Oh Hell No, Jesse

[Larry Gude]

Ah. Now I remember.

I remember years ago there was this big push in some African nation to fight one of their biggest problems - deforestation. Since so many people live with wood as their source of heat, that and other reasons has resulted in the desertification of miles of Africa.

One such program failed because when the workers planted the trees, they put every one in the ground upside down - not because they didn't know any better, but because they were angry at the landholder who was going to profit from the program.

I've heard countless stories of such things, but they continue to provide basically the same answer - you cannot solve some problems simply by buying stuff and you can't fix things by throwing money at it. You either do it yourself or provide a strong incentive for someone to do it for themselves.

And no less an authority than Frederick Douglas said "Let the sting of hunger hit the man too lazy to earn his keep..." or words to that affect.

 

[hvp05]

I've heard countless stories of such things, but they continue to provide basically the same answer - you cannot solve some problems simply by buying stuff and you can't fix things by throwing money at it. You either do it yourself or provide a strong incentive for someone to do it for themselves.

I was watching an episode of "Beyond Scared Straight" (A&E) last night and listening to these young girls talk about the negativity of growing up in bad neighborhoods, etc. This thread immediately came back to mind, as did your thoughts above. Giving them things will never bring them out of poverty, but giving them guidance and hope (that is, hope that actually goes somewhere, unlike Hopenchange) could work miracles.


This thread is also turning into another good reason to cut off the majority of our international aid.