Very Contentious Subject - Charity Fatigue

[Deleted member 149562]

Charities.....once looked upon as the great saviours of people & animals in trouble. Seen as squeaky clean and only having people/animals best interests in mind.

What changed?

The constant stream of TV adverts, media adverts, junk mail though the door, celebs (minor, major & wannabe) droning on about this or that "great work" etc. Then we have the darker side, the abuse of those supposedly being helped, the fat cat salaries of CEO's and directors....

Then you start looking at what charity is doing "on the ground".

Nowadays, its not so clear where the money is going.

Whereas before the charities were open and accountable, they aren't so much now.

I ask myself "Just what is this donation bombardment actally achieving on the ground?"

Watching the various adverts for the human charities......lots of babies and toddlers born into refugee camps, queues of babies and toddlers in queues for food, water, medical care, clothing...

Back in the days of Live Aid, there was genuine help given where it was needed, people were helped not just by donated food, medical care but taught how to farm and start small businesses so that they could work towards standing on their own two feet. People gladly gave what they could, knowing that it would generally go where they wanted it to go and that they were genuinely helping people recover from whatever disaster had befallen them.

Nowadays...the various charities are in a perpetual catch 22...they no longer enable people to survive and stand on their own two feet, no, it seems that those charities who are asking for help are actually enabling people to have more and more children, thus increase the burden of need. Why would those in poorer countries learn to get onto their own two feet if the charities will always be there with their handouts? Where is the encouragment to learn how to farm or start a new business when all they need to do is have more children cos its guaranteed that charity will always clothe them, always feed them, always house them and always give them medical care?

Dare I suggest that maybe charities would be better received and better respected if they taught the wonders of family planning, to educate people in missing a generation or two until they are financially better off and can manage to live without the "crutch" of a charity guaranteed to always been down the road.

The ethos of charity as an enabler to better yourself have changed to being the enabler of a population increase that can only be sustained by charity

I am as charitable as anyone, over the years I have given to those who I personally feel attached to, my way of thanking them.....but with all these adverts on TV, in the media and dropping on the doormat, the "charity fatigue" is setting in....fast...

Does anyone else feel that its too much of a never ending cycle?

 

[itiwhetu]

Just remember that you can not change other cultures to match yours. You can give to help those people less fortunate than you are. You can also be great full that you are able to do that. Charity is not about changing the way a society operates but is about helping those inside that society. Be careful of our interference. Charities do what they can under a whole raft of restrictions, a little is better than nothing at all.

 

[FishHobby99]

Charities.....once looked upon as the great saviours of people & animals in trouble. Seen as squeaky clean and only having people/animals best interests in mind.

What changed?

The constant stream of TV adverts, media adverts, junk mail though the door, celebs (minor, major & wannabe) droning on about this or that "great work" etc. Then we have the darker side, the abuse of those supposedly being helped, the fat cat salaries of CEO's and directors....

Then you start looking at what charity is doing "on the ground".

Nowadays, its not so clear where the money is going.

Whereas before the charities were open and accountable, they aren't so much now.

I ask myself "Just what is this donation bombardment actally achieving on the ground?"

Watching the various adverts for the human charities......lots of babies and toddlers born into refugee camps, queues of babies and toddlers in queues for food, water, medical care, clothing...

Back in the days of Live Aid, there was genuine help given where it was needed, people were helped not just by donated food, medical care but taught how to farm and start small businesses so that they could work towards standing on their own two feet. People gladly gave what they could, knowing that it would generally go where they wanted it to go and that they were genuinely helping people recover from whatever disaster had befallen them.

Nowadays...the various charities are in a perpetual catch 22...they no longer enable people to survive and stand on their own two feet, no, it seems that those charities who are asking for help are actually enabling people to have more and more children, thus increase the burden of need. Why would those in poorer countries learn to get onto their own two feet if the charities will always be there with their handouts? Where is the encouragment to learn how to farm or start a new business when all they need to do is have more children cos its guaranteed that charity will always clothe them, always feed them, always house them and always give them medical care?

Dare I suggest that maybe charities would be better received and better respected if they taught the wonders of family planning, to educate people in missing a generation or two until they are financially better off and can manage to live without the "crutch" of a charity guaranteed to always been down the road.

The ethos of charity as an enabler to better yourself have changed to being the enabler of a population increase that can only be sustained by charity

I am as charitable as anyone, over the years I have given to those who I personally feel attached to, my way of thanking them.....but with all these adverts on TV, in the media and dropping on the doormat, the "charity fatigue" is setting in....fast...

Does anyone else feel that its too much of a never ending cycle?

I only donate to animal causes. Local cat rescue. Limbe, in Cameroon, Africa that rescues primates & African Grey parrots, Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado that saves bears, wolves, large Cats etc.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Interesting. It seems like these sorts of complications have gone on for a long time, as long as poverty, good intentions, and human laziness have been around. I do agree that the level of exposure is relatively new. We are so constantly bombarded by images and stories of tragedy and suffering; it gets numbing. It's one reason I try to keep most of my giving close to home.

There's a book called "Toxic charity" that's worth a read, if you're concerned about this sort of thing. I try to be smart in my giving, and I try to avoid the sort of enabling that WMWI describes above. But ultimately, all I can do is help out. It really is up to the individual whether they choose to pull themselves up. I can't do that for someone else. The only person I can change is myself.