If I could take it all back... would I?
I've been considering this notion for a while now. Over the course of my relationship with Peru, my view has shifted from "in the moment" to sustainable development. It all started with Vivi's toes, all smushed up in her shoes, three sizes too small. It snowballed into "Soles for Soles," providing over 75 kids in Cuzco with new shoes. The next year, we brought socks. We gave a lot of gifts.
Being vaguely research minded, I've done some digging about all of this gift giving altruism. Is it helping?
TOMS critics shed some light on why it really isn't.There are so many reasons why gifts don't mean "aid."
"Avoid paternalism.
Do not do things for people that they can do for themselves. Memorize this, recite it under your breath all day long, and wear it like a garland around your neck (Corbett & Fikkert, p.115)."
- Have I created a dependency? Probably not, since I'm only there once a year, at best. My heart hurts too much to think too hard about this.Yes, my students' parents have gainful employment. They make between $3- 10/ day, and use this money to provide for their families. Can I rationalize NOT giving them assistance by saying they may become dependent on my gifts? Not in this heart.
The
TOMS critic gives this perspective as well:
- "How would you feel if someone walked into your home, took note of the
surroundings, decided that you needed a number of things that you
neither had nor wanted, and then went out and bought them for you? You
may feel demeaned or looked down upon. It may appear that the person who
entered your home thinks they are better than you. And regardless of
your reaction, such unwanted gifts would not encourage you to work
harder to earn more to buy the things which were given. Rather, if such
gifts came repeatedly over time a more likely effect would be to remove
any incentive to work, as you could count on that outsider to provide
for you anything they thought you needed."
Again, since I am only in Peru intermittently, and have not been providing GIK (gifts in kind) regularly, I can make the argument that I have not created a paternalistic state.
The other issue cited by many foreign aid critics is the harm done to local economies if outside gifts are brought in. Could they buy a t-shirt where they live? Then don't give them yours. Here's what
a Time Magazine article said about it:
- "It's not that hard to get shirts in Africa. Flooding the market with
free goods could bankrupt the people who already sell them. Donating
clothing is a sensitive topic in Africa because many countries' textile
industries collapsed under the weight of secondhand-clothing imports
that were introduced in the 1970s and '80s. "First you have destroyed
these villages' ability to be industrious and produce cotton products,
and then you're saying, 'Can I give you a T-shirt?' and celebrating
about it?" says James Shikwati, director of the Nairobi-based Inter
Region Economic Network, a think tank. "It's really like offering poison
coated with sugar.""
- Again, I am more thankful than you could know that our first round of shoe donations came from local vendors. I had no knowledge or even awareness of sustainable practice the first time I was there. And, that wasn't where my head was at during round 2, either. I wish all those socks came from the markets there.
The last issue cited by Kevin (the TOMS critic) is something that I don't
think was a flaw with our design. I have, however, seen this as an enormous issue in the nonprofit industry. While this author cites World Vision, I will relate to a more pertinent campaign, KONY 2012. Check out their campaign, but then
check out what this guy says about it.
Backing up, here's what
BD Keller says, using World Vision as a case study:
- "For a second, let’s assume that GIK doesn’t have any negative or
positive effects — let’s pretend it has absolutely no impact whatsoever.
(In fact, this may be a decently good approximation of reality.) Even
then, WV would have to account for how much they spent on the programs.
How much did WV spend in staff time, administrative costs like
facilities, and field research by their local partners coordinating
donations with NFL and other corporate groups? On receiving, sorting,
shipping, paying import taxes, and distributing their gifts-in-kind? If
they’ve distributed 375,000 shirts over the last few years, and done all
of the background research they describe as being necessary to be
sensitive to local needs… I’m sure it’s an awful lot of money, surely
in the millions."
KONY 2012 is a campaign coming around in a big way, targeting a specific man in Africa who has been trafficking children. Yes, horrible. Yes, I want to kill him myself. I am heart broken and livid about child trafficking. Here's the thing though...
- KONY 2012 is a campaign created by Invisible Children, a highly controversial nonprofit. In the nonprofit sector, Invisible Children doesn't have a great reputation. Granted, according to the "Passion Generation," it is doing everything and changing the world and super awesome. Invisible Children has the same conundrum as World Vision and many others... is the allocation of resources really effective?
- "Last year, the organization spent $8,676,614. Only 32% went to direct
services (page 6), with much of the rest going to staff salaries, travel
and transport, and film production. This is far from ideal, and Charity Navigator
rates their accountability 2/4 stars because they haven’t had their
finances externally audited. But it goes way deeper than that (Oyston)."
The issues with Invisible Children go way deeper -- to military intervention, rape, and looting -- but
Oyston makes a big, big point, that transcends to 1,000,000 people. Let's think on it.
- "If people know this and still support Invisible Children because they feel it’s the best solution based on their knowledge and research, I have no issue with that. But I don’t think most people are in that position, and that’s a problem."
I evaluated myself and my practices. Would I take "Soles for Soles" back? Here's my current stance:
- The gifts were not extreme, or regular. There is likely not a culture of dependence as it relates to me personally, although I certainly edified the third world - first world paternalism conundrum.
- The shoes were bought in the local market. Socks came from here. Wish I hadn't brought the socks.
- I did my best.
Ignorance is not an excuse for much, but I will say all my efforts were my best efforts. I am thrilled to be part of the
Global Autism Project, and their movement towards
sustainable, evidence based practice, worldwide. Once I got serious, I got digging. Once I got digging, I got a little wise.
So here's the thing. Do your best. Know what you support.
Sources:
Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, 2009.
When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself.
Visible Children
TOMS: A Discussion on Bad Aid
Brett Keller, "Prove me wrong: why World Vision should change, but won’t"
KONY 2012 from
INVISIBLE CHILDREN on
Vimeo.
Learn some more.
**
If you're into this post. Read on. Kevin provides some great suggestions on how to give the right kind of aid, and many links to learn more. Ch-ch-check it.
Thanks for indulging some of the leftie's views.
