The final presentations today were very informative and interesting. The presentation on Mozambique was insightful because it opened up the debate on Japan's involvement in the country and if promoting martial arts was really beneficial for people who are facing food insecurity. However I think that this particular case of Japan promoting its culture in an African country will help build bilateral ties between the two countries and cement diplomatic ties that can lead to increased involvement by Japan in different issues in Mozambique. Perhaps this cultural relationship between the two countries will even lead to development work that wont be implemented in a top-down fashion but rather in a participatory manner.
Kenya also opened up very interesting issues, the fact that the Masai tribe drinks blood of the animals killed leads to questions of HIV/AIDS infection. One thing we did not find out is whether there is food insecurity among the Masai or if there are particular health issues which could be traced to particular cultural practices.
Somalia has diverse issues of food security due to war, terrorism, piracy etc the list is almost endless. Whilst depressing it seems in the short term the only hope for many people there is the food aid provided by international agencies.
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