Charity is considered a concept that proves compassion still exists in humanity. Right before winter break ensues, students see Oxfam representatives scattered down Commonwealth Avenue, spreading seasonal joy, enabling students to feel good about giving back. You get a rush of self-satisfaction when you place some change into a waiting basket, sign up to sponsor a child’s education or choose to spread awareness about a pressing issue. Few take a minute to wonder where exactly all the money and good will eventually end up. Investigation of how charitable organizations use their money could be viewed as distasteful – surely amidst all the other corruption in our world, non-profit organizations should not pose a monetary problem.
However, a Wednesday TIME article titled “Oxfam and Save the Children” conceded that in spite of misinformation regarding the famine in Somalia, the distribution of emergency aid from such organizations and the United Nations was so poorly executed that 50,000 to 100,000 lives were lost due to lack of organization. Furthermore, more than half of them were reportedly under five years old. Even in the two organizations’ self-criticism, they pose false information. Reporting their aid to Somalia as a whole disguises their lack of efficiency in helping during the famine specifically. Understandably, you become disheartened at the reality of charitable organizations’ attempts to appear more organized than they are. Innocent lives are belittled to exaggerated statistics contributing to an organizational façade.
Perhaps it would be more beneficial to properly investigate the issue you want to tackle before blindly giving aid. Without adequate information, emergency aid may hinder relief efforts rather than help them. Transparency is crucial to informing the general public where aid is going and where operations can be improved. Secrecy will only dissuade many to donate money and time to causes, which would be incredibly unfortunate for thousands of innocent people who need help. It remains to be seen whether a comprehensive solution can be reached, but overall an issue so vast will require much more attention. Amidst such chaos when disaster strikes, it is imperative that we examine how emergency responses can be better organized and accomplished.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
