Brett Davidson
It is interesting to see “Social Protection” take the fore in discussions of the Millennium Development Goals at the UN this week (see Jamie Holmes’ piece on the Huffington Post, for example).
Over the past several years, evidence has continued to accumulate that it makes a lot of sense to give money to poor people in the form of social grants (See for example the wealth of research available at Wahenga.net).
It has all sorts of benefits – from giving people money to buy food, giving them more choices, to improvement in education and nutrition levels, to the growth of local economies and markets. The evidence in favor of this type of social protection is really overwhelming and yet many governments and many voters, continue to resist the idea, being concerned about creating dependency through ‘hand-outs’.
On Monday, I participated in a TEDx Change satellite event in the Flatiron District in New York. The meeting I attended was hosted by the Fledgling Fund. In the group were film makers, philanthropists, and development experts from the UN. The discussion was fascinating. Two of the participants talked about their film, called Good Fortune, which looks at some of the unintended negative consequences of large-scale development projects, by focusing on the lives of two Kenyans “battling to save their homes from large-scale development organizations.”
Now of course governments and large international organizations are important and have their place–and they can do a lot of things that private business or individuals can’t. But we make a big mistake when we think that technology can solve all our problems; that big institutions and expensive experts always know better than ordinary poor people, about what their problems are and what they need to solve them.
This is one of the best posts I have read here.
Sorry I cannot agree!! Africans are already more focussed on absorbing charity than doing things for themselves. All you will achieve is further construction of a spirit of entitlement and a career of begging. A friend of mine recently assisted in the testing of a new luxury 4X4 with tinted windows. On arrival in the rural villages the children waved hands and cheered, and the moment they were close enough to see the Whites inside expressions changed. Waving hands flopped down into begging cups. Smiles, changed to tears. I recently stumbled across an interesting new book “To the Poor of Africa, Where are you Going?” published on http://www.poorofafrica.com/ Review the content of this new website. You might find the insights and facts interesting. I have not made up my mind yet as I am still reading it.
FROM AFRICA
we are sorry sir for being unknown to you yet being able to get your email address.we just had a dream about people helping us of the catastrophic and shameful condition which we find ourselves in.we just type your name and it appeared on the web.we are known all over cameroon as the no 1 beggers where even the wicked and corrupt government has no concern for us.my name i am sure should already be on the internet on the list of the most desperate people in cameroon.we do not pretend to be what we are not do make a
search on the list of desperate people in cameroon my name will be there.even after helping me place my name on the internet to be viewed in cameroon,we are genuine,we need help from we make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give sir,,just be patient in Jesus name and read our life history.i NGUETNYA BERNARD is writing together with my two younger sisters who are presently lying under a bad vehicle for shelter for almost a year in a bad condition of health. last year we lost our father in an accident just a year after our mother’s dead.unfortunately we do not know while our father has no relative if true because he never told us any thing.as for our mother she hated us so much in our infancy that she abandoned us to our father,a truck pusher who has not got a house of his own but just renting a room where all of us where managing.we ate only on the days which my father who returns every day at past 9pm has managed to earn more than 1500fcfa that day.with this,he will give us 150fcfa each of us to buy cassava and pear for that whole day and wait if there would be a lucky next day.the rest of the money he would save for house rent,bills and school fees.we do not know what it means cooking.we have been begging only after their dead such that killing myself will free me of this trouble,but one thing stops me,who will take care of the younger ones who are without shelter,food,education and bad condition of health-may be you we are sure. i, the eldest,20years old is tired of roaming the street with a pan begging for money and yet is planning to attend university in a population who know me already by news papers.tv programs on desperate children just because i need to feed my two younger ones most especially of 10 and 15 years hidden under a bad vehicle for fear of not being raped by criminals at night while begging. last after my father died,i managed to register and pay half of my total fees to the university.total 50000fcfa.i was hoping to complete after begging but i was unable,could not take the exams and dropped out but hoping this year from a good samaritan i am sure will be you financially.also,my younger sisters dropped out because they were constanly sick and could not concentrate in class. sir,the only prowe have got is just the half payment of my fees last year which could not be completed.the university is the university of yaounde 1,yaounde,cameroon-africa the bank is ECOBANK
ACCOUNT HOLDER-university of yaounde 1
faculty of sciences
AMOUNT-25000fcfa
DEPOSITOR-NGUETNYA BERNARD(my full names) ACCOUNT NO-2001014008318CLE RIB 04
TRANSACTION NO-TT0932328426 DATE-19/11/2009 we have no means to go to prophet TB Joshua for help,any amount from you even 1500dollars can help me go to school this whole year,renting and even managed it in feeding together with my younger ones.your great currency can be sent to me the eldest in any of the international banks-ECOBANK,BICEC in my name will save this family before the mid of this month to help us resume classes.God bless you and may HE the God of orphans be with you in your going in and in your coming in .AMEN NGUETNYA BERNARD and sisters etoug-ebe baptist church messa yaounde-cameroon Africa
i have a great problem of money both for my enrollment and my disease (Social anxiety disorder and Essential tremor) so please out there help me get some money and help me enroll and relief my disease..
Reblogged this on nbernardsagitarius.
im lady of 34years single parent i have a problem of money to help my family and pay debts.