Americans are great people, and they want to help the rest of the world. Indeed, they want to make things right, even when they are beyond their control. There is something about an American that makes them different, and more caring. We hate to see people in severe hardship, and we want to help them in some way, but often we do the wrong thing, it happens way too often in fact.

Not long ago, I talked to the committee head of a major project going on in a very poor part of the world in conjunction with one of the major NGOs. He explained to me the problems they had with delivering food to the poor. He said that often the government would stop shipments, and demand that they were the ones who could distribute the food. They did this so that people would see them as almighty and important, thus allowing them to continue to rule. Read the rest of this entry »

Humanitarian Emergencies And Spreading Of HIV

Humanitarian emergencies escalate the spreading of HIV and as such humanitarian aid should include programs to minimize the risk of further infection. Such emergencies include that of conflicts where violence against women and children is heightened. Large scale displacement because of political violence, natural disasters, and food shortages may cause families to force women and children in their families into prostitution as to get income. This type of action is guaranteed to increase the affects of the humanitarian crisis.

Humanitarian aid should thus include food, free condoms, counselling, voluntary and confidential HIV screening; Africa is the continent hardest hit by large scale displacement of people because of food shortages and political conflicts. Governments must actively create HIV care programs to assist not only in medical care and ensure hygienic settings, but also to help the families cope with infections, loss of income and overcoming the stigma associated with infection. Read the rest of this entry »

Lets say somebody forced you to give 500 dollars away but gave you the option to choose who to give it to. Lets say they also gave you the option of giving same amount in the form of a gift or labor. Would you give it to your loved ones and/or friends, or would you give it to total strangers? It might seem like a no-brainer since you can help your family out with something they need, brighten the day of somebody you know, see tangible results and improvements right away, and even get a bit of that money back through improved relations and reciprocity. The benefit of improving a stranger’s life, pales in comparison from the perspective of self interest. Read the rest of this entry »