Amsterdam is wonderfully sunny and cool, making my 5 -6 hours of day of walking quite pleasant. There are a lot of us visiting Amsterdam this week, in fact, I haven't been able to go to the main museums because the lines circle around blocks. It's good that I am coming back in October and December... I don't think there will be crowds then. My hotel is in the center of the town on a quiet street. Today I wondered in an area of town that reminded me of being in Turkey. It's a mixed neighborhood of senior citizens and immigrants from Turkey, Africa and other such places. Prices are a lot lower there!
Today I read in the Herald that CARE has decided to walk away from 45 million dollars in aid from the federal government because they feel the US food aid programs harm rather than help the countries they purport to serve. The way these aid programs work is that the US buys food products from US farmers, then ships them to places like Kenya on U.S. carriers. Then in Kenya aid organizations like CARE receive the food products and then sell them in the local economy to earn their aid dollars. This system is racked with inefficiencies which CARE has acknowledges in the past, but now they've decided that these programs also hinder agricultural development in poor countries. Soybean oil, for example, is one of the products that the feds buy and ship. Aid organisations sell the oil to Kenyan processing plants at a lower price than sunflower farmers can sell their raw sunflower oil. It's complicated, but I am pleased that CARE is taking this courageous step. They are using aid money to help small farmers improve farming methods and retailing strategies. CARE is affiliated with Cross Cultural Solutions, or rather it's the other way around. At any rate, I am glad to be affiliated with them and look forward to learning more about their work in Tanzania.
Oh, oh, the computer tells me I have 30 seconds left. Sorry for the typos...
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