Welcome to Proximate East Africa, a newsroom that will explore participatory problem-solving approaches across East Africa.

Development has played an integral role in communities across East Africa and has been shaped by both external and internal actors. It is quite an interesting time for the global development sector in the region; with conversations around decolonisation, shifting power, and localisation taking centre stage, we’re trying!

I see this as a new era for the global development sector in East Africa. Simply because we’re getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, through talks that challenge how we have always thought about development and practised it. 

So, how do we ensure that we do not turn this into a new error for the global development sector - where power dynamics and dependency take new shapes and forms? This is what we can do. Listen. Learn. Involve. In my opinion, the three words can be termed the principles of community ownership, which has been emphasised in development conversations.

A new regional newsroom

Community ownership is fuelled by participatory problem-solving approaches that place collective community expertise and decision-making power at the forefront, leading to sustainable solutions tailor-made to a particular community. Participatory problem-solving approaches can best be understood from the places that experience the issues the development sector aims to solve. 

In this newsroom, we’ll explore participatory problem-solving techniques, that have been developed and implemented by people from this region. We will also draw lessons from contemporary participatory problem-solving approaches that have been the cornerstone of the development of many societies in East Africa. The aim will be to show that only those who experience a problem can solve it, the importance of the utilisation of local assets and the prioritisation of local ownership towards development processes that lead to the sustainability of solutions.

East Africa is a vast and diverse region with multiple geographical definitions, but in our case, as Proximate East Africa, our work shall focus on participatory problem-solving approaches in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. 

We’ll explore how community dynamics are unique to every setting therefore discrediting the viability of a one-size-fits-all approach that seems to be adopted by contemporary problem solvers. We will offer solutions to grantmakers, and how those who have the power, in the form of resources, should act as catalysts, connectors and allies, while those from the communities receiving the resources act as shapers, decision-makers, and drivers of change.

Finally, we’ll acknowledge different participatory problem-solving concepts, that have previously impacted some East African societies but have been politicised and in other instances where there has been misappropriation of funds. How can we learn from these past mistakes, and how can we mitigate them from happening again? 

Join us on this journey as we ask ourselves the question, what is development? Are we all working to achieve the Western standards of development - which according to me don’t seem to work everywhere? Or is there room for multiple facets of development that match the unique settings of a society? 

Let’s learn together!