more questions than answers...

I watched this TEDxYYC talk by David Damberge on the failures he’s personally seen, and made himself in the name of aid and goodwill. I was recently in Malawi seeing the work that a UK organisation does there to help communities overcome poverty. Most notable was their focus on education, masked in a much-needed feeding program. The people this company works with on the ground in Malawi do seem genuinely focused on a long-term solution for that nation, while also providing a level of relief in the present.

While I was there I had many conversations about just why the country, and others like it, rely so heavily on foreign aid and to be honest I left with more questions than I went with. I chatted to a business man who quizzed me on what I wanted Africa to be and why the West was so insistent on making it it’s offspring. There is so much beauty in Africa, both around you and in the people. A true community spirit exists like I haven’t seen before and it’s something I think many developed nations lack. In Malawi, religions sit side by side without conflict and a village rallies to support an orphaned child without thought. These are qualities which have a value so intangible but potent.

The other challenge some of my colleagues and I struggled with on this trip was whether Malawi would be better off without ‘us’. Would it without interruption find the solutions itself? Can a nation so heavily indebted find it’s feet alone or does it actually need the rest of the world to help it along? And wouldn’t it be more helpful to erase its debt instead of pour in aid? Is the problem more with what the rest of the world is not prepared to give up, rather than what it’s prepared to give?

More questions than answers and the complexity of the situation can’t be solved in any one thought or idea; there are layers and layers of complexity to abject poverty. So when I came across this TED talk, I was pleased because I think it’s a step in the right direction. The talk covers failures in executing ‘aid projects’ holistically, thinking through maintenance of those projects over time. We should question what we are doing (or not doing) all the time when it impacts another life so directly. Hopefully you have time to watch this quick talk.