What aid workers think of the 1 Million Shirts campaign
Posted on April 28, 2010 at 8:18 am
Within the past few days there has been a torrent of blog posts and tweets about yet another organization shipping donated goods overseas. Donated goods are, in general, bad aid. I’ve written numerous posts on the problems with donated goods as well as a set of questions to help donors determine if they should send donated goods.
Unfortunately, donating goods is so appealing to the uninformed donor that these programs continue to flourish. While donated goods are a common problem in the aid world, the recent 1 million shirts campaign touched a nerve with aid workers and has created a flurry of blog posts on the topic which eventually led to a roundtable discussion on the topic and coverage in TIME magazine.
The Times Article
Bad Charity? (All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt)
Posts written after/about the virtual roundtable meeting
1 Million T-shirts Lessons on Aid - Musings of a Writing Princess
Cause related…. the gadgets, the wizards, and the perpetual motion machine – Hiya Maya
Not all charity is good charity: teaching the layman to “make a difference” – You Think! but do you know?
Donor Education – Good Intentions are Not Enough
How do Domestic Programs Impact International Aid/Development – A View From The Cave
On “Hatorade’ and T-Shirts for the “People of Africa” – Global Poverty
The great t-shirt gaffe – Vita Europe
Update on 1 million shirts saga – More Than Rubies
The 1 Million Shirts Campaign and the Development Community - Curious Gringo
#1millionshirts, twitterati and free stuff – The Theology of Joe (theology)
The elephant in the room – Wait… What?
1 million shirts – The Road to the Horizon
And you will hear our voices – PopTech
You have to KNOW me before you can help me - Desiree Adaway
Engaging in Aid – Chasing Carly
Diversion: the shirt meeting and lessons we can learn from it – A Humourless Lot
1 million Jasons – Good Intentions are Not Enough
When Doing Good has Nothing to do With it – Ecoblips
Who needs in-kind donations more: the recipients or the givers – GiveWell (charity watchdog)
An audio recording of the roundtable meeting – Things I Like
1Million_shirts – Rough transcript of the round table meeting -
#1millionshirts phone conf running blog – A View from The Cave
Telephone – Rachel in Goma
Posts that discuss the impact of this debate going viral
Group Think Break-up – A View From The Cave
1 Million Shirts Did It Right – Web Consulting Washington DC (website consulting firm)
#1millionshirts is a Fantastic Fiasco – underWater desert Blogging (no clear description of blog)
Aid projects and the wisdom of crowds – Owen Abroad
The #1millionshirt initiative: or how ICT4D history has been made in real time – On Africa
1 Million Tweet Shirts – How to Fail Fast, and with Scrutiny – Mobile Active
Afrika Can Haz T-Shirtz? – Wanderlust
Here’s what professional aid workers think of the 1 Million Shirts idea
1MillionShirts – Simple Question: Good or Bad Idea – Anthro Daily (anthropology)
If a tenth of the charities out there to help “Africa” were any good – Opalo’s Weblog
1 million t-shirts – Open hands (philanthropy)
The unkindest cut: why gifts in kind are often a bad idea – A Humourless Lot
The Unkindness of in-kind donations – Aid Thoughts
Africa needs T-shirt oriented campaigns – Mr. Harmon Returns from One Place to Another
Another bad AID idea for Africa – Mariem Jamme
Making 1MillionShirts a Success in 10 Easy Steps – Hand Relief International (spoof)
Used Clothes for Africa: Helpful or Hubris – More than Rubies
Zen of giving and receiving: a Buddist take on effective aid – Zen Peacekeeper
Round table teleconference on the t-shirt affair – A Humourless Lot
Good Intentions Aren’t Enough – Burnside Writers Collective
My #1millionshirts kerfuffle contribution – Averil Benoit
Dear Jason – kyle vermeulen
Cash Not Gifts (Please) – A View from the Cave
And the Oscar for terrible aid idea goes to…. 1 Million Shirts! – The Traveller Within
Not Ready to Make Nice – Tales from the Hood
Shirts and Boobs - Strategy for Social Change
Why do Aid Bloggers get Snarky? – Good Intentions are Not Enough
We Are Thinkers, Not Haters – Stratosphere
The Five Things People Say to Aid Critics – UN Dispatch, written by Alanna Shaikh
What’s wrong with 1 million t-shirts – Anonymous Country
FOUND: The 1 millionth stupid idea by wannabe do gooders – Project Disapora
1,000,000 Shirts – Tales from the Hood
Nobody wants your old T-shirts - Aid Watch
An Open Letter to 1 Million Shirts –
Say No to Old Clothes – Blood and Milk
Some Alternative Ideas to Donating T-shirts - Texas in Africa
A Suggestion for the 1MillionShirt guys – Aid Watch
The return of expert analysis, 1 million t-shirt edition – Aid Thoughts
Another GIK Start-up: 1 Million Shirts – Amanda Makulec
Whose Shirt is it Anyway – Good Ness Communications
Ian, who doesn’t blog, has responded to 1 Million Shirts in the comment section below
Here’s what 1MillionShirts thinks of aid workers
And his second unnamed video post
Listening, Learning and Shifting Focus
UPDATE:
I’ve started to get feedback that the #1millionshoes debate might have been harsher and less helpful then it needed to be. Here’s a post from Three Avocodos on the topic – One Million Shirts. Here’s a slightly edited version of what I wrote in the comment section of her post:
I’ll agree that the debate got more heated than it needed to be. I will say that Jason’s responses have been part of what has led to the escalation. We’ve had other aid debates where things have worked
themselves out much calmer and faster. But I will also agree that some of us did not react to that as well as we should have either.Although you might not have been able to tell from this debate, most of the people coming out against 1millionshoes actually dedicate a lot of time and effort to people that contact us looking for guidance.
I get requests for my advice at least once a week and I always take time to respond. I have also devoted hundreds of hours to writing posts to educate and empower donors, I’ve created a free rating system that walks them through the process of evaluating an aid organization, and I also produce podcasts for donors
So myself and others in the aid world are trying to help people contribute to the world. But it’s not easy. So much of what we have to say goes against what people want to hear and puts them on the
defensive. For instance the shoe program you mention may be a good solution for your friend but it may well not be a good solution for the people she’s trying to help.Here’s one of my posts explaining the reasons behind this. And here’s my post outlining how much myself and others have done to try to help donors understand the problems regarding donated goods before finally getting snarky.
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I’d love to keep a running list of all the blog posts related to this controversy. If I’ve missed one please add it in the comment section. Thanks.
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Related posts on this blog:
Why do Aid Bloggers get Snarky?
To Help the Most, Cash is Best – PSA Contest
6 questions you should ask before donating goods overseas
Donating shoes and other aid fads
« Even Dogs Get Culture Shock • Why do Aid Bloggers get Snarky »
