A few random thoughts from Manila (where I am on a business trip):

The news today that Warren Buffet will donate virtually all of his vast fortune to the Gates Foundation and 4 Buffet family-related foundations is wonderful news. This means perhaps $30 billion(!!) or more will be made available over the next 10-30 years (depending upon Mr. Buffet's life span) will become available to the development efforts of the Gates Foundation. Some might quibble, I suppose, with Mr. Buffet's choice of the primary recipient (Gates), but, on balance, this is an incredible development. Presumably this had something to do with Mr. Gates' announcement that he will devote some 80% of his time to the foundation beginning in 2008.

An article in one of the Manila papers on June 25 echoes a thought I expressed in a previous post. The article (from AFP) describes the State of the World Cities report presented at the UN World Urban Forum held last week in Vancouver. Apparently, the report, which I have not read, predicts huge growth in slum areas of the world's cities and concomitant increases in crime and potentially urban terrorism. What I found most interesting was that many of the speakers apparently emphasized the fact that government and aid agencies needed to increase the involvement of local people in determining which programs and policies were most likely to be successful. One speaker suggested that more funds go directly to smaller, grass roots organizations that more knowledgeable about local conditions. This is simply more recognition of the need for local control and ownership of poverty solutions.

The great people at Kiva.org introduced me to another microlending organization worthy of support. It is called NamasteDirect (www.namasteDirect.org). They provide microloans to Mayan women in Guatemala and are attempting to expand throughout Central America. Please check it out and support them if you can.

Today I have added links to some of the organizations I have written about in previous posts. They are shown in the right hand column. See the bottom of the right hand column. I have included a banner link to Kiva (www.kiva.org), an NGO that assists microlending organizations by enabling individuals to make small loans (via Paypal) directly to small business people in developing countries. The minimum loan amount is $25. I know from experience that $25 can make a great deal of difference to entrepreneurs in developing countries. Not long ago, I made a loan to a Kenyan woman who is raising money to buy another cow to expand her milk business. She needed a total of $450 which has been completely raised. When she repays the loan, I can take the money back or make another loan. Please consider making a loan as most of us in rich countries will never notice the $25 or $50 you might send but it will make an enormous difference to the life of the borrower and his or her family.

The announcement that Bill Gates will devote himself full time to philanthropy in two years time prompts me to think about the incredible array of NGOs based here in Seattle that are doing great work on issues of importance to developing countries. Most everyone knows about the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In a previous post (May 18) I mentioned Stop Exploitation Now, a small organization doing good work to fight the trafficking of women and children in Southeast Asia. There is also PATH (www.path.org), the Rural Development Institute (www.rdiland.org) to name only a couple.

The other night I attended a small gathering hosted by Uplift International (www.upliftinternational.org). Uplift was founded on the belief that adequate healthcare is a fundamental human right. The organization is emphasizing the link between healthcare and human rights and is bringing together healthcare professionals and lawyers to work on these issues. They are focusing most of their attention on Indonesia now. I have been especially impressed by the fact that they do not attempt to impose their own ideas of how programs ought to be developed and implemented in Indonesia. Rather, they are listening to representatives of the Indonesian Medical Association and others in Indonesia to ensure that local people take ownership of the various programs. I think this is hugely important.

For so long, development projects have been imposed by donors and their consultants who often do not really understand the conditions of the countries in which they operate. As a result, many of the programs languish. Localization is important not only in selling products and services in other countries; it is crucially important in designing and implementing development programs.

Some organizations, such as the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, are attempting to utilize this country-driven model with some success. Recently, in addition, I worked on a capacity building project in Cambodia. The project had gone nowhere in the first few years, in part because it was really not designed by and for Cambodians. In order to boost the project, the government ministry and the donor agreed that a process of "Cambodianization" had to be written into the program so that the training program would be "demand-driven" so as to reflect the needs of the Ministries where the students worked. (It was my task, among other things, to ensure that the Project Implementation Manual, a lengthy document that guides all aspects of the project, was revised to reflect this new priority.) If development projects everywhere become more country-driven they will have much better chances of success.

Returning to Uplift, I was also impressed by their effort to engage the private sector in supporting the mission of the organization. The founder came from the private sector and has good contacts among executives in many very large U.S. corporations. Obviously, it is critically important to persuade these companies to support development in poor countries. One cannot rely on government or multilateral donors for everything.

Finally, please don't forgot to check out the online fundraising auction now underway for Stop Exploitation Now: http://www.cmarket.com/catalog/landingPage.do?vhost=stopexploitationnow