Last Saturday, the Rose House Residents had the opportunity to see the documentary Poverty Inc. and speak to the producer of the documentary via Skype. Going into the screening, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. You hear the words “poverty,” “developing nation,” and “aid,” thrown around very often when speaking about the global nation. As Americans, the media often enforces a nation that it is the western world’s duty to help other less economically stable countries. However, this “help” is often delivered as free aid as opposed to tools those countries can use to develop. Essentially, this documentary embodies the idea of trade vs. aid. This movie captures how detrimental constant free aid can be on an economy’s nation. The producer specified the company Toms shoes, whose motto is “one for one.” With every pair if Toms purchased, the company gives a pair to a child who needs it. While the child does now have shoes, this movement is preventing local shoemakers and cobblers from selling their products. Why buy a pair of shoes from a local merchant, when you can get them for free? While the CEO of toms says that he plans to supply people with shoes for the rest of their lives, he simultaneously implies that they will always be poor. Although most charitable projects like this are extremely well intentioned, they are not allowing the country and economy to grow in the long run. This movie reminded me of a idea most people are taught when they are young, “give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach him how to fish and he’ll never go hungry.” The documentary encouraged NGOs and projects that embody this principle in their endeavors. Speaking with Mark Webber afterwards also gave us more insight on his idea and how we as students can help perpetuate his message. I learned a lot from this documentary and will definitely be more analytical when I see eliminate poverty charities, and how they put an emphasis on instruction as opposed to handouts.