[youtube]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7rB9fheGeRo[\/youtube]<\/p>\n
Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n This video introduces what Excellent Development aims to do. It\u2019s still a newer organization that believes in aiding the people in Kenya with the knowledge not just helping them to ensure long term sustainability methods and growth.<\/p>\n Here is a short blurb from their website on what they do:<\/p>\n \u201cExcellent Development supports\u00a0farmers in Africa to gain access to clean water and grow enough food to eat and sell, enabling them to pay their children’s school fees and buy other necessities.<\/p>\n Farmers achieve this by organising themselves into self-help groups and improving soil and water conservation and farming techniques.\u00a0 Soil and water conservation is achieved through the terracing of land, planting of trees and building innovative sand dams that hold between 2-10 million litres of clean water available all year round.<\/p>\n In addition, Excellent Development works with development organisations at local, national and international level to apply the development model and technologies we use to enable our 2020 vision of 3 million farmers a year gaining access to clean water and growing enough food to eat and sell.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It starts with a tourist perception of Kenya then switches to rural Kenya and what it really is for the people that live there. As the narrator, Allison Bell says, \u201cbasic needs are a daily struggle,\u201d for the people of rural Kenya.<\/p>\n One of Excellent Development ways is featured \u00a0in this video, where they create springs through sand dams which collects water from the river which is built by the members of the community. \u00a0Joshua, a local explains where the water is coming from and how much of the sand dam is composed of water (60% sand, 40% water). \u00a0The video then goes through various interviews with locals (Charles Muendo Mdambuki, , Charles Mwanzia Mutie, Professor Jesse Mugambj) and they compare the way of life before and after Excellent Development has come and how it has better their lives.<\/p>\n What this organization does is great because it really believes in not just giving the people help or money but giving the people skills they need to sustain for future generations. As Charles Mwanzia Mutie says in the video it is \u201cbetter train a child to catch a fish than give him the fish.\u201d However, when I watched this video I could see a very Western viewpoint of Kenya and the people. Throughout the whole video, I see images of how helpful the Westerners are for coming to this place and education the locals but at the same time the impression is very strong and almost a little forceful.<\/p>\n For example, the scene where Allison Bell is walking with the little girl and this gives the image of how (2:01)\u00a0 the Westerner is very caring and having this special connection with the little girl, but near the end of that scene, Allison asks the girl \u201cthis makes you very happy doesn\u2019t it?\u201d and says \u201cyes\u201d and nods. I can\u2019t help but think that the little girl has no idea what is happening and was told to hold this foreigner\u2019s hand and walk with her. In addition, throughout the whole clip whenever either Charles\u2019 talked\u2026although they were very educated in the processes of sand dams and how it is helping their town, the words seem very forced and put into their mouth to regurgitate back out.<\/p>\n For me, this video is an attempt at bridging a way to help the subaltern speak, however it is in a very forceful way. I feel it is very scripted to please our Western views \u2013 to feel like our ways are really helping them but in reality we may just be telling them what to do and although it is beneficial\u2026do they really understand the processes and the goals behind them? So my question is: even with the attempt to bridge the gap between the subaltern and us, are we hearing from the right outlets?<\/p>\n Here is the link to the organization\u2019s website and Youtube channel<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.excellentdevelopment.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n