Finally we come to my long-promised discussion on international poverty, globalization, and international trade. I’ll start it with a bang:
“Let no one be discouraged by the belief that there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world’s ills- against misery and ignorance, injustice and violence…. Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all of those acts will be written the history of our generation…. “ – Robert Kennedy
Pause for a moment. Isn’t that an amazing quote? Sometimes I have had long talks with friends about the problems of the world, only to end the conversation despairing about the multitude of difficulties facing our generation. This quote gives new hope to the disillusioned world-changer. I’ve always felt like all of us doing a little bit to improve what we can will change the world, but this quote puts it elegantly and succinctly. Motivated? Ok, let’s discuss some heavy topics.
Over the past month I’ve read five books about international development, Africa, and possible solutions to lessen extreme poverty or fix the global system of aid. Today I’ll build a foundation of basic facts and orient you to my thinking on international poverty. Remember, I myself am only a student, and I’m stilling forming my battle plan against the problems of the world. It’s going to take three blog entries to really discuss these topics in-depth, and they will be spaced over the rest of my time here in Africa. The second blog will be case studies of specific issues (agricultural subsidies, lobbyists, effective aid, etc.), and the last will talk about practical solutions and the way forward for those who want to take action. And here… we… go.
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| If this picture represents international poverty, the point of this blog is to make sure the clouds are moving to the right. |
Why Trust My Information?
All of the statistical information is sourced from the books that I have been reading, as well as the quotes. The books are listed below. I won’t footnote this blog entry, but I’d be happy to back up any statistic or claim with evidence if that’s necessary. I’ve also rated the books, if you are interested.
“Africa Doesn’t Matter” by Giles Bolton- (Grade: A: must read)
“Mountains Beyond Mountains” by Tracey Kidder (Grade: A-: Awesomely Inspiring)
“The Blue Sweater” by Jaqueline Novogratz (Grade: B: Good book and life story, but not essential)
“The End of Poverty” by Jeffrey Sachs (Grade B-: Inspiring, but a bit-over the top)
“The White Man’s Burden” by William Easterly (Grade C+: Counterargument to The End of Poverty. Well researched, but not well organized in its arguments. But if you read one, read the other to get a proper balance. )
Let’s Start With the Problem
“It is the curse of humanity that it learns to tolerate even the most horrible situations by habituation.” -Rudolf Virchow
I think that we’ve all heard the statistics before, but they are worth hearing again. More than 1 billion people living in extreme poverty (less than $1) per day, and more than 15,000 people die every day in developing countries of preventable diseases like malaria, diarrhea, cholera, and typhoid. But numbers are so impersonal, so I’ll add a reference. Think of September 11th : 3,000 people dead, national tragedy, future of American foreign policy shaped for some time(And we are still in Iraq and Afghanistan). Well, the death toll from povery is like that, five times a day, every single day of the year. And it’s preventable. Motivated to care? Well you’ve read this far, so I hope that question is rhetorical.
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| It's fun loving, cute kids like these from poor, rural areas that are affected most. |
Fact Facts
I’m going to set the stage for this discussion with a quick overview of things that I’ve recently learned and I think it’s very, very important to know. This list is simply a basic overview of importance things to spark interest in a number of subjects. Let’s create a foundation of understanding, and from there build a tool that can change yours (And others) worldviews.
- - Clutter of Aid- By 2003, 39,729 branches of international charities existed in Africa. Does these groups work together in an efficient, coordinated manner? Hardly. And the average African government writes 10,000 reports to donors per year. Could time be better spent? Surely.
- - A Nation Unaware- America is the 2nd to last rich country in terms of national aid per person. Most Americans are unaware of our nation’s lack of generosity. A 2005 Poll said that >50% of people though we spent more on global aid than on social security and medicare. It’s like 1/40th of those programs.
- - Making an Impact?- When we do spend money on national aid, only $4 of every $10 of Global aid goes to developing poor countries. And only 25% of that aid reaches the ground in the form of projects and improvements. So $1 of out $10 of global aid helps poor people. No wonder aid has not worked well in the past.
