Are Charities pointless?

[Tsoukalosy]

I have noticed like most people, the huge amount of charity adverts on the tv and radio, all for various cause, Oxfam, change, children in need, water aid, aids aware etc etc.

If you look at the length of time these charities have been running and the billions that have been donated to them over the years, it is disheartening that absolutely nothing has changed.

I feel this is simply because charities do not work at all. If we do not challenge the governments of these countries this will not stop anything as their governments will continue to get rich, and persecute their own people with no challenges, as the west continue to pump money into their hands.

An advert today with emotionally manipulative imagery and wording showed a little baby with a voice over saying how by 14 she will already be married with a miscarriage... and if we give money we can stop it. ermm really? How about you broadcast that advert to their country and tell their government to clamp down on that practice?

There have been a few studies which show - or appear to show - that you can't cure poverty by giving people money.

If you want an entertaining, but thought provoking read, then I urge you to read "Parliament of Whores" by US journalist and politician-baiter P.J.O'Rourke. It's a little old (1991 - christ, I read it when I was in my 20s ) so the names are little out of date. But absolutely nothing has changed about the system(s) he describes. There's a couple of chapters where he investigates "poverty" (goes on a tour with the Guardian Angels, if you remember them). He notes how much money has been spent on whole communities over decades, and yet in that time "poverty" has remained pretty much constant.

Er - things changed for the people who got help... the village which now has a well, the family who would be dead if they hadn't been given food when their region was struck by drought several years ago, the disabled children who have had somewhere to play, and their parents some respite care, the Aids orphans who have an orphanage to live in...

We can't change the entire world by giving money to these charities, but if my money makes just one person's life a bit easier, even for a short while, then that's fine by me.

Oh Lurking that sounds interesting, I may have to have a read of that (though it was written before i was even born!)

Surely though we should be working towards long term goals to eradicate this? Instead of throwing money at short term solutions? Yes them people may be fed for a month, but that means nothing when they are being raped and beaten and starved and sold and their children and their childrens children?

Its like saving for a holiday and frittering away your money on things to take so eventually you have no money left to go on the actual holiday.

but if my money makes just one person's life a bit easier, even for a short while, then that's fine by me

The problem as I see it is the premise of "a short while". There is little long term gain in digging a well if you do not train people how to maintain it, and how to go on and dig new wells.

It's giving fish, not fishing rods.

I agree teach a man to fish.

And Taxi yes its all well and good building a well but that well needs constant maintenance that they cannot afford, this means the whole village dies of cholera because doing one good thing isn't always fool proof.

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Define pointless - a lot of westerners earn great salaries and travel the world in style tanks to charities.

The reality is that focused, large, planned investment managed and organised by experts of the county does far more than the disorganised, drip-fed, ethnocentric charities ever could. A great example is South Korea who rank joint 15th on the Human development Index (just below the UK) thanks to JFK's 'aid to end all aid'.

Did you mean 'are charities that focus on poverty in underdeveloped countries pointless?'

Because there are many many many charities that do a huge amount and make a massive difference to people's lives, often providing services that should be provided by the state. So no, charities are not pointless, far from it.

I take your point about the charities you mention in your OP, but change has to start somewhere.

But there is always going to be children in need or aids or drought you really are never going to get rid of these things these projects need rolling administration and money to function iyswim. So a children in need project may be set up but once it is set up the project still needs funds to run.