Ashley Judd is by all accounts a famous and well traveled person. Earlier this week she jetted out of the country after spending almost a week in Rwanda. At a press conference Tuesday, the Hollywood star, talked emotionally about what she saw inside the Kigali Genocide memorial at Gisozi and Rwanda in general. Her account of what she saw at the memorial and the different experiences in the different parts of the country she visited offers a moral lesson to many in the international community. Judd is one of the famous Hollywood stars and international celebrities that have embraced different humanitarian and political causes. She was in Rwanda as part of her work with the international NGO Population Services International (PSI). With her vast connections to the movers and shakers in the west, she is well placed to lobby and talk on behalf of Rwanda. This she promised to do. More to this, by visiting Rwanda and from her own account, she was able to witness first hand what a courageous and dedicated leadership can achieve for a country that could have easily be written off as a failed state fourteen years ago. Judd and other highly exposed celebrities like U2’s rock star Bono with factual information are well placed to put into proper context the problems and ongoing efforts to solve the basic human problems that many people in developing countries face. Their fame and popularity places them in a unique position to create a global awareness and interest in global issues mainly in developing countries. In this way they can help to put such issues on the policy agendas of rich governments, multi-nationals and individuals. What is needed is a global partnership and understanding which can play a major role in jump-starting that process-of resolving outstanding problems faced by post conflict and developing countries. On the side of the different personalities and groups in the west that have become stakeholders in the different humanitarian and political causes, there is need for “touching-base”. By this I mean that many of these international renowned people have to have on the ground appreciation of the problems both in context and magnitude. From what she said, Judd seems to have “touched base” however short the trip may have been. On the side of governments in the developing world, progressive leadership is important for any meaningful, international partnerships to bear fruit. From her assertion the Rwandan leadership has clearly demonstrated the courage and dedication required for a difference to be made in the lives of people in a developing country. Many of the world wide famous celebrities are doing work in different parts of the world and besides partnering with governments to provide social welfare services, are also in a way complimenting the work of governments. Through the various international Non Governmental Organizations where they serve as global/ goodwill ambassadors, they help to compliment the role of governments by assisting communities in different areas. It is also apparent that there is a new approach taking root in the way these international celebrities and the organizations they work with are approaching the problems they seek to solve. For example Judd said that she will actively work to find markets for Rwandan products produced by people in some of the projects and initiatives she visited. This in a way is a distinct paradigm shift in the way the west has approached Africa. Many in the west both state and non-state actors viewed Africa and Africans as recipients of charity and donations.Thus the continuous flow of foreign aid to governments and Non-Government Organizations in Africa came to symbolize Afro-West relations. However these continuous inflows of aid to African governments have served in some countries a negative purpose. In a July 2006 foreign policy briefing for the Washington DC based Cato Institute, award winning journalist Andrew Mwenda argued in part that foreign aid in some countries like Uganda has served to weaken democratic accountability and postpone necessary economic reforms. It becomes apparent that trade is the best option and can help to jumpstart the process of social economic development. By helping to market products from Rwanda people like Judd will be doing a great service. Aid can be important only in the short term where it can provide remedial services to people and communities but can hardly bring about national transformation. Contact: frank2kagabo@yahoo.com
