There is a revolution going on in Haiti this has been going on for years trying to fight the corruption. It got worse after the earthquake that demolished the capital many killed. After trying to get back on their feet the world donated 13.5 billion dollars but it did not get to the people who needed it and mainly wasted giving the poor nothing. Doing the right thing sometime makes more sense than letting someone else think they know more. Haiti earthquake: $13.5 billion in donations, but is any of it working ... https://www.latimes.com/world/global.../la-fg-global-haiti-recovery-story.html Mar 8, 2016 - Haiti earthquake: $13.5 billion in donations, but is any of it working? The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2010 killed more than 200,000 people, caused widespread devastation and posed even bigger challenges to the already poverty-stricken Caribbean nation. Now if they would have given the money to the people than it would have worked out a lot better and probably brought the country to a higher standard. Now the population of Haiti in 2010 was 9.993 million people if they would have given the 13.5 billion dollars to the people it would come to $1.350.94 each. I live in a neighbor country who has a higher standard of living but know that a lot of people in the countryside here make about $100 per month and raise a family. Think about that $1.350.94 is more than a year’s wages what could you do if you your wife children? Got a year’s wages all in one day. I know people here who built a house with less than that. They would probably build a new future instead of a revolution. To these NGO that are put in charge of handing out contract to their friends with all that donated money and just give it to people who know what to do with it.
Haiti is truly the tragedy of the Western Hemisphere. The Earthquake led some dedicated charities down there who were actually dedicated to helping the people. Unfortunately, many of the donations you mentioned were siphoned off by the Clinton Foundation, CGI, and others of their ilk, who used peoples generosity only to enrich themselves with no interest in supporting the people of Haiti.
I feel the same way about "mission trips". Years ago, my boss's teenage son was asking for donations to raise $1000 for him to go on a mission trip to an impoverished country to build a church. The per capita income at that time was approximately 54 cents a day in that country. Can you imagine what that $1000 could have done for the local economy if it had been used to hire local labor? Instead, it paid for a privileged American teenage boy to spend a lot of time at the beach (according to him, it was just "too hot" to work).
I agree, @Mary Robi. I think those mission trips are for the participants, not the recipients. They think sending unskilled manual labor to a third-world country benefits that country? The only thing those countries have in abundance is unskilled manual labor. Skilled labor is another thing. Sending doctors, nurses, bakers, engineers, and skilled tradespeople is a different thing. I participated in a skills transfer trip years ago, and I think we had an impact, but none of us were teenagers at the time, and when we returned, it was part of the job to raise money for the missions where we served.
You're right, Don. The trips with skilled personnel are something else altogether. The doctors who go and perform surgery, the nurses who teach child and maternity care, the engineers who install wells and water pumps and teach the villagers how to maintain them......those are needed. Badly needed. A local woman last year was trying to raise money to go to Algeria (I believe) on a self-designed mission trip to "read bible stories to the children and tell them about Christianity". When asked if she spoke Arabic, she said no but said she was taking "felt boards" and would act out the stories to the children. Most likely, she would have ended up in an Algerian jail.