“The Challenge of Delivering Culturally Appropriate Development Programs in Low-Resource Countries”

Definition of Foreign Aid The act of those who have resources help those who have extreme need…..seems simple? Many critics have questioned the fact that development aid actually brings the expected reduction in poverty

Questions to Ask Who do we give aid to? For how long do we provide aid? Is the aid influenced by political, strategic, or commercial interests of the donor? Does the recipient country have the capacity to use the aid wisely? Will aid encourage corruption within the elites? Will the aid actually reach those in extreme need and make a difference? Is the aid culturally appropriate and will cause no harm?

Foreign Aid is a large and complex Enterprise Three types of world aid organizations: Official Development Aid (aid provided by government and inter-governmental agencies) USAID Non- Governmental Organizations (NGO) Humanitarian or Emergency Aid (aid typically provided in response to a crisis)

Three Types of Development Workers Colonialist: The individual who comes with a specific idea of what needs to be transformed and pushes the community leaders in the country aside to do their own thing Builder: The individual with the “need to help syndrome” who goes home, does some fundraising, and comes back to the country of need and builds something Catalyst: The individual who comes along side the community and helps to guide projects through expertise and resources

The Road to Hell: The Ravaging Effects of Foreign Aid and International Charity By Michael Maren “Charity creates a multitude of Sins– Oscar Wilde Michael Maren tells of how humanitarian intervention can get hijacked by powerful charities and can often feed raw materials and funds to corrupt politicians looking after their own political agendas He calls this kind of charitable giving “The last refuge of Western Colonialism” Good intentions can often have disastrous outcomes

The Road to Fondwa Fondwa is a story that challenges the status quo of international development Centered on the vision of international cooperation and respect International aid focuses on bringing expertise and resources to the community Development programs created through the grass roots organization The Association of Peasants of Fondwa (APF)

Family Health Ministries Mission Statement: Supporting international communities in their efforts to build and sustain healthy families FHM is built first on relationships It is not the buildings we support, but the communities we serve Community driven and Haitian staffed