Disillusionment

So, lately I've been thinking a lot about foreign aid and how it impacts poor countries. Honestly, I feel like I'm becoming more and more disillusioned to the idea of foreign aid after having lived here in a poverty stricken area for many months now. I feel like I am coming to the conclusion that there are two types of foreign aid: the kind that tears down and the kind that builds up.

Now, you may ask, how is there a kind of aid that tears people down? Aid is supposed to be good, right? I mean, the definition of aid is "to help with support or relief". How can it possibly be a bad thing to provide support or relief? But, if it comes in the wrong form, it can have negative impacts. For example, people in underdeveloped countries don't have a lot of clothes, so people in developed countries say "Oh my goodness! There's a problem, those people don't have enough clothes! How can we solve the problem quickly? Let's collect a bunch of old, used, or messed up clothes that no one wants anymore and ship them to the poor countries!" That will help solve the problem, right? But, the problem continues, so more and more clothes are sent over. Soon, the people in the underdeveloped countries begin to rely on the free clothes that are being passed out from developed countries. And, as they rely more and more heavily on the free clothes from the developed countries, they begin to gain the mindset that they can't buy their own clothes from local shops or even make their own clothes. All they have to do is wait for a while and some free clothes will come their way. The same thing happens with money, medical supplies, help with infrastructure, etc.. If developed countries just keep sending over more and more money for these things, people in underdeveloped countries learn that they don't have to do anything but wait. It will come eventually. This is disabling because eventually the people and government officials will develop a mindset that "I can't do anything for myself. I have to wait for others to do it for me." Eventually, after many years, an entire country can develop this mindset. It's like a complete shut down for the country and even encourages corruption. Government officials feel free to stuff the country's money into their own pockets. Developed will come in to save the day for everyone else. In the end, this completely disables the country and it's citizens.

But, then there is the kind of aid that builds a country up. This is not the "easy" kind of aid that is provided by simply sending over a check or clothes. This is the rough and tough kind of aid that is provided by dedicated people who partner with a country, a tribe, a village, etc. This is where people from developed countries choose to come over and physically get dirty. When they require the citizens to actively participate in a project that will improve their lives. For example, imagine a group of citizens in an underdeveloped country wants to build a church. The idea would be that they would be required to collect money - maybe half of what it would take to build the church - while people from a developed country provided the other half of the money. Then, once the money was raised, both groups come together to build the church building. This empowers the people in the underdeveloped country because they are then part of the process of improving their lives/community. In the end, they have helped accomplish something big and meaningful for them and their community. And, honestly, that sense of accomplishment is addictive and empowering. If they can do that, with the help of foreign aid, what else could they do, and what could they do on their own? So, they choose their next project and keep going, making improvements to the community and their lives.

A missionary that I met here was telling me about a water project he was working on. A village was wanting/needing a water well so they could have clean water. But, when he told them that they would have to provide some of the bricks and that they would have to help build it, they refused. They simply wanted the water well, they didn't want to have to work for it. Other villages got water wells for free, without having to provide any kind of labor either, so why couldn't they have the same thing? I can't remember if the issue was ever resolved, but I can imagine that it would take time. The village would probably wait for a while because that's what so many people here think: "If I just wait and do nothing, someone else will do it for me". I hope that you see my point. The thing is, simply giving into the village's demands would disempower them, causing them to continue to feel like they have to rely on everyone else to do things for them. But, if that the village were to actually agree to provide bricks and man power, they would feel a sense of accomplishment when the project was finished. And that sense of accomplishment would hopefully encourage future actions of development.

I can't tell you how many people have asked me for things: money, a job, a letter so they can immigrate to America, or even my phone. Honestly, sometimes I get really angry. I just want to yell "isn't it enough that I've given up so much already to be here? I gave up time with friends and family, a comfortable life, and even my acceptance into graduate school!" But, one I get past that, it makes me really sad. And I have to ask myself, is it really worth it to just give these people what they're asking for? If I were just to hand out money to everyone who asks, I feel like I would be reinforcing the helpless attitude that I see so often here. It makes me sick to think about. But, at the same time, everyone needs it; everyone is desperate for some kind of relief, no matter how fleeting it may be. It's not easy, but I've made my decision that simply giving out free "gifts" to everyone is only going to compound the problem and reinforce a mentality that has taken hold of so many.

In contrast, I do believe in the effects of education and what a good education can do for people. Education is empowering because it helps people get jobs. It opens people's minds to what is out there in the world to see and participate in. It gives people opportunities that they would not otherwise be able to have. And, it reveals the problems the country is facing and helps students think of solutions to those problems. And, maybe those solutions require a degree of foreign aid, but it can't rely on the aid. At some point, steps need to be taken to help these underdeveloped countries become independent and self-sufficient. So, I guess my hope is that what I am doing is actually helping and not hurting people. I want to be a positive power in this world, not a negative one.

Of course, I will admit that there are many more problems than simply the defeating efforts of foreign aid. For example, there's also the problem of exploitation that is continuously supported by developed countries in the interest of cheap goods and labor. But, that's an entry for another time.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi

I hope that your week is off to a great start and that God is blessing the work that you are doing.

May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,
~Christine