When Helping Hurts

Statistically, Tanzania is an extremely poor country. The 26^th poorest country in the world, it ranks below Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and even South Sudan in terms of GDP. We are constantly confronted with widespread poverty; it’s hard to miss. Families living in one room houses with no electricity, children collecting drinking water from roadside puddles, schools whose only form of shelter is a tree are all fairly normal sights as you travel around. Material poverty is a serious problem in so many countries and while here to ‘help’, we have been challenged to think about how best to approach what we see as such obvious needs.

Before our arrival in Tanzania, we attended an orientation day with Tearfund in London. There we were told a story designed to illustrate some of the potential negative repercussions when we, as the worlds economically rich, respond to what we perceive as a need in the majority world. The story went something like this:

Members of an organisation visited a community in a rural town somewhere in East Africa. People in this town were impoverished, crops had been poor that year and children were starving. The organisation’s members left feeling the weight of these people’s lives in their hearts and decided to act. Hurried arrangements were made and crates of eggs were transported to the community. The eggs provided a much needed source of protein and immediate starvation was alleviated. The following year the organisation visited a different community in the region and found a similar situation. Having already responded to the need in Community A, they decided they would now give to Community B.

The unconsidered effects of the organisation’s actions went far beyond the immediate delivery of eggs. A family in Community A had a business of 100 chickens and their extended family made a living selling eggs. With the influx of free eggs their business failed and they were forced to sell their chickens and coups to a family in another village. The family became destitute and the next year, when the organisation had moved onto Community B, the family not only had no eggs but Community A had nowhere to buy eggs. Despite its good intentions, the organisation's approach had actually increased the material poverty and potential starvation in a vulnerable community.

This story stuck with us as we realised, possibly for the first time, the potential damage our actions could have in this context. This initial thought process has been further challenged and encouraged by reading a book called ‘When Helping Hurts’. The book calls into question and gives useful advice on how, as the wealthiest communities that have ever lived, we respond to material poverty in the majority of the world.

Reading this book has urged us to "learn how to walk with the poor in humble relationships, rather than providing temporary handouts to them." One aspect that we have been particularly struck by is the potential impact of a poverty alleviation approach that is designed and led by ‘outsiders’ –noting the possibility this has to increase the arrogance of the financially rich as well as increasing the feelings of inferiority and shame of the economically poor. “The way we act toward the economically poor often communicates—albeit unintentionally—that we are superior and they are inferior. In this process we hurt the poor and ourselves”. We have quickly realised that while we have skills and expertise that could have a positive impact, we have a lot to learn about relationships, humility and patience. Our economic richness does not mean we are automatically equipped to identify the most effective way to meet the needs of any community.

At times we have been surprised at our own arrogance. While outwardly denying racial superiority, we secretly believe that we do in fact know best. Initially, even our language reflected this, declaring ourselves as ‘here to help’. Slowly this has changed, we are here to partner.

In the story of the eggs, perhaps the organisation could have used local knowledge, asked what resources the community already had and subsidised the cost of local eggs – helping those who had no food but also ensuring a sustainable supply of eggs in the future. For us, we are aware that everything we do needs to be locally led and support those who have been tirelessly working for the good of their communities before we got here and will continue to do so when we leave.