On 2nd August 2011 I went to the Republic of Central Africa to learn about the country via the Catholic Mission there. During my travels across the country I learned some of the most valuable lessons of my entire life.
In "Westernised" nations we are so often given a perspective of people in developing countries as not being able to fend for themselves and needing outside influence to help them get by. The history of each African nation is wildly different and extremely complicated. It is certainly worth taking the time to learn about: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_African_Republic
Without question the people in CAR rely heavily on foreign aid. This would not be necessary if it weren't for the numerous wars and coups which blight the region like so much of Africa. All people really need to be happy and sustain their own development is peace.
The Missionaries who began with Saint Francis of Assisi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Francis_of_Assisi are truly some of the most inspiring people I have ever met. I am not religious in any particular traditional sense. Elysium does not exist to promote religion, but to find the most effective forms of charity and the most efficient in terms of cost. It makes sense that the people who TRULY follow religion sincerely and have dedicated their lives to the service of the world's poorest people and ask NOTHING in return are the ones who are best able to create long term sustainable development in the world's toughest and poorest nations. They remain there with the people in times of war and there is no question in my mind that they are totally honest in their goals of helping people from the depth of their souls. If you are skeptical just imagine the wrath which a priest of European descent would receive if it were found out that they were corrupt. In any case, the poorest nations in the world, with widespread risk of disease, war and significant hardships do not appeal much to those with selfish or corrupt interests so it makes sense that the people who work with the Catholic Mission (with NO salary OR pension I might add) are truly some of the greatest imaginable examples of what humanity can achieve when led by nothing more or less than divine love for their fellow humans. Having said that the ones who are corrupt can be sure that they will face the harshest of punishments: www.itccs.org
