I’m fed up with charity, and here’s why…

Shannon Evanchec
Jul 20, 2017 · 5 min read

Ever since I can remember, I have been intrigued by the concept of helping people. As a middle schooler, this manifested by wearing TOMS shoes and buying t-shirts in support of various causes. As a college student, I chose to major in environmental engineering, thinking I could use math and science to solve problems in underserved countries. This notion was perpetuated by the culture surrounding me — my peers were constantly going on trips to take their engineering or medical skills to those in need.

Let’s fast forward to last November. I had just returned from a trip to India where I’d field tested a water treatment device — a spin off from undergrad research a friend and I had completed a year prior. When I got back from this trip and started to reflect on what we’d learned, I began to notice some alarming patterns that changed my outlook on the charitable community.

Testing our water treatment device, the antimicrobial copper lotus, in a rural village in South India

From an engineering perspective, our trip was a success. We had put thousands of hours into planning our data collection methods and had proved our hypothesis. It was the human component that was troubling us. To deploy our device we had partnered with an all-Indian organization that had been working in two tribal villages for the past 15 years. They’d built hundreds of toilets in the communities, improved education, and hosted volunteers from all over the world.

Partnering with this organization was great — we had an authentic, honest, and humbling experience. We learned the true wants and needs of the community. For example, most of the young men would have preferred if we’d brought new rickshaws along, instead of safe drinking water devices (not that I can blame them, because riding in a rickshaw that’s blasting Indian EDM is awesome). We also learned that the only reason people were using our device was because they trusted our partner organization, not because they believed the water they were drinking was unsafe.

Additionally, locals were far more qualified to work on projects than any of the volunteers that came to help. We heard a story of an American man that once volunteered for the organization. He was a very muscular guy, and his job was to help build outhouses. He quickly learned that he couldn’t lift close to the amount of bricks that the locals could. They’d been doing this for years; this was his first day. He was holding back progress and at the same time taking someone else’s paying job.

I’m not the first person to have experienced this, and I won’t be the last. Sadly, we (kind-hearted Americans) have been making the same mistakes for decades. We’ve handed out thousands of LifeStraw filters only to come back six months later and find most covered in dust. We’ve spent hundreds of millions of dollars building wells that break, yield unsafe water, or go unused. We’ve been as generous as we can possibly imagine — yet conditions remain unchanged or even worse.


It’s time to change the way we create change. At a recent event I attended, a colleague said: “The problem with the charity world is that it’s way too kind.”

We need to get the right people to ask the tough questions. We need to better spend our resources and invest for a financial return and clearly defined impact. For example, the usual metric of success for water quality projects is providing an improved source of water. However this often doesn’t translate to safer water because of the way improved sources have been defined and hygiene issues post-collection.

We need to stop showering children in hugs and selfies. The short term attention we provide causes broken views of relationships. 80% of children in orphanages actually have one or more living parent. Parents send their children to orphanages because they think they’ll have a better life — even though research shows the exact opposite.

We need to stop giving out things for free because it is exacerbating the problem. Donated clothing has left half a million African textile workers unemployed.

@barbiesavior

What would happen if we had successful business owners mentor communities instead of inexperienced volunteers? What would happen if we asked people what they wanted instead of forcing a project that we’d planned on them? What would happen if we used the money spent flying doctors from the US halfway around the world, to train doctors already on the ground?

If you’re reading this and you’ve been on a service trip before — I’m not condemning you— I’ve taken my fair share of pictures with kids whose names I don’t know. We have a choice to stay silent and self-justify our actions — or we can share the reasons why the current model is broken and ways to do better.

There are a few organizations changing the model with great success. Our favorite in the water space is Jibu — a company that has created a network of locally-owned safe drinking water franchise businesses. The company and the franchise owners are making money AND providing water that is safe from source to point of use — something that practically all other organizations are failing at.

Jibu = better water quality + better economy

I understand the pull to travel to diverse nations — it’s a rich and fulfilling experience that will leave you changed for the better. Go, but leave voluntourism (and $2 billion) behind. If you really want to serve — don’t do it through a service trip. Go as a tourist, enjoy the culture, and support the local economy. Instead of taking things with you, buy things there. Look beyond the inspiring pictures on your favorite charity’s website, and look into the impact, effectiveness, and sustainability of their programs. If you truly want to lift these communities out of poverty don’t give them charity — give them dignity.


P.S. This is just a summary of what we’ve learned — we’d love to talk more. If you’d like to chat or have questions on all of this, email us at info@truepani.com. To learn more:

For some humor:

In Norway kids are freezing!

)

Shannon Evanchec

Written by

Engineer and Co-Founder of TruePani Inc.

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