By Scott Bellows
Several noticeable earthquakes shook East Africa during 2007 with epicenters from the DRC down to Tanzania. As the earthquakes gained some international press attention, several international NGOs sprang into action to raise money for earthquake-hit areas. One particular NGO fundraised hundreds of millions of Kenya Shillings for blankets for affected people whose homes were damaged. However, did blankets also fly off the shelves at then dominant retailer Nakumatt? No. Most of the earthquakes hit during the hottest months of that year thus negating the need for blankets and only very minimal structural damage occurred in some isolated areas so people did not become homeless in need of blankets. Donor funds can distort regular market supply and demand forces whereby the users of funds hold different need intentions than the provider, or source, of funds intends.
As a resident of an area experiencing mild earthquakes, what type of spending would you desire from the donor fundraising? Perhaps window ladders so families can escape from first and second floors if a staircase collapses, maybe a generator and powerful torches in case electricity gets knocked out, and most importantly maybe capacity building for better information sharing by government agencies following natural disasters to mitigate misinformation. Inasmuch, much criticism was levied at the specific NGO for mismatching bottom-up needs from top-down perceptions forced down to beneficiaries.
While giving to charity flourishes as one of the magnificent characteristics of humanity, providing top-down funding for societal misfortunes and injustices creates a power imbalance between provider and recipient. Power disparities result in a mismatch between source perceptions and use intentions in the donor and NGO or Community Service Organization (CSO) sector…Read more>>
