By David Sowerwine | Founder and Project Leader
In the previous Report, I described the challenge facing any of us who seek to help in developing countries by assisting the people to obtain needed hardware or infrastructure--with an emphasis on Nepal, home of the WireBridges.
Behind both the poverty and the difficulty the people face in maintaining 'things', especially things the community shares in common, very often lies the problem of trust. Or more specifically, the lack of trust.
An essential must-read for our volunteers in Nepal has been the book "Trust", by Francis Fukuyama. Nepal itself may never have been mentioned in this book. But the reasons for Nepal's poverty and on-going inability to have good governance are laid out clearly.
If a people lack trust--don't believe the rules of society are fair, don't believe that basically everyone will follow the rules, then they rarely will collaborate to solve problems that they share in common: water supply, sanitation, schools, contract enforcement, river crossings...
In March I shall be in Nepal for several weeks. I hope to meet with the few government individuals who have the authority to provide the funds to maintain the 31 WireBridges that you and many other individuals and governments built.
If the Government decision is positive then we shall ask our many friends to help fund the immediate rehabilitation of all the WireBridges, and the re-establishment of good service for the rural people.
If not, then our remaining funds that are tied to the WireBridges will be used to refurbish as many as possible--perhaps four or five--and our support for the WireBridge program will end.
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