East African crisis

[fitz]

The charities that do his sort of thing use up a rediculous percentage of the donations to cover their own costs.

Yup, sadly it appears to be the big and most popular ones. I can't imagine many sane people say yes to this sort of badgering and would hope that the cost of employing someone to call up and annoy folk outweighs the benefit they get.

 

[Chuck T Masala]

We tend to judge the rest of the world by our own standards and values - an usually end up getting it all wrong. Its not modern Western Europe, its ancient Africa. The peoples in this area of the world not only have no consistent source of food or reasonable access to clean water, they are lacking the most basic of human necessities - hope. The problem is so huge, there is no structured, centralised, support systems, many live a tribal existence or a basic hand to mouth agricultural life. Charities scratch the surface but nothing changes the long term prognosis because the powerbrokers of the world do not wish it to change. On top of all of this, the rains fail yet again so even those that try and eke a living out of a few metres of parched earth or farm a few animals can't feed themselves, let alone priovide for their immediate area.

Its easy to say charity begins at home, but poverty in the UK is so different from what we are talking about here. If you really look and learn, its beyond comprehension that we can allow this to happen on our planet. I for one am ashamed of mankinds indifference to this horror. We can look after our own and spare aid for these people, we should bail out bank(s) that shit all over us and still gives huge bonuses to the people who risked our economy but we can't find it in our hearts to save these people from a very unpleasant death? We're doomed.

 

[Darth Vodka]

We tend to judge the rest of the world by our own standards and values - an usually end up getting it all wrong. Its not modern Western Europe, its ancient Africa. The peoples in this area of the world not only have no consistent source of food or reasonable access to clean water, they are lacking the most basic of human necessities - hope. The problem is so huge, there is no structured, centralised, support systems, many live a tribal existence or a basic hand to mouth agricultural life. Charities scratch the surface but nothing changes the long term prognosis because the powerbrokers of the world do not wish it to change. On top of all of this, the rains fail yet again so even those that try and eke a living out of a few metres of parched earth or farm a few animals can't feed themselves, let alone priovide for their immediate area.

Its easy to say charity begins at home, but poverty in the UK is so different from what we are talking about here. If you really look and learn, its beyond comprehension that we can allow this to happen on our planet. I for one am ashamed of mankinds indifference to this horror. We can look after our own and spare aid for these people, we should bail out bank(s) that shit all over us and still gives huge bonuses to the people who risked our economy but we can't find it in our hearts to save these people from a very unpleasant death? We're doomed.

how much would you pay to save a life?

 

[Mawsley]

Possibly.

But if they are the best solution and the most assured way of getting money to the people that need it most, then that's a compromise that I'm willing to make.

If it's the Christianity that's holding you back, there are plenty of other great charities out there, such as WaterAid and Save The Children, although to be perfectly honest I am not sure what religious beliefs, if any, these follow. Is it really that much of an issue to you?

And surely it's the highly paid corporate staff that allow the charities to raise such huge amounts? Again, not ideal, but better than nothing, or the alternative of the existence of a high number of badly organised organisations [/naiveity]

People make their own choices and you are perfectly at liberty to do as you see fit in my book.

Yes, the mentalist nature of the organisation is something I find very off-putting and can not bring myself to fund the jet-set lifestyle of their employees. The ones I met at a project I used to volunteer at were first class wankers - ramming God down children's throats, staying in five star hotels, cramming in succulent scoff and reserving the nicest seats on the planes back to their comfortable lives. I don't care if they manage to raise stacks of cash - I found their lifestyle as repellent as their imbecilic religious beliefs.

 

[Chuck T Masala]

Yours or mine?

 

[Lako42]

How much would it cost to stop them bringing more children into a world that they know can't support them?

Ask the pope

 

[Doggie_muz]

I think charity is a very interesting moral discussion when viewed from a Western perspective. While many of us, myself included, give what we think is a sufficient amount of time and money to various charitable causes that we believe are worthy, the fact remains that we could always do / give more. Any of the people who have replied to this thread castigating the West's (not a term I like, but you get the picture) relative inaction to genuine poverty in the rest of the world could do more themselves and yet choose not to (note, this is not me having a pop at anyone - it's an observation that I fall into as much as anyone else). What is the "correct" amount of your time and wealth to give? Clearly, it's a subjective question, but an interesting one nonetheless. I think that what I do / give is sufficient, but I do not know what constitutes my feeling of sufficiency.

