Chapter 2: Development Studies and Micro-Development Thinking and Practice
2.2 Micro-Development Thinking
2.2.3 Human-centered development and this study
The micro-development perspectives described in this chapter re-focused the field of development studies from economic growth to the pursuit of individuals‘ well-being. The chapter demonstrated that development should focus on humans as individuals with a dynamic range of needs beyond those of subsistence. It also established that the purpose of development is the promotion of solidarity (social capital) and agency (capabilities and freedom). Solidarity and agency can be achieved by means of self- help, (the poor are not just people who simply need ‗developing,‘ but that they are people who have assets – different types of capital – and are able to make changes in their own lives), felt needs, (the poor identifying their own needs) and participation (the expansion of people‘s voice in situations affecting them). The argument has been made that quality of life and well-being, through solidarity and agency must be pursued throughout the process of development, not just as an outcome. Finally, development practice should rely on primarily renewable resources (sustainability) and must take into account the unintended consequences of any intervention. These are the themes behind what this author is calling human-centered development in this study.
Development practice is inevitably more complicated than development theory, but these themes should be the foundation for all development initiatives, including the ones in this investigation. The concept of human-centered development will provide the theoretical background for the ‗development‘ component of the concept of Development 2.0 defined in this dissertation. Human-centered development will also be the lens through which the Kiva case will be examined. Box 2.1, on the next page,illustrates an example of the multi-faceted nature of poverty and development as experienced by the author during her Kiva Fellowship in Kisumu, Kenya. The blog entry offers an account
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of a K-MET project, as described by the author during her Kiva Fellowship. It is an example of the micro-development issues that cannot be easily solved by just the injection of financial capital, or human capital or other once-off resource into a situation.
Box 2.1: The author‟s Kiva Fellows Blog post about the meaning of development in the context of Kiva and K-MET‟s work in Kenya.
The One Thing 10 July 2009
By Alison Carlman, KF8 – Kenya
As a graduate student of international development at an African university, I wish that the answer was as simple as finding the “one thing” to alleviate poverty. For marketing purposes, NGOs and „experts‟ tell us that the answer is so simple, whether it‟s access to clean water, economic liberalization, universal healthcare, education, modernization, or microfinance. But 50 years of “development” in practice teaches us that it‟s not so black and white.
Kiva will be the first to tell you: microfinance is not the solution to poverty. Provision of financial services is simply an important part of helping people improve their lives; microfinance is only a “tool” that can help people to meet a portion of their basic physical, social, psychological, and spiritual needs.
I‟m working with Kisumu Medical & Education Trust (K-MET), a reproductive health organization in Kenya. One of the many services that K-MET provides is reproductive health education and life-skills training to at-risk young girls ages 10-24. These girls are often young mothers, survivors of rape and unsafe abortion, children of polygamous families, girls who had to drop out of school and work as prostitutes in order to meet theirs and their families‟ basic needs.
A loan alone won‟t solve these girls‟ problems; they need counseling, support, marketable skills, food, day-care, education, encouragement, mentorship…. the list goes on.
K-MET works to empower these girls with information about their health and their rights; they are trained as peer educators to share the information with their family and friends. The girls go through an extensive 6-month program that includes drama, sports and poetry to explore these issues. But K-MET found that the information just wasn‟t enough. They saw that the girls were still dependent on men for income, and therefore still vulnerable to early pregnancies and HIV. So K-MET added extensive vocational training to the curriculum; the girls each learned marketable skills (hairdressing, tailoring, catering) so that they could earn their own incomes.
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(Box 2.1 continued…)
Unfortunately, after 60 girls graduated from the intensive K-MET program, only 12 girls were able to find jobs or to start their own businesses to meet their own financial needs. So back to the drawing board – K-MET began Safe Space, a „phase 2‟ launching space for graduates to develop their business skills together using K-MET space and equipment, allowing them to save up their own income and move out on their own when they‟re ready. A „pilot program‟ has been started with 12 graduates to help launch them into their own private businesses, which we *HOPE* will begin with Kiva loans in the near future.
But the girls have to be ready to run their own businesses. The microfinance textbook tells you that to get a microloan you must have economic opportunity. These girls were trained in entrepreneurial skills – they wrote business plans and marketing strategies. They even have significant income-generating abilities (in catering, hairdressing, and tailoring). But they are trying to operate their businesses in a slum – business is slow-going, and motivation is lacking. Milena, the Kiva Fellow who helped launch the Safe Space before me, described her angst with getting the girls off the ground: “I would smile. I would pump my fists in excitement. I would lure them with cookies. Still, they seemed disinterested.” Milena made a phenomenal effort, and I‟m now here to continue what she helped to begin – if I can figure out how to help these girls find their own motivation. “Ok – hairdressing department, if you have three days where you meet your sales targets in a row, I‟ll finally let you give me mzungu (white person) braids you‟ve been talking about.”
On the books, the girls are ready. They are empowered. They have information. They have support. They have mentors and they have skills. But I wonder – will they make it? Will they leave the K-MET nest and go out on their own to successful businesses where they can support their families?
What other things need to happen in Kisumu and Kenya to provide the right economic, political, and social environments to enable their success? Joel, (my husband, also a Kiva Fellow) and I often speak of the opposing “poverty” and “prosperity” poles that each of us are tied to because of where we are born. He and I, only by chance, are fortunate to be tied to the “prosperity” pole that includes safety nets of insurance, education, and health. But how do things like the men‟s view of women in Kisumu keep these girls tied to a pole of poverty, despite whatever steps they make in a positive direction?
Development is not a one-sided issue. There is no „silver bullet‟ to fight poverty. I stand behind the belief that microfinance is an important, powerful tool for development. But, as Kiva lenders, may we not give up the other valiant fights that we each believe in when it comes to freedom, equality, democracy, education, public health – and the many other pieces to the picture that is „development.‟
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Alison Carlman is in her 4th week as a KF8 Kiva Fellow in Kisumu, Kenya with K-MET. Join the K-MET lending team here, or click to see if K-MET has any fundraising loans posted! Alison is also an MPhil student at Stellenbosch University studying Community and Development. She is not totally excited about getting “mzungu braids” – but… whatever it takes…
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As the author‘s Kiva Fellows Blog entry demonstrates, development is multi-faceted, and part of bigger debates regarding social change. It is through a commitment to the principles of human-centered development at the micro level that one can then establish methods for macro-development practice. In that way, development can involve ―simultaneous action at both micro and macro levels,‖ as described by (Bhattacharyya 2004: 24).
The micro-development perspectives explored in this chapter provide an important foundation for looking at poverty in a global era. The concepts of human needs, solidarity and agency, participation, and sustainability are topics that are not just relevant to the field of development, but they also represent important conversations taking place in other fields, including information systems and information communication technology. These links will be explored in the next two chapters.
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