Poll Comments - People Directly Affected
This poll was conducted April 12 - May 1, 2002:
The people most directly affected by a development issue have the best ideas, analysis and opinions about how to address that issue.
Do you agree? Disagree? Unsure?
| AGREE | DISAGREE | UNSURE |
"The people most directly affected are generally the only ones who fully understand all the cultural and social implications, but providing assistance to "draw out" the ideas and formulate ways to address the issue, can be important, if not vital." [UK]
"Using PRA techniques,you will be amazed with the rich quality of responses on development issues as perceived by the rural people." [ ]
"This however does not mean that they can solve those problems on their own, that is, without external support. it has been my experience that once the people affected do not take the most important role in the analysis of their problem and suggest ways of dealing with the problems, in most cases, they will in most cases not identify themselves with the project or initiatives that may be put in place to solve the problems. Also, what may seem to be a problem from the external may not be the problem according to those comunities." [Zimbabwe]
"We say that it is the person ewaring the shoe who knows exactly where it pinches.Work done at the Indigenous Knowledge System in Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa and at its affiliate centers around the world have proved again and again the truism of the assertion. We tend to know too much, treat the poor as children who must be fed and looked after for their own good. A sick person has first to tell the doctor what is wrong before he can proceed to a diagnosis and eventual treatment." [Ghana]
"Communities turn knowldege into action. Ref. ICASO." [ ]
"Facilitation and formulation of unformulated ideas, feelings and initiatives may still leave some room for outside contribution. But basically, researchers from the North should put their skills at the service of those of the South, if that's is who we are talking about." [Sweden]
"This is crucial because unless the community is geniunely invested in any potential solutions, these solutions will most likely fail. Public health programs that are driven by "developed" countries' agenda are a great example of this. Dialogue and action must happen from those who are directly affected." [ ]
"In Africa we say he who wears the shoe knows best where it pinches, so the man whose problem you are addressing knows best how to resolve such problem that even the most sympathetic outsider." [Nigeria]
"Development means change. The change happens either to the environment where a community is located or the way it's living. In both case, the statement is correct because the affected community has the best knowledge and wisdom about the place they have been living for hundred years, about their own culture and values. Neglecting their participation would lead to resistance of change, failure of a project or worse, to violence and unrest." [Lao P.D.R.]
"I am agre with the main idea. However a very important problem is the approach apply by the NGOs." [Bolivia]
"They are the guys on the ground and hence they know better. Prescriptive solutions will only prolong their suffering as the 'experts' try one form of solution after another. Anyone who has worked with communities will testify about how much a seemingly ignorant people actually know! For instance in the area of HIV/AIDS those of us involved in the design and impementation of HIV/AIDS interventions have greatly profited from letting communities define their own problems and proposing appropriate solutions be it in the area of Care or Prevention." [Zimbabwe]
"They do not have the only ideas, but until they "have" the idea, ie. ownership of it, wherever it may have originated, it is only an idea. This is central to the art of development facilitation - enabling ideas, from whatever source, to take root in peoples' own experience and to grow, to acquire substance, uniqueness and meaning from that so that it becomes theirs. Often the seed is already there and it may only take a question to enable it to germinate, but sometimes due to systematic oppression the seeds have gone and must be humbly brought from the outside." [South Africa]
"Well, for starters the people most directly affected are those in need of the technology, I however agree that any effective implementation will have to be a collaborative effort between those in need and any donor countries, agencies or partners." [Ghana]
"It is not enough to agree. Development workers must listen, respect and trust the ideas and opinions of the directly affected people. Who can feel their pain better than they do? Who can react to their pain better than they do? There is a saying in Aarabic "Those whose hands are in water are not like those whose hands in fire"." [Palestine]
"But the person has to have the means to do so and the eduactional background to offer solutions." [ ]
"First of all, if they have a voice, they might come with different concepts of development, and what it meas to each...which I think is the first step towards it. Being actors rather than subjects have has been demonstrated overtime, is the best way to achieve anything we want." [Mozambique]
"Development should be about facilitating processes of analysis and consensus building among stakeholders." [England]
"I agree but... it should not be taken as a dogma. People most directly affected by a development issue may have good ideas about how to tackle the problem and what not to do. However I think that it should not be taken as a unique response. Experience is also important and people that are working in development may have important insights about a certain problem, that people affected are not aware of. The best solution will be to find a compromise between the affected and the "helpers". Utopia? " [UK]
"People have idea on what to do but often lack the resources required and have never been encouraged to do things on their own by external developer/s." [UK]
"I agree, but unfortunately these people are not always consulted and especially if the concerned happen to be the poor. I also acknowledge that sometimes people do not have the answers to their problems or the mechanisms for problem solving." [Kenya]
"I agree with a proviso...the people affected most often do have the best ideas, analysis and opinions but need outside assistance to facilitate the formulation of these ideas and to develop a plan to address the issue." [ ]
"Top down development models have been unsuccessful for 50 years and have possibly caused more harm than good. Grass roots based development is the only real way to ensure integrity in the development process." [USA]
"They know what plagues them,their limits and strength.To do things for them is tantamount to making them children who cannot rationally decide and do what is best for them." [RSA]
"The top down approach to development failed to address the real needs of the recipients. Community ownership is a key to success." [South Africa]
