About

Welcome to the Who, What, Where, When, and Why of this blog.

Who? My name is Lauren Dodds: recent Political Science graduate from Carleton University; Ottawa native; lover of good friends, new experiences, nature, books; generally an all-around life enthusiast.

What/Where/When? For the next 2 years I will be working with Engineers Without Borders Canada (www.ewb.ca) in Ghana, West Africa, on the Agriculture Value Chains Team. The AVC team works with businesses and development sector actors (NGOs and donors) to promote private sector development in a way that will create greater opportunity for small-holder farmers to improve their livelihoods.

Why? Last summer (May to August 2010) I worked with EWB as a Junior Fellow in Ghana, working with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. (The older posts in this blog are from my JF placement.) After having spent four months in Ghana as a JF, I felt that I was leaving with more ideas for change than feelings of accomplishment. I came home with more questions than answers.

I decided to apply for an African Programs Staff position with EWB because, having worked with them in Canada and Ghana, I strongly believe in EWB’s approach to development. The organization relies on minimal financial resources, but operates so well due to its incredible human resources. EWB staff and volunteers and innovative, entrepreneurial and above all extremely caring people committed to seeing a better world. Through a mix of capacity building and innovations that deliver high value to our partner organizations and ultimately to the rural Africans we’re working for, EWB strives to find scalable, sustainable solutions to systemic problems.

Lastly, I’m working with the AVC team because I really do believe in the potential for the private sector to drive sustainable development in Africa and throughout the developing world. A stronger private sector to me means one that meets the needs of small holder farmers: by creating markets with smallholders to deliver much needed goods and services, and by creating market opportunities for farmers to sell to, to increase their incomes and improve their livelihoods. I think this image is achievable, but far-off. In the meantime, effective support systems need to be in place to enable ongoing improvements in the sector, and this is what I am excited to contribute to for the next two years.

So, all that being said, I hope you like the blog and that you’ll visit and comment often.