 

[RHYDAL]

Charities are responsible for chuggers. Unforgiveable.

 

[FryattFox]

A familiar tale. I used to have a DD set up to give to charity monthly, I cancelled it as I was being called every ****ing month to give more. Several others I know have cancelled for the same thing.

The charities that do his sort of thing use up a rediculous percentage of the donations to cover their own costs.

Yup, sadly it appears to be the big and most popular ones. I can't imagine many sane people say yes to this sort of badgering and would hope that the cost of employing someone to call up and annoy folk outweighs the benefit they get.

I'd agree that this can be annoying, but as the charities are run as businesses (in a lot of senses) I'm sure that they know what they are doing and that it's financially viable. It's disappointing that they need to do this, but if it's the best way then so be it.

 

[FryattFox]

We tend to judge the rest of the world by our own standards and values - an usually end up getting it all wrong. Its not modern Western Europe, its ancient Africa. The peoples in this area of the world not only have no consistent source of food or reasonable access to clean water, they are lacking the most basic of human necessities - hope. The problem is so huge, there is no structured, centralised, support systems, many live a tribal existence or a basic hand to mouth agricultural life. Charities scratch the surface but nothing changes the long term prognosis because the powerbrokers of the world do not wish it to change. On top of all of this, the rains fail yet again so even those that try and eke a living out of a few metres of parched earth or farm a few animals can't feed themselves, let alone priovide for their immediate area.

Its easy to say charity begins at home, but poverty in the UK is so different from what we are talking about here. If you really look and learn, its beyond comprehension that we can allow this to happen on our planet. I for one am ashamed of mankinds indifference to this horror. We can look after our own and spare aid for these people, we should bail out bank(s) that shit all over us and still gives huge bonuses to the people who risked our economy but we can't find it in our hearts to save these people from a very unpleasant death? We're doomed.

Spot on.

It is a difficult issue as in a 'perfect' world we would give away everything (as Doggie aludes to above), but people's ambivolence and ignorance towards the subject is infuriating.

how much would you pay to save a life?

More than my income tax.

 

[Cate Fox]

I'd agree that this can be annoying, but as the charities are run as businesses (in a lot of senses) I'm sure that they know what they are doing and that it's financially viable. It's disappointing that they need to do this, but if it's the best way then so be it.

But it isnt the best way, as people get pissed off and cancel their donations.

 

[Darth Vodka]

:
More than my income tax.

but not more than mine

 

[Mawsley]

Sad to see two MSF docs have been kidnapped by Somalis.

Met many decent people from them & Red Cross in my time.

 

[RHYDAL]

Sad to see two MSF docs have been kidnapped by Somalis.

Met many decent people from them & Red Cross in my time.

"Stupid c**t, should have kept his nose out" - Bernard Manning re. Terry Waite.

 

[FryattFox]

But it isnt the best way, as people get pissed off and cancel their donations.

They can't know who will cancel and who will increase their donation. It clearly is a beneficial scheme for them, considering that the cold-calling companies themselves charge a large fee.

 

[fitz]

They can't know who will cancel and who will increase their donation. It clearly is a beneficial scheme for them, considering that the cold-calling companies themselves charge a large fee.

Perhaps they should include a tick box asking "are you an idiot?" on their sign up forms, should make it easier to work out who they should call.

 

[FryattFox]

Perhaps they should include a tick box asking "are you an idiot?" on their sign up forms, should make it easier to work out who they should call.

Maybe. But the fact that fundraising like this works suggests more that people need to be instigated into giving, as opposed to them donating off of their own backs. I'm not sure it's a matter of intelligence; more a reminder from their social conscience.

 

[RHYDAL]

Maybe. But the fact that fundraising like this works suggests more that people need to be instigated into giving, as opposed to them donating off of their own backs. I'm not sure it's a matter of intelligence; more a reminder from their social conscience.

Or guilt trip for the weak willed.

 

[Mawsley]

Charity is like being given a sticking plaster when your left arm has just been severed off.

It solves the square root of **** all.