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The perspective of most central Europeans on the world at large has always beenaffected by our gaze to the West. We search for a framework for comparison purposes inthe Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and beyond and we consider what we find there to bethe real picture of the whole world. If this book has reminded you that the human world ismuch larger and diverse than the world of the wealthy billion, which Europeans are among,then it has fulfilled at least a portion of its objective. If it has motivated you to reconsiderour share of responsibility for life and the perspectives of the most impoverished, aboutthose who take and who should give and about our opportunities to act as individuals,communities and countries—then the book has fulfilled much more of its objective.The conclusion of this book is the perfect place to express thanks to those who wereinvolved in its creation. They include my colleagues at the World Bank’s headquarters inWashington who helped me better understand events and the dynamics in Africa, in particularDan Owen, Keith McLean, Steen Lau Jorgensen, Mungai N. Lenneiye, Paul Francis andJacomina de Regt. From my African friends and colleagues I would like to express particularthanks to Amade Kamagenge from the Tanzanian TASAF, Christine Delport from the GreaterRustenburg Community Foundation and Melanie Nicolau from the University of South Africa.Dušan Ondrušek has been behind the book from the very beginning and who has longsince encouraged me to liven the book up by incorporating more of my observations duringyears of work at the World Bank. I resisted for a long time because of the strong feelingI had that other people had long since said what needed to be said and had done a muchbetter job than I could. When the challenge came from Nadácia Pontis (Pontis Foundation)to write a book about development aid and Dušan let me know about it, I decidedto give it a go.At Nadácia Pontis I must thank Ivana Raslavska and Michal Cenker in particular. I cansay that I had no idea when I began cooperating with Pontis on this book of the massivemountain I had yet to climb, but without the climb I most certainly wouldn’t have ever finishedit. For Pontis, which is actively involved in human rights protection activities in Cuba,I do realize that the chapter in which I highlight another side of Cuba may be difficult todigest, but keeping quiet would be doing the readers at home as well as the Cuban doctors,teachers and soldiers active in Africa and around the world a disservice.I’m also aware that some passages of the book may sour the mood for some of my friendsof faith, in particular Catholics. Again, keeping quiet about the harm that religions and theChurch do by demonizing contraceptives and condoms, supporting intolerance towardssexual minorities, preventing the global effort to eradicate polio or supporting the brutalpractice of FGM, which mutilates entire generations of women, would put such silence onequal footing with these wrongs. I hope that the chapters and passages in the book will bethe inspiration for contemplation and the search for the truth about life in all its complexity.Others who have made important contributions to this book and who have my thanksare Tomáš Miléř, Pavel Nováček and Jirka Pánek from Palacky University in Olomouc,265