"Assuredly people most affected can run off a list of repercussions they do or will face from a dev't project. A concrete and intimate understanding of a situation provides the most honest framework within which to brainstorm. There may be outsiders who come to the table with ideas and analyses based upon their experiences elsewhere, and that perspective can be tremendously helpful. But without roots in the reality of a specific situation, attempts to address the issue are subject to the pitfalls of generalizations. Ouch." [USA]
"Everyone is affected by development issues. Those most affected often desperately poor and uneducated may not be able to understand a wider perspective, not be able to take any time away from finding food to consider global implications of development." [ ]
" I do believe in this opinion. A simple example is a patient and his doctor. The doctor has so been specialized in all the fields of in the world wouldn't be a good one if the patient he is going to help didn't also help him. The patient knows what is wrong with him, how the sickness acts, when he notice what events, and so on. So if the doctor thinks that he is so competent that he can do the right thing to help the patient without his participation, he is mistaken." [REpublic of Mali]
"Involved people do not always have the long-term or in depth view of an issue. It's like a focus group which is usually unfocussed." [UK/Senegal]
"Many a times people are swept by propaganda, emotions and myths, and by the misleading notion that the majority's analysis and opinions are always correct." [USA]
"People who do not agree sometimes do not have the solution - they just know that what is happening is not justifiable to for the masses." [ ]
"They have SOME of the ideas. But the truth is that noONE has the BEST idea(s) which are most likely to emerge from discussion among different parties all committed to resolving the issue." [ ]
"It is self evident. I appreciate that you are trying to get a debate going but I think that as with most things in real life it is not a black and white issue." [ ]
"They may have the best ideas about the problem and good opinions about how to solve it, but sometimes a local idea of a problem solution could benefit from experiences and lessons learnt elsewhere else. So its always good to try and broaden a people's view of their situation by giving examples of others who suffered the same problem elsewhere, and how they solved it." [Kenya]
"Those most directly affected are often the poorest, least educated, and most marginalized and often blame themselves for their poverty. Many believe that God is punishing them. That said, those people most directly affected can articulate what their physical needs are and how to address them, even if they cannot sometimes articulate the structural reasons why they are poor." [ ]
"You need to separate the idea of "those most affected" from the idea of "communities, agencies or governments with closest proximity to an issue" The statement as phrased is obviously not the case: particularly for the very young, mentally disabled, or those lacking the information to have an informed perspective. What is true is that wherever possible those most affected by a development issue should feed in to the response, and that local communities, governments and stakeholders can take ownership of the problem and its response - it should never be an externally driven process." [UK]
"The people directly affected by a development program may have ideas but not necessarily the best." [Pakistan]
"Often those directly affected are most in need of access and means to generate best ideas and analysis." [ ]
"People who are directly affected will be biased towards the issue. They will not be able to analyse the issue in an objective manner. Every issue requires research, thorough study and an overall understanding of its implications to a large section of population. This is possible only if one keeps an open mind and is emotionally not involved in the issue. An affected person will react more due to emotion rather than data available." [ ]
"We have witnessed in HIV epidemic that in many African countries people are badly affected but nothing is done. People still deny it and are not ready to discuss about it and take appropriate actions." [Guinea]
"Other who have passed through that way and have found a solution to their particular development issue might be able to give good and pratical advice." [ ]
"Perhaps individuals that have previously been affected by a similar, or the same development issue will have the best ideas etc. on how to address the issue." [Canada]
"I definitly think that peolple have to be involved in the decisions that affect their lives and their surroundings and future, that is an essential premise in development issues. However some times is difficult to sort out causes and effects because your perspective is narrow to every day surviving, or because there is little room for action in long term basis. There needs to be a continious dialogical interaccion between people affected by those issues and those that can take distance from the every day experence, but there can never be an imposition of one's view on the group's, rather there needs to be an accompanying of activities and evaluation of outcomes." [Colombia]
"I think this statement is too absolute. There are so many factors involved in what is the "best" for anyone. I do agree, in theory. But I think that often, the people most directly affected may not have access to information on options. And I think this is limiting. I would say that, given as much information and as many options as possible, the people most directly affected by a development issue will be able to give the best opinions on that issue, choose the best ideas, and make the best analysis." [USA]
"While I think it is important to incorporate the wisdom of those directly affected, sometimes critical distance and other elements such as a broader education can also be of use... it's not an either or question!!!" [ ]
"It may be that sub-populations of the affected don't see the whole picture of how the entire group is impacted; this would hinder their individual analyses. In a public health and development context, expertise such as epidemiology may be lacking in the affected population, and may be needed from "outside." For example, roughly 10 years ago epidemiologists with the experience of how AIDS spread in other developing nations could see what likely was coming in Cambodia, while the population there would not have identified AIDS as a leading health priority. The ideas, analysis, and opinions of those directly affected must be respected and treated as an important formative indicator, but statements such as those above might tend to unnecessarily discount the experience-based expertise of "outsiders."" [ ]
"Those affected will have the most comprehensive understanding of their particular circumstances and how they are affected by the issue. However, in some cases they may not fully under-stand the issue at hand, and without being fully informed may come up with ideas that are not applicable (e.g. isolate those with AIDS to control the spread of HIV)." [Mayanmar]
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