Demoralizing images of rural community identity

Many people in rural communities find the day-to-day confrontation with an uncertain water supply, seasonal annoyances, such as periodic severe droughts, mosquitoes and the odour of open sewers, together with the hopelessness engendered by the physical surroundings - the deteriorating walls of unused buildings, the persistent dust and the colourlessness of the mud wall construction which confront the villager at every turn - reinforce rural images and drive them to see themselves as at at the mercy of uncontrollable forces.

The civic identity of rural communities is transmitted through such images which demoralize resident and non-resident alike. They are struck by the lack of commerce, lack of public services, and so have a disbelief that industry would ever want to locate there. This sense of hopelessness, the belief that the community is dying and the conviction that others would not choose to live in such a place undermines the community's will to build its own future. Until these images of civic identity are radically altered, small communities will be unable to generate the motivation and enthusiasm needed to carry out development.