Shut Up & Give?

I am a part of all that I have met.

- ALFRED TENNYSON

Shut Up & Give. Empty your wallet, write that check, hand over your purse. Don’t ask questions. In fact, don’t even think." This sounds like an alleyway mugging straight out of a movie, right? But instead, it has been our strategy in serving the underserved. We’ve been afraid to rock the boat. We haven’t asked questions or challenged long-held norms about poverty eradication. We’ve given to and volunteered with the same projects year in and year out without ever questioning their long-term value to the underserved. That’s about to change.

At one point or another, we’ve all felt compelled to give, donate, or volunteer for a cause – and there’s nothing wrong with that. Here’s my question, though: what did your contribution actually accomplish? Did it create lasting change from the inside out? Do you know the answers – actual answers from the people you donated to, not from the pictures in their marketing brochures – to these questions?

While in Tanzania working to set up a microfinance bank, it hit me. I’d been having conversations with several different people who encouraged me to write down some of my thoughts about poverty elimination. They believed people would be interested in what I had to say, that perhaps my own experiences (both the accomplishments and failures) could be of benefit to others. That marked the beginning of a new journey – one that involved a lot of writing – and this is the result.

I’m learning every single day about humanity, about faith, about life. Whether riding on a mini-bus in Uganda, volunteering at a medical camp in Haiti, or spending time at a rural school in India, I’m constantly being shaped by experiences and people. I don’t want that to ever change.

This is a book about defying complacency. It’s about challenging long-held norms of poverty eradication – norms I’ve held myself for a long time. The distinct message of this book will battle the status quo of what we’ve been taught, and what we’ve thought, about poverty on a global level. The approach of tradition has not created sustained change. A shift is needed.

For decades, we’ve given billions and billions of dollars to the underserved world, but we keep repeating the same pattern without examining the results. We’ve been told to keep giving because progress is being made. But is it really? Is the course we’ve been on for decades really going to end poverty?

As reflected on the cover of this book, the West has come in, built shiny buildings and given handouts, never getting past humanitarian assistance and dealing with the root causes of the poverty at hand. It’s not that we don’t care – we’ve just been lazy. By and large, we haven’t focused on a comprehensive strategy that creates opportunity, promotes dignity, and kills dependency.

Many in the underserved world are tired of humanitarian aid by itself; they want development. They want skills, investment, and trade. They want to discover a new reality centered around dignity and hope, rather than dependency on the West. They’re saying enough and putting a big ‘X’ through our traditional approach.

I’ve had the privilege of seeing a great deal of the world, both the splendor and the suffering, and I can say from firsthand experience that we’re swimming in circles, unable to get ahead by focusing on what we’ve always done. The traditional approach – pursued by both the public and private sectors – is not ending poverty.

But the story doesn’t end here. Hope exists. Development in the underserved world is an intricately complex process, and though we haven’t always pursued the smartest programming, we can shift our thinking. A new era of development is upon us. New strategies are being put into practice. Asking tough questions and using a business-minded, sustainable approach are helping to turn the tide. We may have lost some of the battles along the way, but we can win the war.

My expertise is global development, so the thesis of this book does not focus on domestic poverty. Some of the practices and ideals discussed can absolutely be applied to the elimination of poverty right here at home, but this book’s focus is poverty in the underserved world – the world with no voice.

My analysis of why poverty is not being effectively eliminated may surprise you – but that’s the point. The goal is to make you think in a new way and give you a fresh perspective. My heart is to change the commonly held mindset about investing in the underserved world and to contribute in a progressive way to the elimination of poverty. Though you may not agree with everything in the book, know it comes from a place of passion mixed with an equal dose of compassion.

We’re living in a time when uncertainty reigns – a time when no one knows what may happen to the global economy today, tomorrow, or next year. The popular books on the market today are about saving, shifting retirement allocations, and preparing for the unknown.

I’m here to talk about something different, though related: encouraging wise investments. Our investments – both financial and volunteer-related – in the underserved world need to go as far as they possibly can. We need to see every cent of every dollar sent abroad used to make lasting changes. Let’s make sure every hour spent volunteering or working on a development project contributes to the empowerment of individuals.

We need to be wise about where we spend our money and discerning about whom we give it to. This book offers some thoughts on how we can be discerningly generous.

Some may ask why global poverty eradication is even worth focusing on. The reality is that both the public and private sectors are already spending billions of dollars each year with this goal in mind. If we’re going to be involved in this endeavor, doesn’t it make sense to do it right? Doesn’t it make sense to be sure every dollar counts? Doesn’t it make sense to stop throwing money at projects that don’t improve lives in the underserved world in favor of projects that will have a lasting impact?

We’ve been programmed not to question the status quo, to trust those who have been in the field of international development for years. But what if they’re wrong in certain areas? What if the money we’ve been giving really hasn’t been used to make changes that will last beyond today? If a short-term mindset has pervaded the development machine, what does that mean for future generations?

