Development phrases we love to bitch about

When you work in development, you will come across so many terms/words/phrases to the point where after a while becomes part of your daily standard vocabulary. The development world is certainly infamous for coming up with the new jargons. These are some of the words/terms we use and sometimes we know they mean absolutely nothing and everything. I confessed I used them every so often that I have lost most respect for its meaning and I keep telling myself I falling down into a deep deep hole...

1) capacity building - seriously, this phrase is overused and overused. It means everything and yet sometimes I feel it really encapsulates nothing. The standard definition used by UNDP goes something like creating an enabling environment with appropriate policies and institutional framework ... inclusion of women and community participation... and that it recognises that this is a continuous long-term process. Each time I read this definition, I giggled because I imagined someone at UNDP must have spent a lot of time crafting this together.

2) beneficiaries - hmm, I cringed at this word. Having worked on donor reporting, I suspect donors love that term. It makes it look as though people in poor country are mere recipients of aid/development whatever else. Seriously let's stop being so arrogant.

3) empowerment - I never really quite understood the use of this word or how I ought to use it. If I give you a sewing machine so you can make crafts and clothes to earn a living and thus improve your life, was that an act of empowement? That could have been called a handout too, no? Or if I give you the opportunity to express your concerns and thoughts, is that empowerment? That was just creating the space so they can safely express themselves, no? Hmm.. you see, this terms baffles me a fair bit and will likely continue to do so.

4) Asia/Africa - I am Asian, actually, let me correct that. I am South East Asian and that is quite different from someone from East Asia. Just because we all eat rice in that part of the world doesn't mean we are all homogenous. Afghans do consider themselves as Asians and yet they are different from someone say from Timor Leste. The same with Africa. Benin is not Somalia and Kenya is not Congo. Seriously Africa is not one country. It's also seriously annoying when you don't read the news and still believe that there is a civil war going on in Sierra Leone and arms and legs are still being hacked off or that Darfur equates Sudan. Come on.