Images of their innocent, pleading eyes flashed across the screen, and a lump rose in my throat. The camera panned across the Kenyan slum. Crowds of emaciated children, each bone visible because of their near-nudity, shuffled along a single set of train tracks. Chaotically packed, one-room shacks of metal and wood occupied little space. Trash piles overflowed in every corner. Around me, sniffles and soft cries erupted throughout the room. The American notion of Africa conjures up images of a single continent of desolate poverty, tribal and uncivilized factions, and less-fortunate breeding grounds for AIDS. Upon viewing these conditions, we react with pangs of pity and compassion, as I did that day during a presentation about African populations. The African continent is often depicted as dependent, hopeless, inferior, incapable. The media markets off the misconceptions of many. Blogs surrounding the topic such as “One Dies and Millions Cry, Millions Die and No One Cries” gain popularity through basic human emotions: empathy, guilt, and desire for personal satisfaction. In fact, Grassroots Fundraising Journal lists “motivation by personal recognition and benefits” as one of the top five reasons people donate to charity and support foreign aid. We enjoy helping people by nature, and financial assistance seems like a convenient, beneficial method of support. But are all of our efforts to “make a difference” really changing anything?
Recent discussion of foreign aid has ignited the sparks of controversy. On one hand, some argue that sub-Saharan nations use donated money to improve economic conditions by establishing anti-corruption agencies. From this perspective, new and stable governments generate revenue, alleviating the populatio...
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...’s best” for US and African citizens. But how can we decide? Rejecters of aid aim for long-term, big-picture success, while supporters focus on the preservation of lives and short-term maintenance of quality-of-life. How do we satisfy the human desire for both?
Perhaps we should opt for non-monetary donations, or push for productive yet fundamental federal aid. Choosing a specific cause to support, such as medical research or clothing, would prevent political grafting while supporting people in need. The objectives should be essential and reproductive, such as education, agriculture, or marketing. These areas improve both short-term and long-term conditions in sub-Saharan Africa. To some extent, this compromise stands sound. Mother Teresa once said “Charity and love are the same. With charity you give love, so don’t just give money but reach out your hand instead.”
Her memoir starts off in Darfur in 2005, where in her late 20’s, she hits rock bottom while managing a refugee camp for 24,000 civilians. It backtracks to her internship in Rwanda, while moving forward to her challenges in Darfur, in addition to her experiences in post- tsunami Indonesia, and post-quake in Haiti. By sharing her story, Alexander gives readers an opportunity to go behind-the-scenes into the devastations that are censored on media outlets. She stresses that these are often the problems that individuals claim they are educated on, but rarely make it their priority to solve. However, that is not the case for Jessica Alexander as she has over 12 years of experience working with different NGO’s and UN operations. As a result, Alexander earns the credibility to critique the multi-billion-dollar humanitarian aid industry. From her painful yet rewarding work experience, Alexander gives an honest and empathetic view of humanitarian aid as an establishment and a
...victims of war and genocide, it is admirable to see his courage to remain engaged in service to his fellow human. With a bold, yet pragmatic vision, Orbinski is unconcerned with seemingly intractable problems of finding drugs for the poorest AIDS victims. The book illustrates his desire to get the job done without bravado and grand statements. Although the book was painful to read, it takes he reader to the extreme of human suffering. Nevertheless, it also inspires with its reflections of humanitarianism and the ingenuity brought to its implementation. It is heartening to know James Orbinski can inspire students in both the arts and sciences as they set out on their careers. Since after all he’s seen, Orbinski remain optimistic, not cynical, and committed to action. Do give this book to any students in your life, after you have read it yourself.
“The only real nation is humanity” (Farmer 123). This quote represents a huge message that is received in, Tracy Kidder’s, Mountains Beyond Mountains. This book argues that universal healthcare is a right and not a privilege. Kidder’s book also shows the audience that every individual, no matter what the circumstances, is entitled to receive quality health care. In the book Kidder represents, Paul Farmer, a man who spends his entire life determined to improve the health care of impoverished areas around the world, namely Haiti, one of the poorest nations in the world. By doing this the audience learns of the horrible circumstances, and the lack of quality health care that nations like Haiti live with everyday, why every person has the right to healthcare no matter what, and how cost effectiveness should not determine whether or not these people get to live or die. Two texts that also argue this idea are Monte Leach’s “Ensuring Health Care as a Global Human Right,” and Darshak Sanghavi’s “Is it Cost Effective to Treat the World’s Poor.” Leach’s article is an interview with Benjamin Crème that illustrates why food, shelter, education, and healthcare are human rights that have to be available to everyone. He shares many of the same views on health care as Farmer, and the two also share similar solutions to this ongoing problem. Leach also talks about the rapidly growing aids epidemic, and how it must be stopped. Like farmer, he also argues that it is easier to prevent these diseases then to cure them. Furthermore, Sanghavi’s article represents many of the questions that people would ask about cost effectiveness. Yet similar to Farmer’s views, Sanghavi argues that letting the poor d...
