Sustainability, Politics and Education in the Developmental Work

The Three-Column-Model of sustainable development postulates that sustainable development can only be achieved when environmental, social and economic goals are implemented simultaneously and with equal priority as this is the only way to secure and enhance the ecological, economical and social efficiency of a society. These three aspects are therefore closely intertwined. The educational aspect of the social Column is a strong priority in German policy. The Three Columns of sustainable development are often supplemented by a fourth one – the Column or field of political implementation or leadership. This last Column is particularly important in South Africa: Empowerment of communities or individuals for purposes of sustainable development is only possible when leadership is able to be assumed by any individual, which is not traditionally the case in South African society .

The Village Scribe Association emphasises sustainability of its projects for the simple reason that nothing else will bring lasting value to a community. A sustainable project is one that has addressed all four Columns of sustainable development within the community so that it becomes part of that society and lives as part of that society, bringing value and improvement for many generations. Our credo coincides to a large extent with the view of the German Federal Government. Sustainability can only function when education is given particular attention. Education is the key to a self-determined, responsible way of living, to an understanding of the value, and therefore finally to the success of the project, and an independent continuation of the project beyond its original planned extent.

Also read Our Goal

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One indication of education is a reflective relationship to oneself, to others and to the world. We believe that our approach to developmental work is particularly suitable to educating community members. We strive to give communities the opportunities to find their own way to educate themselves, with our help, our investments and the resulting possibilities, to inform and present themselves as well as to communicate. We want the people to develop a deeper understanding of their problems and to find solutions that fit with their culture, economic status, ecological requirements and social network, so that a stable socio-political system can evolve and be maintained.

Our approach to sustainable developmental work

The installation of modern, innovative computer technologies in marginalised rural areas (MRAs), coupled with the necessary education, embedded in a system of training, simplification of services and provision of an economic advantage, is the basis of our approach to sustainable developmental work. This approach strongly addresses three of the Columns of sustainability, namely the social, economic and leadership columns. The Village Scribe Association has several concrete, prospective, interconnected developmental projects to support that will be set up in succession to achieve this ambitious goal. These projects follow up on their successful predecessor The Zwelenqaba School Project. We strive to use renewable energy sources as far as possible in all of our projects, in order to minimise the impact of our activities on the environment.

Projects that we support

1. The Predessecor The Solar School Computer Project
   

2. The first Project The ECSPIRT Project
   

3. Following Projects The Village Scribe Project (incl. the eGovernment and eCommerce Project)