‘We are eternally committed to development. This applies not only to the history of mankind, but to the personal history of every individual.’ This tenet from a character in Polish author Witold Gombrowicz’s novel Pornografia (2009) is something which NGO workers have been substantiating for many years: aiding communities without the means to successfully pursue their own development. Whilst Brussels hosts the European development days (EDD) on 6 and 7 December 2010, the ‘It’s our money; it’s their future’ project has allowed several young Europeans to travel to countries where humanitarian aid is delivered daily: Madagascar, South Africa, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Haiti. There, they meet and interview members of the NGOs Caritas, DMOS-Comide (missionary cooperation for development), Entraide & Fraternité and Action against Hunger (ACF). Each of these organisations relies on the funding of the foremost contributor to international aid, the EU. Three video reports capture their experiences on camera:

Madagascar: autonomy through education

Alexandra and Medea visit the Salesian centre in Ivato: a missionary order supported by Comide which provides for 200 young people aged 12 to 22, including orphans and those with educational or family issues. The centre provides them with the personal and professional training to find employment and integrate within Madagascan society. Sixty years after the independence of nineteen African countries, the young reporters experience post-colonial guilt as they represent ‘the west’ in Madagascar.

Madagascar: ‘It is our money, but their destiny’ | Young Germans who send money to Africa with their families

South Africa : integration of those that development left behind

The reporters then cross the Mozambique Channel to South Africa, for which 2010 marks the twentieth anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s freedom. In Cape Town, the Salesian Institute provides homeless young men and women with life skills, as well as the training and knowledge to find a job.

South Africa: ‘It is our money, but their destiny’ | Where empty bottle waste creates musical instruments

Haiti: post-earthquake aid

In Port-au-Prince, Anna, a former intern at cafebabel.com, meets up with Julie, who has also reported from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Eight months later and Julie is coordinating the Action against Hunger project in Port-au-Prince; she typifies the young men and women who choose to take part in aid efforts in emergency situations.

Haiti: ‘It is our money, but their destiny’ | The video talks hard fact and ruminates on having time and money

Read the rest of the reports on the project ‘It’s our money; it’s their future’ in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo on the cafebabel.com blog Chez moi en Europe (‘At Mine in Europe’)

Commission européenneCommission européenneWith the support of the European Commission DG Development and Relations with African, Caribbean and Pacific States

Images: ©André Bossuroy