Issues with foreign aid work (split from utilitarian thread)

[gwahir]

I don't believe it's a "Feel good" kind of involvement. If you help dig a well, people have water. If you help construct a building, they have a place to sleep. You're not getting them hooked on foreign aid, and you've helped people in the immediate sense. Sure, you might not save a life like a doctor or surgeon, but people are grateful all the same.

Who are you replying to?

[no_brains_no_worries]

Who are you replying to?

some who are only there to feel good about what they are doing, then get the hell out of dodge.

I was replying to this. The way I see it, good is good no matter the motivation behind the intent. Some billionaire wants to donate to the unfortunate to get a tax break is still money going towards a good purpose right? Even if you go to help just so you can brag and claim you have an interest in humanitarian movements, you will still be doing the right thing if you roll up your sleeves and do something that needs to be done.

[coqauvin]

yes, but the money doesn't necessarily get used for the right purpose. Along the way, it changes hands a few times, losing a little each time, and if the destination is bad enough, it's all just going to get taken by the local warlord in charge as his right. Suddenly, a philanthropic payment has turned into terrorist funding. Even if the broken red cross method* is used, the warlord will still claim everything that comes in and use it to further his own ends, which pushes back the peace agenda.

There is a simple analogy that describes it, and it's what I do when I encounter a homeless person (on occasion). If they ask me for money for a coffee, I offer to take them to a coffee shop and buy one for them. I'll chat with them about their life story and what led to them being wear they are, and I've met some truly... unique people this way. There are a few, however, who get insulted by the fact that I wouldn't fork over any cash and bad mouth me for being selfish. The key difference here is that I'm not willing to just hand over money that's going to get used for purposes I don't approve of - I will offer the service personally. If they want the money for crack, they can get it somewhere else, but if they really need it for a coffee and muffin, then they aren't going to begrudge having a conversation with me about it.

*When I refer to the broken red cross method, I mean that there are a couple prominent US-based aid organizations whose mandate requires that all food and supplies that are to be used in Africa must originate in the US. This is a really shitty idea, because giving industry to the economy you're trying to relieve is going to help the problem, and insisting that the work stay at home is only hurting the people who are there, by removing potential jobs and learning opportunities for independance and reinforcing the notion that these people should just sit back and wait for a handout rather than working and earning it.