"From The American People"

As a little background to this post: I am working in Haiti on a development project (known as "IDEJEN") that is being implemented by a non-profit organization (Education Development Center, or "EDC"), that is being funded by USAID (United States Agency for International Development). Don't you just love the acronyms?

Anyways, USAID are the "big shots" in the development world. They fund a lot of projects like ours in practically every developing country around the globe. So when they say jump, we say how high? This is their logo below. When I arrived at the IDEJEN offices in Haiti (where I am interning), it didn't take me long to make a key observation which I would like to share with you. Namely, the USAID logo had been conveniently plastered on nearly everything in sight. EVERYTHING. Let me give you a few examples (we're looking for the little white stickers--in case it's hard to see).

From fancy office chairs,

to the plastic lawn chairs we have upstairs. From the front desk and phone,

to my desk (and everything else in the immediate vicinity).

And how could one ignore the power generator outside,

or computer hardware of all makes and models?

From ancient paper machines and office supplies,

to the fire extinguisher (my personal favorite).

Oh, and let us not forget all of the air-conditioning units.

The list goes on my friends. On and on. Is it just me, or does anyone else find this somewhat amusing and/or slightly disturbing?

Indeed, NOTHING from "The American People" can go unrecognized. The only thing I've found unlabeled thus far is the toilet itself. But isn't that too "From The American People?" Maybe before I leave, I'll slap a sticker on---just so the Haitians don't forget who it really is that makes it ALL possible (that, by the way, was me being sarcastic).

Now don't get me wrong. I'm grateful for USAID. I'm even more grateful for "The American People." I just think we might want to deal with the modesty issue a little better, because sometimes, less really is more!