"I agree with Miquel, the flip side of being a ‘trusted intermediary’ is that sometimes perhaps too much trust is placed on people who happen to be in the ‘limelight’. There’s a certain amount of pressure to always deliver, which is good, but sometimes people put TOO much faith in our various projects and efforts. Great expectations can often lead to great disappointments. To Miquels second point, there are plenty of other organizations who exist around us, sometimes attempting similar efforts. Some have been here for years, the question is why aren’t they trusted? Does it always have to be Westerners (or the western educated) who act as proxies? Are there examples of purely local trust being built locally? If not, what does that say about the global development community?" - Jon Gosier