French charity's plan to rescue Darfur 'orphans' may be worst aid idea ever

From Aid | The Guardian Wed Dec 5 2012, 13:18:47

Pair behind Zoe's Ark mission to smuggle Sudanese children to France refuse to attend trial and fail to pay damages

Over the years, there have been more than a few occasions when well-intentioned do-gooders from the western world have come to Africa to make a difference - and completely cocked it up. Think of Jason Russell and the Kony 2012 campaign. Sure, YouTube loved it, but its popularity came at the expense of entrenching negative stereotypes and advocating very dangerous, simplistic solutions. Eventually, the campaign degenerated into farce. Kony wasn't caught, but Russell was - stark naked and allegedly masturbating in public, an incident from which Kony 2012 never recovered.

Or take Jason Sadler, another starry-eyed American and the unfortunate brain behind the "million T-shirts for Africa" idea. He had never been to Africa but he wanted to help, so he came up with this scheme of getting people to donate their second hand T-shirts and shipping them over. A few problems, as outlined by pretty much everyone who knew anything about Africa: believe it or not, just about all Africans, even the really poor ones, already have a T-shirt. In fact, lots of Africans rely on producing or selling T-shirts to make money, so an influx of free shirts would seriously damage their business model. And who's going to pay for the shirts to be transported and distributed, money that would be far better spent on aid that actually works? In the end, before it caused any real damage, a humbled Sadler was forced to abandon his idea.

My personal favourite terrible international aid idea comes courtesy of [view whole blog post ]

 See More    |     Report Abuse

People and Organizations:


You might also be interested in the following news stories:

Chad:  Chad Expects Some 20 Candidates to Compete With Military Ruler in Elections (news)
Voice of America
18 March 2024

Officials in Chad say close to 20 candidates will be challenging military ruler General Mahamat Idriss Deby in Chad's May 6 presidential election. The final list of candidates for the polls expected ... [read more]

Chad:  Assassination of Main Opposition Figure Casts Doubt On Country's Return to Democracy (analysis)
The Conversation Africa
18 March 2024

The assassination of Chad's main opposition leader, Yaya Dillo, is hanging heavy over presidential elections due in early May. Dillo was killed on 28 February when the headquarters of the opposition ... [read more]

Tchad:  De nombreuses zones d'ombres persistent au début de l'enquête sur la mort de l'opposant Yaya Dillo (news)
Radio France Internationale
19 March 2024

Au Tchad, les tensions se font encore sentir dans le pays, après le décès de l'un des opposants les plus farouches au pouvoir des Déby, père et fils, Yaya Dillo le ... [read more]



blogAfrica is allAfrica.com's platform to help you keep an ear on the African blogosphere. We draw diverse voices from around the world who post regularly and insightfully about African issues. Bloggers, submit your blog's rss-feed!