Just made what is for me a substantial donation to help famine victims in East Africa. Can’t sit in my comfortable middle class environment and see pictures of starving and dying children and not do something. But even while I am writing out a cheque I’m not really sure that it is going to do much good. It seems like such a stop gap measure, and even if we feed people today it doesn’t mean they aren’t going to be hungry again tomorrow.
Having travelled in East Africa I have some sense of the huge problems that the region faces. The corruption in the region and the ongoing fighting in Somolia have certainly contributed to the current crisis; while overpopulation and environmental degradation means it is going to be very difficult for people to recover. I continue to respond to most of the calls for financial assistance to deal with emergencies but I am always wondering if we are pouring water in a leaking bucket.
One of my favourite sayings is the old Chinese one ” Give a man a fish you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him forever”. That is why I really like the type of self-help development that Nepal School Projects is supporting in one of the world’s poorest countries. I believe educating the children, providing basic health care, clean water and even microhydro to subsistence farming communites means that they will have a chance to break out of the cycle of poverty. Which is why I am so happy to take part in the Everest Marathon to raise funds for Nepal School Projects.
I will continue to make donations to stop gap efforts like Africa Famine relief, but it is the money I contribute to change peoples lives that really excites me.
Running for Nepal 