"Michael Saunby" wrote in message
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"Jim Webster" wrote in message
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"Oz" wrote in message
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Oz writes

The sad thing is not just that it is completely denigrating of women -
they sit there for hours stringing tiny beads onto fishing line and
just
about go crazy, and then they will just loose their money- but that it
has consequences for whole families and communities. People here only
take loans from within their family or maybe from neighbours. What
happens when the money goes missing and people can't pay their family
members back? What happens when people start to blame their friends
and
neighbours who told them how wonderful the scheme was? This scheme is
not just thievery but a community destroyer creating anger and
destroying trust.


didn't something very similar happen in Albania not long after that
overthrew the communists?

and wasn't there something that took off in the SW of England over some
sort
of culture in milk?


And of course those weird American folk had that Enron thing.

Michael Saunby


Yes, Michael, I noticed. No conversation is really complete without knocking
the yanks irregardless they are always there when needed.

Enron was an eye opener for many. I feel government is remiss in allowing
such immense wealth to be miss used in such cavalier manner. But as in the
case of your own government the greed entices then entraps those who could
stop the wrong doings.

Helping people as those in some of the 3rd world countries is often almost
impossible or very difficult. Due a fragile or inept infrastructure there
is often no workable line of communications to a centralized organization.
Often these people have less than the basic tribal structure. Dealing with
individuals is fruitless of course due to being a different looking intruder
with every move being suspect.

Dealing in food products and especially when offering to establish efficient
hydroponics systems in arid areas we find that many governments, such as
they are, toss up every imaginable roadblock to prevent the project from
being started or, if started, followed through to completion.

One instance in a South American involved nothing more than a rather simple
chemical compound they refused to be imported into their country for some.
After much scurrying around they "discover" a source from within their own
country. So we smiled broadly and bought the product at 300% of our
supplier's price and all were happy. The containers were from our original
suppliers. But that is life when dealing with these folks.

They are 3rd world countries for reasons which are very difficult to combat
at times.

We have actually failed in a few instances because of local situations
ranging from the above example to direct refusal to accept help for an area
or community.

So, regardless how pious or righteous your intentions, reality can slap it
all down with a word. That does not mean we must ease the pressure on these
groups but we certainly have much home work to have well in hand before
making the commitment.

James Curts