Passages - Development
A Thousand Points of Light is a literary journey; written in a fluid language that makes it easy for the reader to be in the scene, smell the flowers and hear the sound of the drums. The passages share insight not only of Jackson's literary style, but also the insights into international development approach, aspects of Senegalese culture and American culture that and the rich layers that exist.
“What’s your project?” asked Martha, who had joined them in her bonnet for coffee and was sitting next to Paul, who was now fully awake and wearing a Chicago Bears tee-shirt.
“That’s complicated, well, not really, but, I hate to say this Worthington, with you being Head Officer and all…” started Miles.
“Go ahead,” granted Worthington. “Shop’s closed today and we’re just plain folks.”
“Very well then. I don’t understand my project, oh, I know you’ve explained it to me over and over, Worthington, but Animation is a vague goal. What was that you told me, about teaching them to fish instead of giving them food?”
“That’s it partner,” agreed Worthington. “Give them a fish, they eat for a day, teach them to fish, they eat for life.”
“That’s it,” confirmed Miles, ready to ponder a point. “What if there’s no water? I’ve been trying to teach them to irrigate, but the water’s at a low level because of droughts, so we need a pump, and the Minister of Development is never in. On top of that, the V.I.P. has to send to Washington D.C. for everything and the paperwork for money is astronomical. It’s all so frustrating that I’ve tried to avoid all of the hassle by getting the guys together in my village and trying to raise the funds myself for the pump, you know, and cut through the bureaucracy.”
“So that’s what you’re doing?” asked Martha, intrigued. “Organizing fundraisers?”
“Well, no. It’s not like we can have a bake sale or something like that, so I organized a roasted peanut sale,” said Miles proudly. “It was the most available food and everyone loves them.”
“Did it work?” asked Martha.
“Well…I bought a sack of peanuts with my own money, and had it all figured out how we could make a profit and I could get my money back because I had transportation costs too, but the whole thing was a fiasco!” lamented Miles.
“They didn’t buy anything?” asked Paul. amazed.
Worthington cut Miles off from answering. “Let me guess what happened. They took the peanuts and basically gave them away, and you wound up absorbing all the costs.”
“Exactly! How did you know?” marveled Miles.
“Because you made two mistakes. First, you gave them the peanuts; you didn’t make them invest with you, so they didn’t have a vested interest in them.” Worthington paused and lit a cigarette. “And your other mistake was not teaching them how to do all of this themselves, so they didn’t understand how it works.”
Miles was quiet for a moment. “Yeah, I see that now, but if I had waited for them to come up with the money, we’d be that much further away from a pump, and they’re not educated enough to understand the economics of the project.”
“Bullshit! That’s just plain bull,” growled Worthington. “I told you, you got to teach them how to fish; they can’t do it if you just lend them a pole and give them the string too, to beat a metaphor to death! Get somebody from your village, some bright kid, and take him along with you everywhere you go. Teach him what you’re doing, so that when you leave, your knowledge stays behind. That’s how you do it, with counterparts, not control.” Worthington stood up and flicked his cigarette into the courtyard. “Yup. I sure can see your frustration, partner.”
Miles’ face turned red. “I’m doing the best I can, Mr. V.I.P.! Thanks for the criticism - it really helps me irrigate.
“Yeah, I see that now, but if I had waited for them to come up with the money, we’d be that much further away from a pump, and they’re not educated enough to understand the economics of the project.”
“Bullshit! That’s just plain bull,” growled Worthington. (Miles and Worthington)
