TED talk to share

Every Monday night, a bunch of us ex-pats get together and a community group of sorts.... we cook dinner together and then watch a TED talk. Well, this past week was my week to pick the talk we were going to watch together, but I was ill-prepared. I had watched Malcolm Gladwell give a talk, in hopes that it would be an interesting option... but he just talked about spaghetti sauce and how it revolutionized the food industry with its many flavor options. Humorous at times, but not particularly thought provoking.... so that left me with nothing prepared for my TED talk. I decided to wing it, and ended up getting lucky with a talk from the "jaw dropping" section by Hans Rosling, called "Insights on Poverty."

I wanted to share this video, because I think it gives a really interesting view of economic development, and the rate at which things are happening in the world..... How far we've come and how far we have to go.... And how we can get there. Something interesting that this researcher points out is that he makes a distinction between the avenues by which we achieve development, and the end goals we have. For example, education and economic growth are avenues toward the end goals of human rights and a strong culture. That was a distinction I had never made before, and I think it's an important one..... because all the factors of development can become quite overwhelming at times, to the point where it can become quite discouraging.

The longer I live in Uganda, the more I realize that there is not simple answer to the issue of poverty. I often think of Richard Stearns' quote: "There's a tendency to say, 'This ain't rocket science. People are hungry; feed them.' Well, the deeper you get into relief and development, you realize it is rocket science, because you are dealing with all kinds of social, cultural, political, and religious landmines. What have you really accomplished if you haven't gotten beneath the surface and started to wrestle with the root causes?" I appreciate those words, and I hope that the insights in this video give a clearer image of just how complicated and yet hopeful economic development can be.