Many still believe that all the hard times are behind them. Those people believe that since they aren’t the ones having to face those harsh times. However, evil still exists till this day, like the Genocide in Darfur. The subject about Darfur has always been a delicate one to many. However, there are still many in this society that still don’t even have the slightest clue about what is happening over in Sudan. There have been many genocides in the past, and the most well known is the Holocaust, but it’s sad to think that it still goes on till this day. Furthermore, there are still many that haven’t done much about it. Society needs to find out about what is happening in Darfur and awareness needs to be raised as well.
In the essay “Spare Change”, the author, Teresa Zsuaffa, illustrates how the wealthy don’t treat people facing poverty with kindness and generosity, but in turn pass demeaning glares and degrading gestures, when not busy avoiding eye contact. She does so by writing an emotional experience, using imagery and personification whenever possible to get to the reader’s heart. Quite similarly, Nick Saul writes, in the essay “The Hunger Game”, about how the wealthy and people of social and political power such as “[the community’s] elected representatives” (Saul, 2013, p. 357) leave the problem of hunger on the shoulders of the foodbanks because they believe “feeding the hungry is already checked off [the government’s] collective to-do list” (Saul,
What would you say if I asked you to tell me what you think is causing the death of so many people in the horn of Africa? AIDS? Starvation? War? Would it surprise you if I told you that it all boils down to the women of Africa? Kofi Annan attempts to do just this in his essay “In Africa, Aids Has a Woman's Face.” Annan uses his work to tell us that women make up the “economic foundation of rural Africa” and the greatest way for Africa to thrive is through the women of Africa's freedom, power, and knowledge.
; Interviews with Survivors of the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda. Rutgers UP, 2011. Print. "TED KENNEDY’S AFRICAN LEGACY. "
... aid across the world. As we have established that we do have an obligation to redistribute globally in a cosmopolitan perspective, distributing wealth however we may need to rethink what the best assistance is. Amaryta Sen conveys that before sending aid to the third world state, we would need to fully understand the limitation of freedom in the country. Redistributing wealth to global countries requires it to be evaluated by the economic shortage that they are suffering and to see whether it will be efficient in the long run. The more effective ways to contribute would be to international relief agencies or NGO’s that would pursue international development projects to help those in poverty or the alternative option by Tom Campbell’s idea of a ‘Global humanitarian levy’ which suggests a more appropriate taxation on all citizens to collectively aid those in need.
...ns. Overall global poverty is an issue with no clear answer. Each day, millions of people die and go to bed hungry while millions of others spend money on nonessential items. If everyone can share some type of monetary donation to relief organizations, we can maximize the happiness of the poor around the world, hopefully eradicating global poverty.
Seneca the Elder noted (5BC-65AD) “It is a denial of justice not to stretch out a helping hand to the fallen; that is the common right of humanity.” As the quote illustrates, the belief in having a moral obligation to help those in need has a long history within the human experience. However, it isn’t until the early 19th century that we first see the emergence of the concept of “humanitarian” aid as an international idea. The term originally emerged from a variety of religious and enlightenment ideas and was applied broadly to include the restoration of societies morale, the provision of charity to those less fortunate, or as an international prerogative to bring civilization to the uncivilized (Coyne, 2013, p. 30). Coyne argues that it was the last view that led some developed nations in ...
Cooper, Mary H. “Reassessing Foreign Aid.” CQ Researcher 27 Sept. 1996: 841-64. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
African governments have given in to the whim’s of international organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in social and health policies, and with this, has come a shift away from former emphasis on social justice and equitable market efficiency to public health services for all now being perceived as a major threat ...
While images of starving orphans may touch the hearts of wealthy westerners, those same images may be deceiving the viewers to achieve higher donation rates. The cash is then distributed in a way that the organizations see fit. The donor learns nothing about the political and economical structure in the third world country that they have “supported,” and they continue about their day with no knowledge of where their money actually ended up. There is a lack of education, and as a result the financial gap between the rich and the poor continues to increase.
Every fifteen seconds, another child becomes an orphans in Africa. Over twenty million children loose one or both of their parents to AIDS/HIV each year. Adults in Africa are dying rapidly, due to poor living conditions and bad health, leaving their children behind to care for themselves and each other. The number of vulnerable orphans in Africa can be significantly reduced with the help of others.
50). The book also states that instances such as entrepreneurship leads to a struggling growth because these entrepreneurs will risk money investments where corrupt officials interfere, leaving their investments to struggle. Corrupt officials are also less likely to initiate projects that will help the greater good and public welfare of some of these African countries, but instead only interfere in ones that will benefit them as a leader. They deal with bribes and diverting funds, resulting in the countries inability to grow. If this corruption furthers on, then this will continually be a consistent struggle for Africa as it lessens their progression to a stronger