Traditional foreign aid is harmful, not helpful to Africa

"Giving alms to Africa remains one of the biggest ideas of our time -- millions march for it, governments are judged by it, celebrities proselytize the need for it. Calls for more aid to Africa are growing louder, with advocates pushing for doubling the roughly $50 billion of international assistance that already goes to Africa each year.

Yet evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that aid to Africa has made the poor poorer, and the growth slower. The insidious aid culture has left African countries more debt-laden, more inflation-prone, more vulnerable to the vagaries of the currency markets and more unattractive to higher-quality investment. It's increased the risk of civil conflict and unrest (the fact that over 60% of sub-Saharan Africa's population is under the age of 24 with few economic prospects is a cause for worry). Aid is an unmitigated political, economic and humanitarian disaster."

-an economist from Ghana

Maybe you find it odd that a person, such as myself, who works for an International NGO (non-governmental organization) and has dedicated my life to alleviating poverty in struggling areas would post such a critical article about those who work in my field. It may surprise you to learn that I agree whole heartedly with the author. He's right traditional foreign aid is harmful...that's why I don't participate in it. The work I do is community focused, it's purpose is empowerment. We don't provide handouts (except in disaster circumstances).

It is my belief that the solution to Africa's problems will come from an African. It is my belief that repeated handouts can turn in to unnecessary bondage. It is my belief that the living God endowed each individual (not just Americans) with talents, skills and abilities that are helpful to the betterment of society. That is why the work we do focuses on capacity and asset building, not distribution. Is it easier to handout rice and consider ourselves successful? It sure would be! At least the people are no longer hungry, right? I think the better option is to teach someone how to grow a garden full of nutritious foods that will sustain a family. Then teach them marketing and financial management skills to make the most of the vegetables they grow. It takes more work to do the latter, but it is well worth the effort!

We ask people in some of the poorest places on earth to volunteer in their communities along side us - by volunteer I mean give their time for free. In exchange, they learn a marketable skill, restore their dignity, apply their talents...and when we leave at the end of the project they are more likely to continue the work started because there was never a monetary incentive for their involvement, only an intrinsic one.

God bless Dambisa Moyo for challenging the Western mindset that prefers to give away loads of money or make minimal handouts in order to feel better about themselves or appease guilt, but are too often not as willing to engage in the hard work to help someone truly overcome difficult circumstances.