EXTRACT:
‘Welcome visitors, welcome today. We’ve all been waiting so long!’ Coming over the crest of the hill into the Millennium Village of Ruhiira, Uganda, children’s singing voices gradually become louder, intermingled with bursts of clapping and laughter. The long-awaited visitor, Jeffrey Sachs, is due to arrive at any moment, and the anticipation is palpable … For the people of Ruhiira, the visit … was a celebration of the fact that today, their story is different. Today, the community was living proof to the world that … dreams can be made a reality as a result of effective synergy between well-targeted aid and community empowerment. ‘We haven’t done it, you have’, proclaimed Sachs, to tumultuous applause and ululation from the crowd of hundreds … Pledging support to the community until 2015, [Sachs] promised that when that day comes, Ruhiira will be ‘a shining example to the entire world … having shown how this community achieved all the Millennium Development Goals. (Millennium Villages Project press release – Handa-Williams 2010)...