SMALL STEPS BUILDING PROGRESS
We have said this before. Economic Development… true Economic Development…is not for the impatient or those who get easily frustrated.
Economic Development that will change the conditions of societies where trafficking is rampant requires overcoming massive ingrained behavioral and external factors. There are reasons why various parts of the world don’t have solid economies.
From our founding, EDI has preached this. However, we are starting to see our tiny yeast cells showing growth. The most notable of these is the Theodora Africa project. The small group that has developed in Ghana is not fully paying their own way, and (with funding from the District Grant led by the club) has added new participants that have been trained exclusively by the current participants in the program.
However, we are exceedingly pleased that our second EDI effort, our grassroots entrepreneur training and development program, after several misstarts, has gotten a partner which is seeing real success.
The Jerome Fleischer School in Lusaka, Zambia is a grade 1 to 12 program for orphans. Thus, it serves one of the most potentially vulnerable populations. For many years, they have worried about what happens to their students once they are done with school. There is little in the way of support systems for orphans in countries such as Zambia once a child is out of school.
In line with the RCEHT & EDI goal of working on prevention, developing a pathway for solid self-employment is ideal. Our first class going through this program is about halfway done. Already, they are developing ideas for businesses and are being guided toward how to create a ‘real’ business, not just a subsistence hustle.
