We had a post last week If we could reverse things,
that now become an more Interesting subject. Also we had a post
about going Kenya to do electric wiring. With the disaster in Haiti
school boards have been trying to give portable classrooms for
nothing,no taker because It take $10,000 to wire them up. This
forum seems to be ahead of the curve on many subjects.The young
engineers need to check out what happening in the world. Learn
about work visa's and how embassies do there work.Another group
of first responders are travel Insurance agents and adjusters. It
makes you wonder how many companies and governments have that
as a benefits of employment or for volunteers. There seem to be lot
of money in proverty. You are unemployed and can't afford college for
for your youth,having to use college loans instead of grants. The
policy for victims of disaster is school with no school or medical records,
no entry fees. So we are the new global society do you relate to
this new world where you live in the world.Should we reverse or
expand social policy,can you afford the education you want or are you
taking the best education you can get,is freedom of expression
a problem for you.

 

years and years ago, about 1987, a very close friend joined the Peace Corps. It was surprizing at the time on a couple of counts.

First off, he was a self-serving, egotistical, better than God, self-absorbed, acid dropping, wouldn't work a day if he had to, academia diseased individual.
Secondly, he was over 35 years old.
He did have a masters degree in business management and marketing.

Sierra Leone was his destination and was there for over two years.
His mission was to take up after what previous generations of Peace Corps volunteers had started.
The previous concern was to teach the residents how to plant, harvest, build, repair, and provide shelter and sanitation.
My friend's mission was to further that with helping set up marketing avenues for them to reap monetarily the fruits or their labors. Business sense follows common sense.

When he departed for Sierra Leone, he vowed he would take the people out of the stone age and bring them right to Wall Street.


He returned to the US a completely changed person. Night and day.

He was torn with the changing of basically a way of like for the inhabitants of Sierra Leone. Had he helped them or did he help diminish their natural spirit?

He came back with a whole new philosophy. Humility.
He felt he helped destroy a culture. The same culture he is now trying to promote through speaking engagements and lectures.

His mission now is to help humanity help humanity.

what an eye-opener!

me, I just fix stuff.....

 

What did he feal he destroyed.

 

This was twenty years ago. I am not familiar with the current political or economical ways of Sierra Leone to know if his concerns were warranted. I have not had a conservation with him for quite awhile now. He, at last knowledge, was lecturing on his experience and views from his time in the region.

I can't speak for him but I can relate the feelings he expressed to me.
The culture of tradition. Poverty in the eyes of one are not the same as viewed from another vantage point. He felt growing enough to eat, providing sanitation and creating a usable infrastructure was where they should have left off. If the peoples wanted to compete on the open market, it should be at their desire. Not the bureaucratic notions of a business community.


It is like when they build a bunch of casinos in mostly poverty stricken areas in the USA. People in the area now have an occupation and a paycheck. They take loans out for cars and houses. They now have to work to pay big bills. They went from poverty to deep in debt. Instead of putting food on the table, the money for that goes to Visa and BOA. Now we have the other demise of human nature. The perceived betterment of life is undermined with pain and agonies that tear apart families and neighborhoods. Lay-offs come and people are devastated. Drug use, violence, other situations happen that really shouldn't have.
Are the people better off?
All most people want is a chance to pull themselves up and provide for themselves and their families. Not to have debt piled upon debt and the rest of the story as we are all too familiar with. Not to be exploited, used and then left to fend for themselves.
I express this portion with feeling because it has happened in my birthplace and I know firsthand and personal the pain and suffering that has replaced the joy and togetherness that once was. Poverty was there, hunger was there. That could have been removed with an honest break, education ....not the destruction of a culture.

I understood his feelings because they reflected many of mine.

 

Baltimore use to be a great trucking center,What was Baltimore
known for besides the Colt's.

 

If you read some of my post you will see a lot agreement in the economy.
And feeling of others with what happining now.Trying to get more
comunication on these Issue's.

 

Baltimore use to be a great trucking center,What was Baltimore
known for besides the Colt's.

Edgar Allan Poe
Billie Holiday
Joan Jett
Frank Zappa
Johns Hopkins
Colt 45 Malt Liquor
USS Constellation
Frances Scott Key
Star Spangled Banner
Bromo Seltzer
Cal Ripkin
War of 1812
Natty Boe
Johnny Unitas
the Historic National Road
The B&O Railroad
The race of the Tom Thumb Steam Engine(ellicott city)
Baltimore's World Trade Center is the tallest equilateral pentagonal building in the world.
Camden Yards
Nancy Pelosi
Ace of Cakes
Fells Point
Larry Adler
Spiro Agnew
Tori Amos
Charles Bukowski
David Byrne
Cab Calloway
John R. Bolton
Dennis Chambers
Tom Clancy
Kevin Clash
Cass Elliot
Ellery Eskelin
Bill Frisell
David Hasselhoff
Billie Holiday
The Huntingtons
Al Kaline
Jim McKay
Garry Moore
Ogden Nash
Brandon Novak
Ric Ocasek
Travis Pastrana
Michael Phelps
Edgar Allan Poe
Robin Quivers
Babe Ruth
Mike Rowe
Pat Sajak
Sargent Shriver
Upton Sinclair
Kathleen Turner

 

I was wondering what you were up to. Read the math challenge to Loosewire.