If you are interested in international development then you should definitely read this book. Told in memoir style, the author explores the complexities of international development in Burkina Faso. Competing interests between UN agencies, corruption, change in government and political instability, vested interests from different individuals, all wrapped up in cultural complexities. Take these factors and combine it with a lack of understanding of the needs of local people and what do you get?

A failed development project and millions of dollars wasted!

Through his memoirs the author then contrasts these failing projects with projects that work but which are not given the support that they need. Once again the same factors are at work and they can ruin a good project.

'Jacques Claessens, the author, was born in Belgium and traveled and worked across Africa for over thirty years. Between 1980 and 2010 he assessed the impact of international development projects in Burkina Faso on behalf the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)'.

Jacques tells us the stories of some of these projects through his memoir. The names of people were changed in the telling of these stories, but the author manages to convey the complexities of the people who mostly are trying their best to resolve deeply challenging issues of economic and social development in the global south.

The memoir starts off with an amusing tale of a project which fails from the very beginning because the two people leading the project were totally distracted, one by horses and one by love. This then begins a history of failing projects which were not set up well, or monitored, or even researched properly at the beginning. As a result the work that was supposed to be done was just not done. Years later the project is abandoned because even successive staff members were unable to grapple with the difficulties that needed to be resolved. An absolute mess but one which could have been avoided if due diligence was done and if the right people were appointed at the very beginning of the project and for the duration. Not every development project is a failure but this book made me wonder.

At the heart of all of these different stories is the issue about the people who should benefit from these projects. The beneficiaries responded to the projects by generally ignoring them. I could recognise the cynicism of the local people who see yet another group of white foreigners coming to tell them how to better their lives and yet achieving nothing. Why should they change their customs and way of life for projects that deliver little or nothing?

As somebody who is not experienced in international development, I'm sure there are plenty of projects which do work but what the book shows is that social change and economic development may be noble ideal, but at the same time they are very difficult to achieve. I don't think this means that we should give up, but it does mean that leading international development agencies such as the different UN bodies should be a lot more rigourous in terms of projects they choose and the people they recruit.

I thought that the book was interesting but I have to say that the style in which it was written was a bit dry. I continued to read it because of my own personal interest, so for me this was more like an academic textbook and less like a memoir. Having said that it is still very fascinating. I think this book helps remind us that the endeavour of international development is very much an endeavour of human beings and although most of them may have the best intentions and want to bring change, people are people and without adequate monitoring and supervision projects may fail.

I was also struck by the thought that it's not just international development. Even in the global North efforts to reduce poverty and increase economic development and improve educational outcomes and all those other social development initiatives, face a lot of challenge . It not always easy. It is easy to develop strategies but implementation is hard work.

Another key message is the need for the involvement of local communities and international co-operation. I think what this book has done for me, is to throw open the world of international development and for me as this is a good blast of reality. Anybody who is interested in international development or who has worked in international development should read this book.

It is a pity that the author has passed away because this book was well presented and informative and it would have been great to have some public events to discuss this with the author.

Copy provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

I found this book to be fascinating with the author outlining two UN development projects he assessed in Burkina Faso then a later visit to review the results. This book highlights the difficulty of providing international aid projects (especially when the aid is not wanted) which are sustainable - the amazing number of pitfalls make this a very readable and important book.
The first project read like a comic opera with a flamboyant Italian and a love struck Dutchman as the implementers, a government coup and various clans and feuds that make the Capulets/Montagues look like a school yard tiff. The second project had all the hallmarks of success but still failed. And the later years post implementation review showed up more unexpected reasons for failure and very unexpected people gaining benefits.