Effectiveness of Aid

There has been much debate about the best way to provide aid to those in developing countries. Through much research, it has come to my attention that there are many willing and able individuals that are attempting to make a positive difference in the world but the effectiveness of our aid is questionable. 

There has been a great deal of evidence that supports the fact that the way in which we provide our foreign aid is ineffective and sometimes even harmful in the long run. Our current efforts result in short-term assistance with long-term damages. 

One possible solution for providing lasting support for these developing countries that are so desperately in need of assistance can be summed up by this metaphor, “Don’t give a man a fish, teach him how to fish.” In order to ensure a permanent improvement, those living in the developing communities must be trained and educated so that they may continue to propel their society into a better standard of living.

Number of Hungry People in the World

Good Intentions With No Results

We all have good intentions when it comes to this topic. I'm sure you have seen the commercials many times before. The poor children shuffling through garbage hoping to find something edible. The teenage sibling who cares for his younger brothers and sisters because their parents are deceased. The babies with the bloated bellies from malnourishment. We have all seen the commercials, heard the ads soliciting donations and always think..."Maybe later." It seems that those commercials do not fully impact our perceptions of reality. I am certainly touched by the stories but not always motivated enough to take action. This is the sad truth for the majority of people viewing these ads.

When you really think about it, these organizations are showing us clips of people struggling to stay alive, and often times end up losing the battle. How is it that we can sit on our sofas, watch such a terrible thing, and continue to munch on our snacks and wait for the next television show to return? What is so wrong with us that we can be told that people are dying without so much as even blinking twice?

I cannot say that I am not guilty of it as well. Is there something psychologically wrong with our society that allows us to sit by while others succumb to their own demise? Do we just not care? Do we shrug it off as the cycle of life? What is it? Because when I really think about it, it's terrible. If I put myself in their shoes and think about how hundreds of thousands of people watch the suffering on t.v. and rather than send $50 which could cover living costs for a month, go spend twice that on clothes when their closets are already full, it baffles me.

Need: The Reason for Humanitarianism

Humanitarianism. 

It can be defined as the ethic of kindness, benevolence and sympathy that is to be universally extended to all human beings. It begins with a common human experience, need. We experience this at the time we are born. We are dependent upon someone else for food, shelter, and nurture; which places us in a position that allows us to feel empathically toward others when they experience need. We can understand another's thoughts, feelings and behaviors by making a connection to what we have experienced in the past. Humanitarianism touches the conscience of every living person. It is why we feel sad for those who are suffering, why it hurts to see others in pain, and why it is troubling to see others experiencing unimaginable hardships.