Wealth creation and other reflections on community development

Abstract

I started working in aid and development in 1993, some 30 years ago. As an engineer, I mainly worked on construction projects funded by donors. As is often the case, these projects had a strong training and community development component. Our projects were in Vietnam, Indonesia, Tonga, Sāmoa and Fiji, but our company’s project portfolio extended to Niue, Kiribati and the Solomon Islands. The projects’ duration ranged from short-term assignments of a few months to large projects of several years. In 2008, I moved to another job and no longer participated in these projects. Over 15 years working in this field, I learned many things, and this article combines a Practice Reflection and an Opinion Piece. It is not an academic paper, and there are no references; similarly, I will not list the names of projects and countries as such mention may require the permission of donors, which would be beyond the scope of the article. I will reflect on three issues: sustainability, wealth creation and comfort with one’s values.