Considering the impact
As I shared in my last post, the way we think about 'stuff', the way we view the world, and the way we have been shaped by culture are all deeply connected - and so is the way we think about sharing or giving away our 'stuff'. This has not been a fun journey to learn so as I have reflected on it more, I have tried to come up with some questions that guide my behaviour. And today I wanted to share them with you.
So here are some questions to think about as we wrestle with inequality and the desire to give and make a difference:
Economic impact
What is the economic impact of the donations that are being shipped into an economy?
What is it costing you/me/the organisation to send donations when they could have been brought from places inside the country? How could that money be used instead?
As we saw in the “Dead White Man’s clothing” article, donations can become a booming part of a country's economy - allowing market sellers to create and sell things, allowing whole chains of companies to set up businesses (such as the prevalence of Japanese op-shops in Cambodia). But many donations also undermine local businesses. I have seen this particularly with the importing of stationary goods, books and fashion - things that make up parts of every community's everyday life. The local supplier of school supplies is going to lose money if all the students at school get given materials from outside of the area. And what impact will that have on their family? What could have been given to the community’s economic functioning to buy those materials to donate, from that family?
Cultural impact
What is the cultural impact of globalisation? Is consumerism a new form of colonialism?
Imagine that visitors from a school in China came to Australia and decided to establish some libraries for preschoolers. When they leave, you discover all the books are chinese-language resources. How do you think the community (let alone the education department) would respond?
Yet we do that all the time. English is (at least at the moment) the most common language used globally and we think nothing of producing and transporting English language resources. Even the internet is mostly English. So how can we help celebrate the other cultures that we enter -physically or through our gift giving?
Environmental impact
How much fossil fuels are being used to get your donations to the country that it is going?
Science has shown repeatedly that it currently is, and will continue to be, poor people who are hit hardest by climate change. (Check out these resources by World Vision and Global Citizen to see how this is playing out). Should we be adding to the climate change crisis by posting or shipping things that are often readily available or are quickly discarded? It costs both the environment and the economy a lot to move things around. Which do we value more?
Relational impact
As Saray demonstrated so readily in his video blog, the relational aspects are often the hardest to see. But they have the longest impact.
When we think of how we distribute resources and the impact that they have relationally, I often find the question “Who are you replacing?” helpful.
Who in the community who makes/produces things are you replacing?
Which community members are you robbing of the chance to care for each other?
Which local leader’s relationships are you replacing?
Who’s parents are you replacing? (by being the person who gives good gifts to their children?)
Whose religious authority are you undermining?
Who is not having to take responsibility by having you do this instead?
The spiritual impact
Are you using resources to replace discipleship?
There is a phrase that I hear in church-planting circles which I’m sure is probably from marketing is “What you gain people with, is what you retain people with.” Are we living a life that is inviting and welcoming and pointing people to Jesus? Or are we pointing them to candy and things can be brought?
As you can probably tell, I am prone to ask myself questions that are not easily answered!
It’s not all doom and gloom - I have seen resources be given and used in communities well. Here’s two principles that I think is helpful.
How have I seen it done well?
Build on assets not needs
A lot of the damage I have seen occurs when people think they see a need and then rush to fill it. Giving resources then becomes a way of constantly filling a need. And there are no shortages of needs in the world. This quite often builds dependency.
By identifying and resourcing the things that are already going well in a community, a sense of community belonging and ownership can emerge. The outsider with the resources is a partner or investor, not an instigator of change, and that can make things more sustainable. (Accountability is still needed, as Saray’s story highlights, this way isn’t fool-proof). But matching grants or community-led proposals can make a big difference.
It’s about relationships
An outside view does not give as clear a picture of what is needed as an inside voice. Think of these two examples.
An outsider sees that children in the local village don’t have building blocks. They call everyone to the local church and hand out building blocks. The children take the blocks home and ask their parents why they never got them blocks. The kids pull them out and play with them a bit but after a few days, the blocks are scattered round the dirt in the village. The kids are bored and ask their parents when they can have a new toy.
A local disability worker working with children asks the outsider to help them buy sets of blocks for them to use in their home visits. The worker does 4 home visits to a child per week and during each visit, uses the blocks to determine the child's development levels. They teach the parents specific games to use the blocks with the child and spend half and hour supervising the child playing with the parents. They leave the blocks between visits as homework.
In the first scenario, nothing actually changes for the village kids. The only long term change is the damage that has been done to their relationship with their parents. In the second scenario, the child gains some new playthings specifically used in a way to encourage their growth and their bond with their parents is strengthened. Which is the better model?
Change like this, though, only comes through relationships as the insider (here the disability worker) is able to identify what resources are needed and how they can best be integrated with what the community is already doing. Insiders also know what resources are available in the community and if the resources can be bought locally. I have seen this work really well with groups building relationships with NGOS, identifying what resources are needed and if they can be sourced locally or internationally. The locally sourced ones they often buy in the country and prepare so staff don’t have to do those extra trips and the international ones they bring with them. The resources are targeted and effective.
It’s the relationships that change the resources from just stuff, into resources that are effective and transformative and actually have an impact.
I’d love to know…
Where have you seen resources have a good impact?
How have you seen relationships develop over time?
Which of the 5 impacts are you most concerned about?
What sort of questions do you want to ask yourself or others?
