lack of water and that our electricity is so scare that you do not call periods
without electricity blackouts, rather you call the hours with electricity a
grand surprise. While the roads in my region are not bad by Guinean standards,
not even the national highway is completely paved and it is only the national
highway, one road snaking around the country to hit the major cities, which is
paved. My problem with the justice system, starts with the fact that something
so lacking in transparency cannot really be called a system. And justice… A recent survey found that 98% of businesses in Guinea,
and 93% of citizens, have experienced corruption.
Lack of electricity means lack of food conservation. This is a workshop on how to preserve our abundant mangos through jamming! |
And
so this is the country that I have come to love and am here to help develop and
it can be a daunting task. I’m in my fourth quarter, the clock is running out,
and we are down so many points. What’s a girl to do? For me, the answer is
social entrepreneurship. If you don’t know which problem to tackle first, go
for the base. Start with the youth. They have time and the passion to make real
change. Teach people to see a lack of
development as an opportunity. Give them the skills they need to create
innovative projects and manage them for success. Teach them the benefits of
networking so that they can have access to the resources that are present in
the region. Give them mentors who know how to operate in the context to serve
as their guides. Find positive deviants and give them the confidence to be
visionaries. And that is the Dare to Innovate project. It has grown immensely
over the past year and starts officially with a weeklong conference August 11th.
It will launch the social enterprise sector in Guinea and already is attracting
trainees from other West African countries. I’m excited and proud of my
partners and have seen enough sports movies to know even if there are mere
minutes on the clock and you are down, the underdog, full of passion and grit
can win. And Guinea, is nothing, if not the underdog.