June7
Okay, I’m not foolish enough to completely believe in that, but I do believe that constant aid has encouraged a lot of impoverished Africans to remain poor. From a recent article online, which I know everyone and their mothers have already seen, a Kenyan economics expert says that aid to Africa does more harm than good:
"Huge bureaucracies are financed (with the aid money), corruption and complacency are promoted, Africans are taught to be beggars and not to be independent. In addition, development aid weakens the local markets everywhere and dampens the spirit of entrepreneurship that we so desperately need."
Further, the majority of food, money, and clothing donated to Africa goes into the hands of politicians, ebay, and corrupt black markets before they end up in homes of the needy. The people do eventually get fed, but they are never the top priority. How incredibly sad.
In which Africa will remain a child forever
Despite the government’s corruption, the tactics from the G8 are no better. Shoving Africans with some corn is like telling a man that he has an unlimited supply of women. Wife got mad at you? Here — have a nother one. They will never learn the game that is so hard to play to begin with. All that’s left is another generation of beggers and waiters. Anyway, because there are no jobs for many of these people, there are neither reserves to live off of when there is a disaster.
No reserves, and no incentive for reserves either.
Parenting from developing countries
But examples can be made of the poorest parts of India, China, Mexico, etc… The book A Billion Bootstraps (which I have just picked up a week ago and highly recommend to everyone) describes how microlending, small sums of money lent to people in poverty for the goal of advancing a business idea, can actually improve an entire country with less aid. These sums are small in comparison to the donations made by the G8 each year, yet would perpetuate more stability and happiness in people’s lives than any single sum of money the G8 could provide. Here’s an example from the book:
In the Caribbean, a young man used a microloan to buy a used
TV and VCR. He has turned his two-room tenement apartment
into a movie theater. He rents a new video every day,
charges neighbors the equivalent of 15 cents to watch the
movie, and sells snacks from his four-shelf grocery store. In
Asian villages with no electricity, “phone ladies†buy cell
giving credit where credit is due 41
phones with microloans and make their livelihoods by serving
as their villages’ pay telephones. A man in India with a laundry
business was not making enough money to survive. Washing
his customers’ clothes in a nearby stream was not the problem;
giving them a fresh-pressed appearance afterward was. A
microloan of $50 was all he needed to acquire an iron and an
electrical outlet, bringing his business to the next level.
Poor people often do not need outsiders to tell them about
business opportunities. They are keenly aware of opportunities
to start or grow a microenterprise. Usually they just need
a little working capital.
I cannot sum that up any better.
Finally, a little change in our agenda for charity and aid. [A reference because I'm awesome.]
A list of microcredit organizations who are ready to start a business using just 0.1% of your paycheck. [www.abillionbootstraps.com]
Browse and donate money for projects from Africa. [www.kiva.org]
Microfinance in Africa: Combining the Best Practices of Traditional and Modern Microfinance Approaches towards Poverty Eradication. [www.un.org]
Solutions for a sustainable future in Africa [Related post]
