To think if teenage girls from a private school can afford plane tickets ...

[Morgansports]

.... To visit the orphanage in Africa that they have been fundraising for, then the orphanage would be better served by just receiving the money they spent on their tickets. Seriously, what actual use to the orphanage is a group of hair-flicking, ugg boot wearing blondes???

And the bit that made me laugh is that other parents at the school were asked to help fundraise for the girls' trip.

AIBU?

Oh, and the usual "every woman her own expert". No matter what people who actually know about foreign aid say- everyone's opinion is just as valid. Even if based on ignorance.

My opinion is based on years of experience of working in schools who participate in these projects, some through other organisations and some school run. I am now in charge of a school run 'partnership' with a developing country.

Of course it is 'better' when there is no 'money making' middleman. Of course some of these projects have more value than others. Of course there is more than one valid way of 'doing charity'.

But, of course it is hugely offensive to write off the efforts of thousands of privileged teenagers in such a derisory and judgemental way. The disgusting stereotyping of one particular group of people on this thread is just nasty.

Hth.

like seeker said, missing the point entirely

and as for giving children at a fee paying school money towards their flight....

fuck.right.off

OP, again yanbu

"But, of course it is hugely offensive to write off the efforts of thousands of privileged teenagers in such a derisory and judgemental way. The disgusting stereotyping of one particular group of people on this thread is just nasty."

The truth sometimes hurts!

Right, so anyone who disagrees is missing the point?

I still dont understand this

there are 1000s of well equipped charities operating in these countries

so why dont we just give them money???? and fund raise here? or do we thinhk some 6th formers can do it better???

But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, we can do it better!! expecially if it involves a jolly awareness trip

ref the woman and the bikes, WTF. her flight alone would habe paid for another 4 bikes

this really riles me

To quote OP
'' They are not wildly hard-working, super-intelligent movers and shakers of future. They are overprivileged kids at a famous public school who want for nothing.''

How the hell do you know what these girls will be or achieve in the future?
Absolute gibberish and total rubbish.

How many of you would be howling for my head if I'd say something along the lines .... these girls from inner city school, you know, tight, barely there skirts and odd hair all up in weird braids and buns.....

Seeker

The young people I work with may be privileged for the most part. But they are not all stupid, vacuous, spoiled or selfish. Many spend a great deal of time considering which(if any) school partnership they want to apply to participate in and they, with the help of their parents, make a decision based on how they can help and their own skills and experience.

The project I run, does good in the local community. I've seen it with my own eyes.

We don't 'build' or 'teach' formally. But we do paint, and do simple refurbishments. But mainly we play and provide art and games sessions to disabled children who genuinely only get this when we are there. We also pay money to a local family for our accommodation, and they use this money year round for good. There would be no point in us trying to 'fund' an art teacher, the school would rather have us for 3 weeks a year- it sounds odd, and wrong to our ears but a bit patronising to assume that they should be forced to have what you consider 'good enough' charity right?

Seeker

The young people I work with may be privileged for the most part. But they are not all stupid, vacuous, spoiled or selfish. Many spend a great deal of time considering which(if any) school partnership they want to apply to participate in and they, with the help of their parents, make a decision based on how they can help and their own skills and experience.

The project I run, does good in the local community. I've seen it with my own eyes.

We don't 'build' or 'teach' formally. But we do paint, and do simple refurbishments. But mainly we play and provide art and games sessions to disabled children who genuinely only get this when we are there. We also pay money to a local family for our accommodation, and they use this money year round for good. There would be no point in us trying to 'fund' an art teacher, the school would rather have us for 3 weeks a year- it sounds odd, and wrong to our ears but a bit patronising to assume that they should be forced to have what you consider 'good enough' charity right?

What's missing the point?

Why is the only way to help allowed to be by throwing money at something?

The OP did say they were girls from her own dd's school!

But anyway. OK. Shall we agree that the OP could have been better phrased and move on to the actual subject? Or would people just prefer to ignore that and get cross about irrelevancies?

so why dont we just give them money???? and fund raise here? or do we thinhk some 6th formers can do it better???

We are the only international charity help the school 'my' partnership is with receives.