Many of the development programs I’ve seen around the world don’t involve local actors who were actually born and raised there. Development practitioners tend to take in Western-developed solutions that might have no relevance in the context of the country they’re entering. And even if they do work, are they empowering? Are they bringing men and women, families and children, to a place where they can be responsible for their own futures and lift themselves out of poverty over the long run?

I don’t want to discourage giving in any form, because that’s a bedrock principle of our culture. Thinking beyond our own immediate interests is what makes our global society so amazing. We don’t need to stop giving, but instead need to question the impact our giving makes. I don’t want us to be afraid of rocking the boat, of challenging tradition. Is every dollar we’re giving having the greatest possible impact? Are our tax dollars used to support the most empowering projects possible? Are the private organizations we support using our donations to produce the most lasting changes possible?

We can do more with what we have if we invest it wisely. We can change more lives and empower more people to lift themselves out of poverty if we participate in long-term programs that focus on systematic investments in local solutions to local problems. The prevailing issue here is quality over quantity. We can have a greater impact over a longer period of time if we pursue quality development projects that will continue working even when we’re gone. The goal is to create sustainable projects that generate change, not ones that perpetuate the norm. The status quo must shift.

What if the money we’ve been giving really hasn’t been used to make changes that will last?

Wiping out poverty is a lofty goal, and one that won’t be achieved overnight. But we have to start somewhere. We shouldn’t be afraid of starting small. Each one of us can play a small role in a much larger screenplay. For it is only committed, passionate individuals who have ever succeeded at changing the world.

This book puts you in the driver’s seat. It invites you to get involved in helping to eliminate global poverty. It offers practical insight using an entrepreneurial, business-minded approach that places the private sector – individuals, small businesses, corporations, and churches – at the helm of poverty eradication.

When it comes to empowering the underserved nations of the world, challenging tradition and encouraging innovative thinking should be our primary focus. We should seek to restore dignity and hope. The first part of this book will explore where we’ve come from in terms of poverty eradication strategies so that we can focus on a new era of global development in the second part of the book.

This book is a journey around the world to discover sustainable solutions to global poverty – solutions that are working.

Good intentions are simply no longer enough, as this book highlights. A comprehensive strategy is a must. This conclusion has been drawn as a result of trial and error, emphasis on the error.

Whether a seasoned veteran or an eager rookie when it comes to international development, this book offers unique, experienced insight into how we can all do the most good in the underserved world. The purpose is not to beat the reader over the head with all the things that are wrong with development, but to make the point that a shift – not a total overhaul – is needed to produce the most positive, lasting results for those we’re hoping to serve. This conversation opens the door for a discussion about new strategies that can help us turn our goals into a reality.

We should be supporting projects that can have the greatest positive impact with the least negative impact over the longest period of time. Shut Up & Give? Not on my watch.

CHAPTER 1

THE LIGHT BULB CAME ON

Things do not change; we change.

-HENRY DAVID THOREAU

Go with me to Haiti.

I just arrived last Tuesday with three friends. We flew to the Dominican Republic and took an eight-hour bus ride the next morning to Port-au-Prince. The date is now February 7, 2010, just over three weeks after the devastating earthquake of January 12. We’ve been in Haiti for five days.

It’s been a long week so far. The bus ride was tense, full of aid workers and family members trying to get to Haiti to find out if their relatives survived the ordeal. If they did, are they hurt? Where are they living?

Our small team sat on the bus entering Haiti, unsure what to expect. We stayed with a family right outside the city that first night, but it was already dark, so it was hard to know what things really looked like. Popping up the tents we brought in the front yard because no one in the country felt safe inside, we were painfully aware of continuing aftershocks.

We didn’t sleep much that night, partly due to anxiety and partly due to dogs barking, chickens pecking on our tents, and the smell of fear coming from every direction. Oh well – we didn’t come for a vacation.

We ventured into the heart of the city the next day and saw the reality of what had occurred. Families torn apart, homes shattered, a nation in ruins. It was a devastating sight.

We didn’t plan on getting involved, but things turned out differently.

We spent our time visiting with people who had lost loved ones, playing with children, and meeting with contacts my friends had on the ground. We listened to their stories. We tried to offer any hope we could.

That first day was exhausting for all of us, trying to process what we were seeing. It was eye opening in so many ways. I don’t think we talked about it a lot that night, because we were trying to be there for the Haitians we came to spend time with.

We spent one more day in the heart of the city, meeting with people and helping out where we could. Since then, we’ve been at the main airport in Port-au-Prince, which is the hub for all international aid efforts. It hasn’t yet been reopened for commercial air traffic, but it’s bustling with activity, nonetheless.

We walked onto the base, still under U.S. military control, to survey the international response site from a distance. We didn’t plan on getting involved, but things turned out differently.

It turns out there’s a large, two hundred plus bed hospital right here on the base, just a short distance from the runway, where supplies are being dropped at all hours of the day and night. Run by the University of Miami, this hospital has treated hundreds of victims, and the queue doesn’t seem to be getting any shorter.

