Singapore (Reuters) – June 6, 2010 –
The international community needs to start providing more economic and social assistance to Afghanistan to ensure the nation can function on its own, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Sergei Ivanov, said on Sunday.
“One thing is clear, a lot should be done in just starting very primitive social economic life in Afghanistan. If we don’t do that, any military presence will be in vain,” Ivanov told the Shangri-La Dialogue. » The full Reuters article – By Harry Suhartono and Nopporn Wong-Anan.
In our Posts – 2009 – Jurm was tormented by warlords in the 1990s, and though it never fell to the Taliban, the presence of the central government, even today, is barely felt. The idea to change that was simple: people elected the most trusted villagers, and the government in Kabul, helped by foreign donors, gave them direct grants — money to build things like water systems and girls’ schools for themselves.
Original image source » Holly Pickett for The New York Times
Villagers and development workers had to persuade a local mullah to get a girls’ school built in the Jurm District of Afghanistan.
But forcing conditions would have violated a basic principle of the approach: never start a project that is not backed by all members of the community, or it will fail.
“People have to be mentally ready,” said Akhtar Iqbal, Aga Khan’s director in Badakhshan. If they are not, the school or clinic will languish unused, a frequent problem with large-scale development efforts.
Today, many people have water taps, fields grow wheat and it is no longer considered shameful for a woman to go to a doctor. The full New York Times article » By Sabrina Tavernise.
- The New York Times – Learning Network – Guns, Butter or Both? Debating Troops vs. Development in Afghanistan -
Overview | What actions can help mend and secure the situation in the war-torn nation of Afghanistan? In this lesson, students consider a proposal to build more schools in Afghanistan rather than sending more troops to secure the struggling nation, then conduct research and present their policy recommendations in a debate. Go to this Building Society Lesson. - World Wise School – Perceptions – This activity is designed to help students understand that perceptions are influenced by personal experience and taste as well as cultural background. Go to Building Society Lesson Worksheet.
- The New York Times – Learning Network – Exploring the Intersection of Religion and Modernity -
Overview: Students examine the ways in which various religious faiths have responded to social, ideological, and technological changes in ‘modern’ times. Go to this Building Society Lesson.
