Why Charity rocks and Development sucks
You are probably aware that a significant slice of our taxes is used by our governments to finance overseas aid and development, employing NGO experts and development boffins dedicated to solving the causes of global poverty. While their social and economic development programs, multi-sector poverty reduction strategies, Millennium Development Goals, and whatnot, all sound well and good, we have to ask ourselves ‘what difference are they really making?’ I mean, who even understands what these so called ‘experts’, with their social science degrees and PhDs in economics, are actually doing? And why do these development professionals even take salaries? If I’m willing to give up some of my time to helping poor people, for free, why can’t they?
I don’t know about you, but I find it disheartening when I learn that a large part of my donation to a major NGO has gone toward funding a Sustainable Community Agricultural Development Program to Enhance Local Livelihoods and Food Security. I don’t even know what that means. Surely if poor people need something to eat we should cut out the middlemen and just give them food (or at least some money to buy food). Now that’s what I call making a difference!
I don’t know about you, but I find it disheartening when I learn that a large part of my donation to a major NGO has gone toward funding a Sustainable Community Agricultural Development Program to Enhance Local Livelihoods and Food Security. I don’t even know what that means. Surely if poor people need something to eat we should cut out the middlemen and just give them food (or at least some money to buy food). Now that’s what I call making a difference!