More than $1 Trillion in developmental aid has gone to Africa over the past 50 years. So, what kinds of benefits has all that money provided to the people who live on the continent? Not much, says former World Bank consultant Dambisa Moyo in her book Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How there Is a Better Way. Her thesis is that aid given as a hand out does not work and never will, as it does not hold the governments disbursing the aid accountable. A continent which is awash with dictators who preside over failed states, aid as a concept seems to have had very little long term impact. Present and past political regimes have used the bureaucracy of international aid to further their primary goal of maintaining a grip on power. Robert Mugabe is a great example for our times.
Institutional aid coming from governments, The World Bank, UN and IMF have proven to be ineffective. According to Dambisa Moyo there is a growing sentiment among experts and African leaders that aid does not foster entrepreneurship and therefore on the long run does not benefit the people of the receiving nation. Therefore she recommends African nations to decline aid and get off the wagon of panhandlers and foster entrepreneurship among its people.
One cannot deny the abject poverty that needs to be dealt with on a short term basis to bring about a level of stability. Non governmental organizations such as Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders and countless others are doing a phenomenal job in tackling poverty. What can you do, (other than writing a check to one of these organizations and not knowing how the money is being spent) where you can truly feel empowered?
In her book Dambisa Moyo mentions an American Internet based not-for profit-organization called KIVA which is providing a commendable service by offering micro-credit to entrepreneurs in poor countries. I immediately went to www.kiva.org and was amazed by the brilliance of the idea. Within minutes I found an African woman in need of money to get her small store off the ground. Using my paypal account I donated $25. Hours later I found out she had received her money and she was able to raise the finance she needed from several individuals like me to start her business. The best part, the money I gave was a loan and not a hand out. She is supposed to pay it back when her business improves and there is a term limit on the loan.
I have given money to organizations which work with the poor many times. I am an Oxfam patron. But this is the first time I could genuinely see, almost in real time, my money at work.
It was truly empowering and satisfying and I felt I was contributing to more than one person or family. I urge everyone to go to www.kiva.org and make a REAL difference.
Even in these tough economic times we are better off than most people in the world. We can still give and giving is what will bring us back from the brink. It is what it is.
Institutional aid coming from governments, The World Bank, UN and IMF have proven to be ineffective. According to Dambisa Moyo there is a growing sentiment among experts and African leaders that aid does not foster entrepreneurship and therefore on the long run does not benefit the people of the receiving nation. Therefore she recommends African nations to decline aid and get off the wagon of panhandlers and foster entrepreneurship among its people.
One cannot deny the abject poverty that needs to be dealt with on a short term basis to bring about a level of stability. Non governmental organizations such as Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders and countless others are doing a phenomenal job in tackling poverty. What can you do, (other than writing a check to one of these organizations and not knowing how the money is being spent) where you can truly feel empowered?
In her book Dambisa Moyo mentions an American Internet based not-for profit-organization called KIVA which is providing a commendable service by offering micro-credit to entrepreneurs in poor countries. I immediately went to www.kiva.org and was amazed by the brilliance of the idea. Within minutes I found an African woman in need of money to get her small store off the ground. Using my paypal account I donated $25. Hours later I found out she had received her money and she was able to raise the finance she needed from several individuals like me to start her business. The best part, the money I gave was a loan and not a hand out. She is supposed to pay it back when her business improves and there is a term limit on the loan.
I have given money to organizations which work with the poor many times. I am an Oxfam patron. But this is the first time I could genuinely see, almost in real time, my money at work.
It was truly empowering and satisfying and I felt I was contributing to more than one person or family. I urge everyone to go to www.kiva.org and make a REAL difference.
Even in these tough economic times we are better off than most people in the world. We can still give and giving is what will bring us back from the brink. It is what it is.
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