Four reasons to NOT donate baby formula overseas

Friday, August 28th, 2009

Back when I was working on the Navajo reservation a church group invited me to join them in putting together care packages for Thailand. Having worked in Thailand I was very skeptical of what they were sending over: baby bottles,…

Why do we so often give aid in ways that do not support the local economy?

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

At a dinner party last night the topic of good and bad international assistance came up. A fellow diner had a friend that ran an orphanage in South America and she helped out whenever possible. I carefully brought up the…

The worst in-kind donations

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

Here are the winners from the stories submitted for the worst in-kind donation contest (related post: What is an in-kind donation). You may have your own personal favorites, all submissions can be read here, please feel free…

Well-intended attempts to help after a disaster may make a confusing situation worse

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

The situation after a disaster can be extremely chaotic, as everyone works as quickly as they can to try and help. Adding to this chaos is an increasing number of individuals and companies traveling to the disaster scene to distribute…

The most useful in-kind donations

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

After having posted a contest to find the worst examples of in-kind donations, it was suggested that there are some in-kind donations that can be useful. Thus, in this post I am asking for examples of the most useful…

A contest to find the worst examples of in-kind donations

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

Upon posting the article 5 questions to ask before donating goods overseas it was suggested to me that we should hold a contest to find the worst examples out there. So here it is….

Reply to this post with…

5 questions you should ask before donating goods overseas.

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

There is an edited and updated version of this post here

In the past month I have seen three different aid agencies request donated goods to send overseas. This is always an appealing idea…

Food aid does not address the underlying cause of world hunger

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

In a recent Huffington Post article, Drew Barrymore urged readers to give to the World Food Program to help end world hunger. I understand Drew’s concern and desire to help, it is what drives so much of international…

Should the Maersk Alabama have been there in the first place?

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

My attention was caught by an article stating that the Maersk Alabama was transporting food aid to Somalia, Uganda and Kenya. I immediately wondered what food could we possibly be sending that would be worth the time and expense shipping…

Sending sports equipment to needy children may seem like a good idea, but is it…

Sunday, April 12th, 2009

Sending donated items can undermine the local economy

Recently the local news featured the story of an aid group seeking donations of slightly used soccer balls and shoes to send to children in Afghanistan. Although this sounds like a great…