Flexibel aus Armut

Die Lebenswelt von lokalen Entwicklungsakteuren in Burkina Faso vor dem Hintergrund entwicklungspolitischer Erwartungshaltungen

Abstract

This article examines the life-world of local development actors in Burkina Faso. Their biographies are more closely connected with poverty than expected. Not only are the recipients of development aid from local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) affected by it, NGO employees are often confronted with economic insecurity as well. This is due to the fact that most local NGOs do not offer long-term career prospects for development actors, usually because of changing paradigms in development policy. In this article I illustrate this problem using the example of a new partnership between the international donor agency, the Christian Child Fund of Canada, and the Burkinabe NGO, L'Association Cri du Coeur pour les Enfants Déshérités. In particular, the focus will be on the observed discrepancy between the search of economic security on the part of local development actors and the normative practices of the international partner.