Mark Weber, the co-producer of the documentary film Poverty Inc., joined us for dinner discussing poverty and the well intended aid efforts. The West has positioned itself as the protagonist of development, giving rise to a vast multi-billion dollar poverty industry, and the business of doing good has never been better.

Yet the results have been mixed, in some cases even catastrophic, and leaders in the developing world are growing increasingly vocal in calling for change.

For me, this discussion struck at the core of the traditional understanding of development and international assistance, and helped me see this topic in a new light.

Being a nutritional science major, my goal has always been to specialize in International Nutrition and Global Health including programs concerned with hunger, health, and food supply issues in non-industrialized countries.

I now understand that you can’t just enter a country and expect to supply aid. It’s not that simple, and there are many unseen effects, like displacing the local people that are already supplying assistance. Although you may have good intentions, and desire to “change the world,” many find an interest in international assistance because it is exotic, but you can not treat assistance to developing countries as a project or an addition to a resume.

A fellow student in the discussion asked, “What would be the first step of changing the world?”

Mark Weber answered by saying that Mother Teresa was asked a similar question.

She answered, “Go home and love your family.”

Over dinner with house guest Mark Weber, co-producer of the documentary film Poverty Inc., we discussed the causes of poverty and how even well-intentioned aid efforts can sometimes have unforeseen negative consequences. Mr. Weber advanced the idea that the Western World’s idea of industrial development and its mission to help developing countries is a remnant of the colonial mentality. He also identified several issues with how non-profits operate:

• Unlike for-profit companies which go out of business when they are unsuccessful, non-profits continue to operate as long as they have continued funding.
• There is no feedback mechanism by which the recipients of aid can communicate with givers of the aid.
• People who donate money, goods, or services, expect to see an immediate impact. In reality, a lot of the work of developing a country and alleviating poverty is un-glamorous and takes significant time and infrastructure to develop.

We also drew upon our collective personal experiences and identified some key factors which may hinder the development of African countries in particular. One of particular interest was “brain drain” which is when the best and brightest move to other countries that have more resources and more opportunities for them. This was a pertinent concept for our discussion since many international students leave their home country and come to Cornell to receive the high-caliber education and many will continue their lives here in the United States after graduation.

Poverty Inc. Trailer >> http:/www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqGQ1IRhdzg