“Poverty Inc” is a brilliant documentary that provokes thought in reframing what we consider to be development.
It shows great examples of the negative impacts of our good intentions. It shows the receiving stakeholders’ reactions to our actions; what we would praise here, they appreciate but wish was different. There are little things we do thinking we are doing good but what happens in reality? What happens when we donate clothes to get shipped abroad? What happens when we send free food to these countries to “end hunger.” What happens when we buy Tom’s shoes? What happens when we flood these countries with NGO’s?
The film brings light to these questions, arguing that we do more bad than good when participating in the above. When we send free stuff, their way, we are providing temporal support that will change their ways of life to one of dependency from us and eventually be detrimental because at one point, we will stop giving. By sending clothes and shoes, we unemploy artisans, clothes makers, shoe makers, and we invade with our own culture. When we send food, we flood the market, drop prices, drop demand, and eventually take jobs away from farmers. Then when we stop sending food, they have no one else to produce it. We create complete and life-long dependency on us and the moment we can no longer help or no longer want to help, they have no where else to turn.
Instead of equipping for a sustainable future, we are worsening their situations by establishing a “dependence mentality.”
Like the film says, we make “the poor” the others in their own story of development. Instead of making them the protagonists, we make them the side characters waiting to see what WE do in their story. So lets stop with this so called “aid.” Let’s focus our efforts in working with these countries as partners; not charity. Let’s work to get them an adequate base for growth. Let’s create jobs. Let’s buy their products. Let’s be mindful consumers. Let’s stop developing an image of them that ends up saying more about ourselves (songs like “It’s Christmas Time”) by seeing Africa as a desolate place where nothing grows. Let’s stop with this idea of “helping.”