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David Booth MBE – Community
Empowerment
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David Booth, a world leader in
sustainable community development, has been awarded an MBE (Member
of the Order of the British Empire) for “Services to sustainable
development in rural East Bali, Indonesia” in The Queen’s 2004
Birthday Honours. This award recognises his work in community
empowerment which has recently propelled an entire community into
the 21st century and his is a great example of how much difference
one man can make.
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Born in Morecambe in the North West of England, into a family
struggling to feed three children, David resolved to work hard, get
a university degree and be able to help his parents escape poverty.
He trained as a civil engineer and worked on major construction
projects in the UK and around the world managing complex projects
for nearly two decades. Later this experience was to be instrumental
in the development of his programs.
Material success did not satisfy his desire for a challenge and he
felt he might find a deeper happiness dedicating his efforts in
benefit of “The poorest people I could find”. He returned to the UK
to develop the skills necessary to carry forward this plan.
Selecting Indonesia as a country with a serious poverty problem, he
settled in Jakarta, where he also put his civil engineering skills
to work. His search lead him, at first, to a humanitarian relief
project on one of the most easterly islands in Indonesia but after
it was completed he came to realise that although these people had
little material wealth, they were apparently well nourished and
healthy.
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David identified a forgotten village which fit his criteria less
than three hours drive from the world-class sophistication of Bali’s
luxury tourist resorts. Lost in the steep slopes of Bali’s highest
mountain, almost overlooked by government, virtually unknown to the
villagers a few km away, this was a village lost in time. Lack of
access to the outside world meant that 20th century advances had
passed them by. Mental development problems linked to endemic iodine
deficiencies were exacerbated by lack of education, clean water,
balanced diet and hygiene.
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With the mindset he developed as an
engineer, David satisfied himself that all programs were attainable
before they were begun. He identified the key requirements to build
a self-sustaining system and tackled these simultaneously to create
a cohesive solution. These now form a set of comprehensive programs
prioritising children’s education, public health deficiencies and
food security, which he has proven to be sustainable, measurable and
replicable.
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He enthuses about the small victories. The children
who have turned established practices upside down by teaching their
parents to read, about hygiene and how to practice crop rotation.
The villager who, after discovering toilets on his first trip
outside his village, installed one in his home and invites other
families to inspect and try it out!
David Booth has proven his metier in helping the poorest of the poor
and his work in East Bali will guarantee the villagers food security
by 2012.
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The East Bali Poverty Project created a
video in early 2000. It shows conditions in the village before the
programs began. When one visits these days the changes are
remarkable. Look here for
photographs.
Download Movie Here:
EBPP mpeg Video
(120MB) |
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