We walked toward the hospital tents to observe; we didn’t plan on getting any closer, as we didn’t want to be in the way. Somehow or another, we were asked to help out, and Joel and I loaded a crate of supplies into a truck.

Help was needed in the supply tent, which looked like a huge jumbled mess at that point. Boxes upon boxes were piled up in this massive tent; no one had any idea what was where, but only that an entire nation was desperately in need of their contents. Shipments have been coming in from around the world, but few people have had time to try and organize them into usable sections. We were thrilled to help.

Joel and I have spent a couple days working in the supply tent unpacking, organizing, identifying supplies, labeling, etc., and I think things are now in a more workable condition. Laura and Nicole have spent time with some patients and have been able to listen to their stories. We’re thankful to be here where we’re needed.

During this time, we’ve talked with many people, visited a few communities in the city, and distributed some food. We’ve been pushed to our emotional and physical limits.

Despite the chaotic nature of experiencing Haiti in this time of crisis, I’m beginning to question the perspective I’ve had toward development, toward humanitarian aid, toward serving the underserved. Seeing what I’ve seen – the utter destruction, the looks of terror, and the poor state of Haiti’s infrastructure – weighs heavily on my mind.

Have I been wrong in my thinking all along? I’ve been to many underserved nations before this, but maybe I need to rethink my approach. Has my perspective toward the underserved world contributed in some way to the mindset I see here in Haiti? Maybe what I thought I knew isn’t right.

Everything I’ve seen around the globe before this has led me here, to this place, to these questions.

CHAPTER 2

TRANSFORMING OUR APPROACH

Poverty is unnecessary.

-MUHAMMAD YUNUS

Have you ever felt like you’re just supposed to shut up and give because everybody else does? Have you ever felt like you’re not really supposed to ask whether or not the billions of dollars we send to the underserved world each year actually produce lasting changes?

Well, I’m here to call an audible. I want every dollar put toward investment in the underserved world to go as far as it possibly can. I want to see lasting changes take place. I want to see poverty wiped off the face of the Earth. I believe it can be, but you and I have to veer away from the traditional, prevalent way of relating to the underserved world in favor of a more sustainable option.

We – individuals, governments, businesses, religious institutions – don’t clearly define the difference between sustainable, lasting development and short-term humanitarian efforts. How can we ever shift the tide if we don’t even know which type of project we’re participating in?

Our international efforts have focused on providing short-term band-aids for decades that simply aren’t making lasting impacts. These programs have focused on meeting basic needs. But with no long-term strategy, the cycle of poverty is repeated over and over again. Further, dependency on the West has been created as a result of our short-term focus.

No universal definition exists for international development; as a result, there’s much confusion about the difference between humanitarian aid and development. While humanitarian aid should be pursued to relieve suffering and support human dignity, the line separating the two is often blurred. Development by its very name should support long-term strategies that empower and enable; they should be developing.

However, we use the term for everything from clothing donations to complex business training, even though the former is not developing anything. Yes, new clothes may improve overall quality of life, which is not a bad thing, but no lasting economic, social, or cultural changes are being achieved – meaning it really shouldn’t be called development. It’s humanitarian aid.

When we give toward a development project or hear about our government’s development efforts, we assume that means things are changing and people’s lives are being steadily improved one day at a time. But the truth is, pure development as discussed in the context of this book is not as common as we might think.

Pure development is any activity that improves a people group or a nation economically, socially, or culturally over time. This could be anything from life skills training to building schools that will educate the next generation.

A PARTNERSHIP

Though humanitarian aid and development are different, they can partner with one another to create something powerful. They don’t have to be mutually exclusive ideals.

For example, providing food to a group of people is a highly admirable activity; however, if there’s no empowerment activity included, such as providing seeds for a garden or chickens so families can sell the eggs, sustainable (developing) changes will not be seen. That same place we took food to last month will need it again this month and the next month and the next month, until we think past today and develop real solutions, rather than temporary ones.

Additionally, giving out humanitarian aid over a long period of time to a people group creates an unhealthy mindset of dependency. Humanitarian aid has a time and place during crisis situations, but when we – both the public and private sectors – hand it out year in and year out with no development programming included, the result is dependency on the West. The result is a continuing cycle of looking to the West for answers, for solutions to the problems in the underserved world.

This is not to say we should stop giving food or shelter or medical attention to people in crisis situations, but as things stabilize, we can find ways to partner the delivery of humanitarian aid with pure development practices that will create eternal change.

When we take in shipments of food to rural villages, why don’t we also take in local agricultural experts and bags of yam seeds (a vegetable that can grow in dry climates)? The agricultural specialists can teach the rural villagers how to prepare the land, plant the seeds, and harvest the crops. The villagers can feed their families and sell the rest. In addition, we’re meeting the immediate needs of the people by taking in food that can feed them today and for the next week or next month.

We’re empowering them to be responsible for their own futures. This is sustainable development, or development that produces real, lasting changes. We’re contributing to a long-term solution while also meeting them in their place of need today by providing