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Helping the poor in underdeveloped countries : a practice of resistance and solidarity

Historically, development practice and theory has been focused on increasing the productive capacity of the poor towards the modernization of their society. More than often, this approach resulted in excluding the poor from fully participating in their own development. This research project is a qualitative study in the practice of resistance to the domination of expert knowledge and the economic growth model, a resistance focused on developing an authentic solidarity with the poor. Using narratives as a method of inquiry, an attempt was made at defining the commonality upon which our relationship with the poor can be initiated and from which common action can be undertaken in helping the poor meet their needs. The findings suggest that it is in the shared experience of oppression that an authentic relationship can be developed. Importance is attributed to the quality of the exchange between the worker, the poor and the donor in our attempt to resist ethnocentrism. It calls for a less grandiose vision of development in favor of an approach focused on meeting the needs of specific communities in underdeveloped countries.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.31567
Date January 1999
CreatorsBelanger, Dominique.
ContributorsLeonard, Peter (advisor)
PublisherMcGill University
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
CoverageMaster of Social Work (School of Social Work.)
RightsAll items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
Relationalephsysno: 001809466, proquestno: MQ70538, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest.

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