- - Half Empty Stomachs- 40% of cash for US food aid that US taxpayers pay goes to US shipping firms. To make matters worse, 50 cent of every dollar of food aid spent on transportation, warehousing, and administration. It’s slowly changing to where we buy local food to help the desperate country, but change is coming slowly.
- - We Did What?- The Western world spends 300-750 billion on agricultural subsidies a year. This is ten times the total balance of aid given during the same year. I’ll discuss this further in part 2.
A Mountain of Misconceptions
A day before leaving for Africa I was told by an American to beware of all of the “rape and violence” that happens in Africa. At the time, I was a bit angered and confused at the ignorance. After living in Kenya for a month, I’m even more disturbed by that kind of misinformation. It’s obvious that in talking about poverty anywhere, we must first tame a series of severe misconceptions. I’ll just list what I consider as the “big three”.
The Poor Are Lazy? In fact, they are some of the hardest working people that I know, born into situations that allow for few opportunities and ways to escape poverty. When asked in 2000 if it was especially important for children to be encouraged at home to learn “hard work”, 61% of Americans said yes, compared to 80% of Nigerians, 75% of South Africans, and 83% of Tanzanians. We are slacking.
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| This cook and security guard at Friends Secondary School Lusui makes $30 a month working 10 hour days. If's he's lazy, I don't even want to know what that makes me. |
Feeding Starving Children will just Create Starving Adults: Actually, that is very wrong. Poverty is highly linked with high birth rates, and families have many kids because of low education and a high child mortality rate. Poverty causes high fertility, and only ending that will end the problem. Letting children die will actually only exacerbate the problem.
Africa is Poor Because it’s Corrupt and Immoral: Statistics shows that the average African country is actually well-governed compared to countries of similar incomes, and more democratic that other poor countries with similar income levels. Africa’s real hurdles seem to be fighting geographic challenges (isolation, lack of ports), disease, and vulnerability to climate change.
A World Apart
“It is heartbreaking that global society has evolved a highly efficient way to get entertainment to rich adults and children, while it can’t get twelve-cent medicine to dying poor children.” – William Easterly
In his book, “The White Man’s Burden”, Easterly talks about how private companies could organize to distribute over 9 million copies of Harry Potter 6 to fans in one day, but like he says, we can’t get 12 cent medicines to dying children. Until reading this, those weren’t exactly two events that I connected in my mind. I think that is a theme of my experience in Kenya to this point. For the rest of my life, I won’t be able to not care. I won’t be able to forget about the poverty that I have seen, and I won’t be able to avoid associating my actions in the Western rich world with consequences in the developing world. I call on you to do the same. You do not have to be in Kenya to learn about the plight of people living in extreme poverty around the world, and you don’t have to be working in a rural, poor village to help people living in poverty.
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| Another worker at the school labors to earn his $30 a month wage. |
In a book about Dr. Paul Farmer (a new hero of mine) was the following- Of all the world’s errors, he seemed to feel, the most fundamental was the “Erasing” of people, the “hiding away” of suffering.
“My big struggle is how people can not care, erase, not remember.” Paul Farmer
So that leads to my first insight to close part one. Once your eyes are opened, keep them that way, and find ways to shine light on those still in the darkness. I think that ignorance and indifference are two of the biggest challenges that the developing world faces in pulling itself out of poverty. Ignorance from the West in terms of unnecessary or ineffective aid, or from taking a top-down approach and dictating how poor countries can achieve wealth. So this African experience is about trying to lessen my own ignorance, and helping you to do the same. Through even these small actions we can set our lives on a path of increased empathy and learn practical ways to improve the world.
And so ends part one. Stay tuned for upcoming light-hearted blog entries about Kenyan culture and working at Lusui school, and keep an eye out for part 2 of international poverty in the next month.
Lots of love from Kenya,
Kurt