HELP TO SELF-HELP

The ideology of help to Self-help is an idea of self-empowerment that is used by the Danish Kofoeds Skole system which now operates in several countries in Europe. It promotes self-reliance among people of socio-economic difficulties. Such empowerment is highly needed in developing countries where hopelessness often arises from severe destitution.

I became interested in the idea of help to self-help after visiting the Kofoeds Skole in Copenhagen, where people are gradually empowered and encouraged to self-regulate and become full participants in society. Denmark can afford to take good care of most of its citizens through the welfare state system, but they believe it is also necessary for everyone in society to participate in the maintenance of the system so that it does not crumble. Citizens and residents who receive welfare benefits are encouraged to find employment for their own development; otherwise their benefits are gradually reduced until it is sometimes taken away completely.

However, one element which deters people from engaging in full time employment is the fact that their qualifications are no longer on demand in the rapidly evolving labor market. Globalization and improvements in technology lead to rapid changes in society and the labor market. Hence even recent college graduates need to become flexible and prepared to learn new skills that can make them marketable. The motive of creating alternative skill training for those who need it makes the Kofoeds Skole a paradigm for developing countries.

The Danish Kofoeds Skole also attempts restorative ideas such as accepting those who are often regarded as ‘rejects’ of society. These are people with problems of drug abuse and alcoholism. Often times we tend to forget that behind the destructive element of substance abuse are bigger problems of family crisis, domestic violence, personal loss or other forms of disasters. While the Kofoeds Skole does not directly solve these problems, it gives individuals an alternative life by empowering them to help themselves through the concept of help to self-help.

I believe that the concept of help to self-help can be a pragmatic element in African development because of the fact that Africa’s problem is not the lack of resources or other forms of human capital. What most of Africa is suffering from is the lack of organization, planning and the incapacity to put the existing resources to efficient use. For instance, development is not entirely possible without a drastic increase in the literacy level in Africa today. But it will also be foolish to halt development until everyone is educated. We would have to invent other creative means of survival while we embark on educational or infrastructural development.

Through the methods of the Kofoeds Skole system, we can improve upon practical skill training institutions for those who can no longer frequent the normal academic school system and improve skills of subsistence agriculture or ameliorate local production. While a Ph.D in agriculture is very important, we do not need it to grow rice, cassava, potato or yam which is mostly our staple food.

The difficulty of acquiring higher education in most of Africa makes it very prestigious to be a college graduate than to be a farmer even if one is extremely successful. It is therefore necessary for Africans to know that while formal education is absolutely necessary, the lack of it should not become an incapacity to obtain other skills. The carpenters, tailors or farmers are as important as the mathematicians or the philosophers in the process of development. In fact, it is extremely vital that we diversify our intellects so as to leave room for a varied approach to development.