How to help Third World Countries?
There is more poverty in this world than wealth. If you imagine a map of the world the rich countries and continents are Europe, Northern America and the so called Tiger States. The rest, more than half of the globus, is poor.
Governments and NGO's all make plans of how to help those Less/Least Developed Countries (LDC). We as the little people donate money or clothes. But how much does that actually help those countries?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the effords made are total bullshit. But I think they are used in the wrong way.
I want to give you some examples.
Donating Money
Donating money is very honorable if you ask me. But you really have to be careful where you donate it to. If you invest in a certain project, like to build a school in a village, that's great and helps alot. But often people collect money for a specific country for example. This doesn't help much, because the people who actually get the money are not the really poor ones. Sadly.
Futhermore, money that is given to the governments are often spend for - I'm just gonna call it - stupid things. For example they use the money for military instread of for the economy.
Also, by donating more and more money you create a dependance.
Donating Clothes and Toys
If you donate clothes and toys to a specific institution, like a school, that's great.
But generally those donations destroy the local economy. Because they get it imported cheap or for free they have no need for a local industry.
I think Third World Countries have to learn to help themselves. And we have to teach them how to help themselves. First they have to be released from their debts.
Governments nowadays work as planners. They plan on what to do to help the LDC. But do they actually look at what the LDCs need? There should be searchers instead of planners. People have to travel in those countries, talk to people and find out what is needed. It's not much help if you bring hight technology fonts to Africa when the people there can't run or rebuild them. There should be people going in the villages, teaching the inhabitants how to get water, how to build a fountain. They have to cooperate.
Furthermore, Developed Countries have to guarantee the LDCs access to the world market. Trade has to be fair. They have to give them a chance.
Those are just some examples.
I'm mostly referring to old politics. There have been made alot of mistakes in development policy so far. Of course, some things were sucessful. But pushing money and more money to the LDCs only makes the rich people there richer and creates an dependance.
But look at the Tiger States. They are now newly industrialized countries. They made it on their own. Without donations from Europe or America. They learnt to help themselves and created a good economy.
Governments and NGO's all make plans of how to help those Less/Least Developed Countries (LDC). We as the little people donate money or clothes. But how much does that actually help those countries?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the effords made are total bullshit. But I think they are used in the wrong way.
I want to give you some examples.
Donating Money
Donating money is very honorable if you ask me. But you really have to be careful where you donate it to. If you invest in a certain project, like to build a school in a village, that's great and helps alot. But often people collect money for a specific country for example. This doesn't help much, because the people who actually get the money are not the really poor ones. Sadly.
Futhermore, money that is given to the governments are often spend for - I'm just gonna call it - stupid things. For example they use the money for military instread of for the economy.
Also, by donating more and more money you create a dependance.
Donating Clothes and Toys
If you donate clothes and toys to a specific institution, like a school, that's great.
But generally those donations destroy the local economy. Because they get it imported cheap or for free they have no need for a local industry.
I think Third World Countries have to learn to help themselves. And we have to teach them how to help themselves. First they have to be released from their debts.
Governments nowadays work as planners. They plan on what to do to help the LDC. But do they actually look at what the LDCs need? There should be searchers instead of planners. People have to travel in those countries, talk to people and find out what is needed. It's not much help if you bring hight technology fonts to Africa when the people there can't run or rebuild them. There should be people going in the villages, teaching the inhabitants how to get water, how to build a fountain. They have to cooperate.
Furthermore, Developed Countries have to guarantee the LDCs access to the world market. Trade has to be fair. They have to give them a chance.
Those are just some examples.
I'm mostly referring to old politics. There have been made alot of mistakes in development policy so far. Of course, some things were sucessful. But pushing money and more money to the LDCs only makes the rich people there richer and creates an dependance.
But look at the Tiger States. They are now newly industrialized countries. They made it on their own. Without donations from Europe or America. They learnt to help themselves and created a good economy.
I agree...
But sometimes there are situations when a country gives aid, but they're actually harming the country. Indonesia provides blankets and prostitutes to West papua. The blankets contain smallpox and the prostitutes have HIV/AIDS. Look up 'genocide in west papua' in google, and look for the link from the University of Sydney.
Miss Murder, June 2nd, 2007 at 07:21:04pm
I agree, donations people make are going to less important things then they should be going to...
Rage, June 2nd, 2007 at 04:42:46pm
I agree. But giving money isnt that simple. If a rich country donates money, they make the poorer country spend the donated money in the rich country, therefore improving the rich economy and not their own.
Plus Financial aid is not overly helpful but sending food aid or specialist workers over would be more useful as then it will allow people in the LDCs to be trained as such and therefore improve.
It takes much deliberation for a country to decide why or who to give aid to. They have to look at many factors [the country's ideology, the literacy rates, birth and death rates etc etc] and then decide who is more in need. Its not as simpe as people make it out to be.
I do believe though that richer countries should do more to help banish poverty in certain countries.
serenade sarahh, June 2nd, 2007 at 10:00:27am
My high school is being re-built at the moment and there is a school being built in Africa in Arusha. Ours is taking £25M and theirs is taking £1M so our school have set up a project between our school and theres to help raise money for their school. We donate money to them all the time and they come over every year and put on shows for us and we pay them. I'm glad that the project is going on something that will benefit the whole community 'cos like you said just donating money hardly gets any where. This is a good blog and very true.
Revol, June 2nd, 2007 at 07:38:43am
This blog is really true. They should donate more on schools, and less on war. The Tiger States only pretty much got help because they were in a great location, I'm pretty sure.
Very informative blog :]
Protest, June 2nd, 2007 at 07:33:31am