As I went for a stroll in Lancaster, underneath a very uncertain grey sky, I was approached by a charity, as I'm sure all of us have been. He was outgoing, good looking and trying very hard to be funny. And he reminded me why I started this project, why I can't just go and find a group and work for them. Who has ever felt like they got anything meaningful out a meeting on the street like that? Did you feel anything but a pang of guilt, suddenly feeling like you've forgotten parts of the world, but also a slight annoyance that yo had to be told by a man in a yellow coat?
It might seem stupid to say that supporting a cause in that way is inefficient, it gets them money doesn't it? The good ones get the job done don't they? Sure they do. The point is not that the work being done is not good, the point is that it is so miniscule compared to what could be done if more people understood the situation. In Tanzania men are sitting in the streets, playing games, kicking dust and growing thinner. Its not because they are lazy-lets get that understood first. They are not lazy and they don't spend their money on booze either. What has happened is that there is no innovation, there are no idea that have not been tried out and succeeded, there seems to be so few options. Industry, technology and internet makes our own grandparents feel outdated and nervous, even our parents don't fully understand it, I'm not even sure my own generation knows how to really take advantage of it, but these people where hit by it within a very short period of time, and are now left behind. Its not just about age, younger people, with education and plans for the future also struggle to understand what is going on and how to ride the wave. This is not ignorance, it is not lack of imagination. Its just a world out of their control.
What is needed, what really would be useful and that could change the world is ideas. Money is great, building wells are great, but if you can give people in development countries an idea of how to build a well that fits their own environment then a major battle is won. We can keep stuffing money in, sending and giving by the millions but if there are no ideas, no opening of opportunities for innovation then we will keep wasting our energies. Its a blunt truth but it is true none the less. Yes, some charities do amazing work, they really do, and they are worth helping. But any charity that makes you feel guilty, by quoting you facts and showing you images of starving children do not deserve your money or time. If that is the attitude they bring to any poor country they will do more harm than good, making people dependent on others, not just for food, but for ideas of how to change their lives. We should not, and can not understand how to best run their country, their schools or even their village. But we can give them the power and the space to take charge.
Anyone who hasn't seen or heard of a millennium village please do so. It is the most successful project the UN has ever had, and it is growing rapidly. the UN might not have been very impressive lately, but this is a project worth knowing something about.
Link: http://www.millenniumvillages.org/about/index.htm
I know it sound like I'm telling you what to do, or not to do and I know I don't have the right. But please consider thinking twice before donating, check out where the money goes, look at the way they talk to people and the message as well as the work. Ask me about t, I'm happy to help you find a charity that really speaks to you, that really matters and that is worth your time, your resources or whatever else you have to spare.
That's the point really of all my work- delegating what people have to spare to the right places.
Let me know if I can do it for you
HM
