Summary

I want to tell a story about the challenges of getting things done in developing country governments.  Using my experiences as a development economist, I have written a story that highlights the major bottlenecks to delivering basic services in low-income settings.  In collaboration with Nigeria's foremost comic artist, Albert Ohams, I aim to turn this narrative into a graphic novel that will be distributed cost-free to schools, universities, and development organisations.

Our Story

Have you ever wondered why developing countries can't provide basic services to their people?  Why is it so difficult to implement government projects in the developing world?  Is it just down to a lack of money, to bad politics, or to corruption?  Or is the answer more complex?

In 'Water Get Enemy: The Story of Delivering Public Services in the Developing World', I've drawn out a few answers to those questions. The story, set in the fictional country Banglageria, sketches the passage of a public project through a developing country government.  You can read the story, or listen to me read it, at www.danrogger.com/teaching.html#borehole.

Now I have teamed up with Nigeria's foremost cartoonist, Albert Ohams, to turn this story into a graphic novel.  We want to make a book that will open a window into the governments of the developing world, and provide insights into the problems there.

The Impact

The piece brings together my experiences working in and with governments in the developing world, and messages from my discussions with civil servants, politicians, and technical assistants there.  Albert's graphics will take the reader into the heart of government, and help them see and experience the problems as they occur.

The graphic novel will be a learning tool.  I will use it in my own lectures on development (I teach at a university), and create a revolving exhibition for schools, universities, and businesses in the UK.  In collaboration with University College London, we will hold a conference on Nigerian governance with the exhibition as the centrepiece and workshops on each of the subjects with academics and Nigerian diaspora.  We will make the novel a useful resource for development partners' training initiatives.

What We Need & What You Get

We need money to pay for Albert's time.  The graphic novel will take a month or so of work.  That's where 90% of the funds we raise are going.  The rest will pay for turning it into a useful online resource, and for printing a set of exhibition prints that will travel around the UK.

Any funds additional to this will be invested in methods of publicising the graphic novel once it's published.  For example, one idea is for the novel to have its own web site, with biographies of the major characters and further resources on the subjects addressed in the story.

Other Ways You Can Help

Thank you so much for your donations.  There are other ways you can help.  If you read the story and have comments to improve it, please let me have them.  If you can help me with ideas to promote the graphic novel once it's published, these would be warmly welcome.  Of course, once it is published, the more people who help publicise it, the more useful it will be.