The "just throwing aid" comment was in general, not in reference to the current crisis.
Gotcha. Sorry I misinterpreted; I'm actually seeing people making that argument for why Haiti shouldn't receive any earthquake relief at all.
The scary thing is that I don't know that the world can do enough, fast enough.
Tragically, they can't, if only because the airport and seaport were so damaged by the quake that people traveling into the country are bottlenecked. If that weren't the case, then perhaps there'd be some hope, but the logistics don't favor the Haitian survivors. :(
The question is how to give aid such that the aid really helps people in the affected countries, instead of deliberately sabotaging them and keeping them dependent to feed First World greed or First World ego.
Grameen (http://www.grameen-info.org/) has the right idea, as does Kiva, to which you linked. Giving money and other resources to women tends to have the optimal effect, because, as most of them are responsible for children, they will use it to better their family prospects. The men tend more often to spend it on drink and gambling.
I'm not familiar with him, and don't feel I'm missing out by this!
No, you're really not. Another recent gem: American-style capitalism "leads to more exciting lives." (http://www.sadlyno.com/archives/27749.html) Yeah, I suppose you can say that unemployment, lack of health insurance, and worrying about eviction and whether you can afford groceries can be quite... stimulating.
no subject
Gotcha. Sorry I misinterpreted; I'm actually seeing people making that argument for why Haiti shouldn't receive any earthquake relief at all.
The scary thing is that I don't know that the world can do enough, fast enough.
Tragically, they can't, if only because the airport and seaport were so damaged by the quake that people traveling into the country are bottlenecked. If that weren't the case, then perhaps there'd be some hope, but the logistics don't favor the Haitian survivors. :(
The question is how to give aid such that the aid really helps people in the affected countries, instead of deliberately sabotaging them and keeping them dependent to feed First World greed or First World ego.
Grameen (http://www.grameen-info.org/) has the right idea, as does Kiva, to which you linked. Giving money and other resources to women tends to have the optimal effect, because, as most of them are responsible for children, they will use it to better their family prospects. The men tend more often to spend it on drink and gambling.
I'm not familiar with him, and don't feel I'm missing out by this!
No, you're really not. Another recent gem: American-style capitalism "leads to more exciting lives." (http://www.sadlyno.com/archives/27749.html) Yeah, I suppose you can say that unemployment, lack of health insurance, and worrying about eviction and whether you can afford groceries can be quite... stimulating.