Anyone who knows me knows of my disdain and cynicism for large-scale international developmental aid as championed by the UN, USAID, World Bank, etc. William Easterly opened my eyes to this issue in "White Man's Burden" when he used the case study of Amaretch, the young Ethiopian girl who daily trekked from her village to Addis Ababa to sell a load of firewood for a few dollars. When interviewed, she said, "I don't want to have to carry firewood all my life. But at the moment I have no choice because we are so poor...I would prefer to be able to just go to school and not have to worry about getting money."

But therein lies the problem, in spite of the billions and billions of dollars poured into nations like Ethiopia over the years, the lives of children like Ameretch or their family have not improved one bit. If anything, their situations have grown more dire, as Paul Theroux, on his second tour through Africa, points out in "Dark Star Safari," noting how large-scale farming was on the secline, survival through subsistence farming was the focus of most families. What can be done to allow children like Ameretch to go to school?

I have always believed in private, grass-roots organizations as the solution to these problems. Of course, it will take literally hundreds, even thousands of organizations stepping forward and making connections around the world where they can make a difference, but it is happening. Just today there was a front-page article in the Wall Street Journal on a dam project in the Machakos District of Kenya, a place we travel when we journey to Kenya. I know from experience that the rains only come once or twice a year, and then only if the people are lucky. We see the remnants of where the rivers flow in the rainy season, but in July and August it is a parched land.

Fortunately for the people of this area, a group of farmers in Ohio stepped up to the plate. Selling cattle and holding fundraisers, this group of farmers donated money, around $70,000 to a project in the area that sought to build a dam on a local river to keep the water flowing year-round. In the past, the river would dry shortly after the rains, but now it runs almost around the clock, allowing farmers to expand the crops they plant and harvest two or even three crops per year. One farmer was able to raise his annual income rom $100 to $500 by selling his surplus vegetables at the local market. In the spirit of entrepreneurship, the farmers have also purchased tools and other materials to increase their irrigable land and profit from the extra water. In addition, since the farmers now have more time on their hands since they don't have to travel miles to find water, they have taken it upon themselves to fix the local roads, something the government of Kenya and Western nations have pledged millions for, to little success, probably being redirected to foreign banks in the accounts of the corrupt leaders.

How can we ensure that children like Ameretch are able to go to school instead of carrying firewood every day into the city? How can we help farmers increase their crop yields? How can we help the eight million people who die from starvation each year? How can we get bed neets to the thousands who die every day or malaria? The answers are not easy, but we've tried the large-school development which has not seemed to work, though private, grass-roots has its limits, it seems to be the best alternative to truly meeting the needs of the people.