It's not a case of 'doing better'. There is more than one valid way of helping others.

What BS, seeker, you so conveniently suggest to brush away the 'irrelevancies' if they do not suit your agenda.

Giving money to big charities is for the gullible. A minute % will be spent on the actual cause, rest will go for administrative etc etc ad nauseum, expenses.
I have been involved with a few and know how they operate.

People that so vehemently disagree with these trips are missing the point that that particular school, or that particular orphanage will get nothing if the trps don't happen. When a school/village/ whatever sets up a link with a UK school, they get ongoing support and benefit from dedicated year round fundraising, as well as specific donations for things.

The students who do these trips do get a huge amount out of it, there's no denying that, but I don't see why that has to be seen as such a bad thing. No good deed is completely selfless.

They enjoy it, the intended beneficiaries of the trip enjoy it, as well as feeling like they are able to give something back for the charity they receive.

As far as I can tell, everyone's a winner!

outraged and felicity

I get that people care, and I can see that charity only goes so far. not every school has a big charity behind them

I just have an issue with the fact that the airfares cost so much! I think less people/more money could better advantage the cause in question

rollmops, NOT for all. not for Medecins san Frontieres for example

the money goes on medical aid, simple

I cancelled one charity as they kept on sending me magazines, really annoyed me!

But the airfares aren't taking anything away from the charity.

You are assuming that if that money wasn't spent on airfares then it would go to the charity instead, and that just isn't the case.

The money could end up staying as som people's pocket change, it could end up paying for the same teenager to go to Florida with their family, it could just buy an extra Starbucks coffee every week.

The point is that if teenagers are finding the money for their airfares, and then seeing what help is really needed, they are motivated to find more money because the cause has properly touched them. Not only are they likely to find more money, but they will learn, and the people who they have intended to help have been shown that those of us that do live in richer countries care about them. Not only do they care about them enough to donate the spare £1.47 they have in their pockets, but they care about them enough to take time out of their lives to spend money and time on them.

It is a win win arrangement.

I agree with you about the charities that seem to spend a fortune on magazines and the like, but sadly in my experience, the more a charity behaves like a business, the more corporate funding they are likely to attract. Big money likes to have its name in the monthly magazine.

I think it is sad when the message is 'just send your money'-both sides can gain so much from the contact.

its not a fucking zoo freddos

imagine if you had witnessed your family slaughtered in front of you; your mum, your dad, your brothers, yours sisters, uncles, aunties. imagine a neighbour had hacked them to death with a machete-a neighbour that you had lived next door to all your life. you were attacked, injured but alive your village was set on fire and you ran into the bush. You live in the bush for weeks, freezing and starving, naked; unable to light a fire in case the smoke drew attention to your presence. Wounds superating, septacemia

or imagine you are hiding in a church with half your village;the other half of your village barricade the doors and windows and set fire to the building. Your mum manages to lift you and your sister through one of the windows and you run for safety. The men who started the fire, have made a ring around the church and they capture your 4 year old sister and through her back onto the fire. You excape and hide in the bush listening to the screaming and smelling the burning flesh

You are telling me if these children were british in britain, in care it would be considered appropriate/useful to have well meaning 6th formers swing by and hug them?? you think half of them want to be touched?

of course the recipitant allow the visits; or the money would stop coming wouldnt it? money for clothes, soap, school equipment, staff wages-carers, counsellors, teachers-that they can relate to, speak the same language, form bonds...

and it seems that people who behemently support the trips do so because they are defensive because they did a trip/ want to do a trip/ their dcs are doing a trip/want to do a trip

like i said; all power to you/them, but dont kid on like you are saving the world from itself

Massive, massive over generalisations going on still on this thread.

I can't imagine those things. They are, thankfully for me, to far away from my own life experiences for me to be able to even begin to imagine what they would feel like.

But I don't think that showing kindness and compassion is ever the wrong thing to do.

Maybe they allow the visits because the money would stop coming if not, maybe they allow them because they enjoy them. Either way, there is benefit on both sides, and I don't think that's a bad thing. Not all these projects are exactly the same, we can't generalise and decide that because it may be inappropriate for some children to have visits from well meaning sixth formers that it would be damaging to all of them.