MsHighwater, Exotic
The doc that Trockodile linked to from the http://ucskco.sasktelwebhosting.com/TheGiftMattersSchoolkit.pdf United Church of Canada does not criticise the religous motives of OCC and similar shoebox programmes, but points out the real, practical problems with the approach;
- many cultures do not emphasize gift giving as a way of celebrating,
- Many of the gifts sent are unsuitable for the recipients and their cultures (for example: battery run toys; shampoos and toothpaste to cultures that don't use these products),
- There have been eyewitness accounts of serious problems with distribution, of children being left out and conflict caused.
There have also been first hand accounts on boxes distributed to expat MNers children at private schools and nurseries.
None of this is reflected in the communications of these charities, which give the impression that every box is joyfully and unproblematically received by a child in need.
We know this is simply not true, what we don't know is what % of boxes are joyfully received, what % cause problems or are wasted, and whether the recipients would have preferred something else.
These are hard hearted questions that you don't often ask about things that involve wrapping paper. But they are the kinds of questions that organisations running multi - million pound aid operations should ask. Good organisations publish these evaluations.
The Canadian church document concludes that "This type of project is more effective at making donors feel good than at meeting the needs of poor children"
Both for individuals and organisations that have, with the best of intentions, bought into this seductively direct way to make a difference, it is hard to look at whether it is really effective.