Recently in Development Category

We live in extraordinary times, if only we can lift our eyes from the press of the mundane long enough to see it. As I write, I have just finished reading a series of "tweets" broadcast by a friend in besieged Kabul, one of many friends in the international diplomatic/aid community working to ameliorate conditions in the most desperate places in the world.

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Although I spent two years in the Peace Corps, I was always particularly impressed by my Peace Corps colleagues who went on to make careers of international service. Over the years, I have intermittently followed their careers as they narrowly cheated death from landmines in Zaire, tried to patch up Rwanda after the genocide, stimulated agricultural production in Mozambique, and tried to foster democracy in Afghanistan. And while I am amazed that Google can rescan the Haitian landscape within hours in order to give rescuers a detailed map of the devastation, I recognize that the key element in repairing the frayed edges of the international community is the people on the ground. With their unique blend of courage and compassion, they are my heroes.

John Milton, one of the most prodigious intellects of the seventeenth century, who played an active political part in one of England's greatest political upheavals, spent the latter part of his life confined to comparative inactivity by total blindness. Like Beethoven composing symphonies he could not hear, Milton dictated Paradise Lost from memory. In his sonnet On His Blindness, Milton wrote, "They also serve who only stand and wait." But among the vast majority of us who effectively "stand and wait," at least with respect to the world beyond our borders, let us have a moment's reflection for those who go forth and do, at their peril, and wish them a safe return.

Robert Stein, a former comptroller for the U.S. Coalition Provisional Authority which governed Iraq and oversaw the reconstruction effort after the U.S. invasion, was sentenced to nine years in prison and forced to return $3.6 million in taxpayer money that he garnered in bribes for diverting nearly nine million dollars in contracts to a particular American contractor. Characterized as "one of the largest fraud schemes to emerge from the reconstruction of Iraq" by the Post, this scheme leaves one to wonder how many others there have been and how big they were.

Persistent Race Disparities Found - washingtonpost.com

. . . that race in America will remain a major issue for a long time to come, the Washington Post reports on the stark differences in standards of living among members of different races:

White households had incomes that were two-thirds higher than those of African Americans and 40 percent higher than those of Hispanics last year, according to data released yesterday by the Census Bureau. White adults were also more likely than black and Hispanic adults to have college degrees and to own their own homes. They were less likely to live in poverty.

The Morocco Foundation announces:

When you shop at Macy's on September 16th, 2006, you help the Morocco Foundation fund its various humanitarian and educational projects in Morocco . Purchase the Macy's Discount Pass from MF ($5.00) and enjoy a wide array of discounts up to 20% throughout the store.

To take advantage of this unique offer, email us at:
info [at] morocco-foundation.org

To directly purchase your tickets:
Nadia.Serhani [at] morocco-foundation.org