Mission
Strategies for International Development (SID) is a U.S. private and voluntary organization which develops and promotes better strategies for achieving the goals of international development - adequate diet, health, and housing, as well as improved education, employment, and human rights - for all residents in the developing countries of Latin America and Africa. SID focuses on two areas that need better strategies: (1) reclaiming soils and pastures and increasing rural productivity and income; and (2) strengthening democracy through decentralization and citizen participation in decision-making processes.
Reclaiming Soils and Pastures & Increasing Rural
Income. Soil erosion is quietly but dramatically reducing the
amount and productivity of arable land in developing countries.
Unfortunately, most rural development organizations focus almost exclusively
on increasing rural income; they do not address the need for helping farmers
reclaim and protect their soils and pastures, which are the farmers'
principal assets and means of production. In addition, organizations that
only carry out environmental projects have limited success because their
work is not directly related to increasing income. The problems of soil
erosion and rural poverty form a never-ending cycle, and neither can be
solved without also solving the other. SID is breaking this cycle by helping
farmers reclaim soils and pastures and increase income in 98 rural
communities on Bolivia's Central Altiplano. The program has proven
successful and has now been extended to Peru and Guatemala.
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Increasing Democracy.
Creating local governments,
giving them responsibility for most public works and services, and mandating
citizen participation in decision-making has become a new goal and program
of international development. These decentralization and citizen
participation programs are a great step forward in increasing democracy in
countries where it has been lacking. Also, decentralization of
responsibility for public works and services dramatically increases the
number of projects that can be carried out, and citizen participation in the
selection and supervision of projects greatly increases their effectiveness
and impact.
SID has
been working in Bolivia since 1994 to help achieve four objectives: (1)
selection of public works, services, and development projects by the
citizens of each local government area; (2) provision of these public works,
services, and projects by the officials of the local government; (3)
accounting of all funds and preparation and public distribution of financial
reports by these officials; and (4) supervision of works, services, and
projects, as well as use of all public funds, by the citizens. SID also
develops methods and materials for use by other organizations and has
trained staff of these organizations to achieve the four objectives in the
local government areas in which they work.
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