Why do we fail at helping
Transcript of Why do we fail at helping
WHY DO WE FAIL AT HELPINGBY ROBIN LOW
DEFINE HELP
Help is any form of assistance.-- Wikipedia
LIST SOME GOALS OF SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
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• To have sustainable impact on the Eco-system
EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL INTERVENTION
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• Government Subsidies
• Scholarships
LIST THE IMPACT THE “HELP” GENERATED
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• Enable the poor to survive
• Making higher education affordable to those who can’t afford
IS THE HELP ANY HELP?
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• If not, why?
CASE 1
Robin’s Chicken Farms
• 200 chickens, chicken coops.
• Skills building, breeding, feeding, transporting and selling eggs.
• Crop rotation
CASE 1: IMPACT
• Sold eggs increasing daily income from $7 to $60
• Repaid back capital of $2000 in 3 months.
CASE 1: RESULTS
• After 9 months.
• All chickens are eaten, no chickens remain.
• All villages back to what it was before.
CASE 2
El Limon: The Global Village
• Internet introduced in 1997.
• VoIP, Wifi, WLAN in 2003.
• Internet Chat available in village.
• $$$ spent
• Telemedicine available
CASE 2: IMPACT
• Good social engineering project
• Village grew local capacity for technicians
• Villagers learn how to code and program for additional source of income
CASE 2: RESULTS
• Village cannot afford commercial technician
• Paying for connectivity is still a problem (donation)
• Everyone under the age of 20 wants to be a developer when they grow up
• Many young villager develop simple technical skills to get online and use VoIP
“Philanthropy dollar” can only be used once, the “social dollar” can be used again and again.
-- Muhammad Yunus
LONG TERM VS SHORT TERM
• Do you want sustainable long term impact or focus on one off project?
• Will you run the project FOREVER?
WHY HELPING FAIL
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• No Respect
• No Capacity
• No Trust
• No Champion
Poor People are not Stupid
-- Muhammad Yunus
DANGERS OF SOCIAL INTERVENTION
Making life decisions for those we are helping
Is there “Over Helping?”
CURSE OF EXCLUSION OF LOCALS IN DISASTER RELIEF AND RECOVERY