"Participation is an end, not simply a means. The whole point of development is to enable people to participate in the governance of their own lives."
-- Allan Kaplan
Allan Kaplan emphasizes the role of development as the facilitation of ‘resourcefulness’ (Kaplan, 1999). His works illustrates the importance for development processes to be internally driven, and that developmental outcomes should "enable people to participate in the governance of their own lives"(Kaplan, 1999.
The expected outcomes for Esther’s Echo go beyond simply providing new channels of funding and support for CBOs in under-developed regions. Our goal, as Kaplan emphasizes, is to provide local individuals with the opportunity to make significant changes in their own lives and communities whether abroad or in Canada. Through this development paradigm, we aim to empower local leaders with the support they require to design, develop, and implement projects that are aligned with the needs and expectations of the their own communities and “strengthen the building blocks of society...(to) promote active citizenship in communities” (Coetzee 2006). In Canada, our youth outreach program, Esther’s Story, will support student leaders by providing funding for student initiatives. These students will have the opportunity to directly influence the lives of those in their schools, and communities all while growing in their own experience as social entrepreneurs. We expect to see a myriad of social change activities generated by this support from innovative Canadian high school and post-secondary students.
The overall reach and effectiveness of Esther’s Echo will be defined by the size and scale of our CBO/student and funding network. Within the first three years of launching Esther’s Echo, our goal will be to serve up to 400 CBOs across the globe and to fund 100 student-led initiatives.