EFZ has just received a large donation of ‘medical supplies’ from a US based charity (although it could have easily have been one based in Europe). Sometime back EFZ was approached by the charity who offered to send a cargo container full of supplies to be handed out to the poorest communities EFZ works with. The container arrived in Zambia a few weeks ago – and now for the task of sorting through the boxes to identify what has been sent (there is no log of what was sent).
So what is found when going through the boxes?… medical gloves, face masks, medical breathing circuits, manual resuscitation masks, suction catheters, tracheal tubes (ok arguably so far, so good, as long as you are a doctor and have a fairly well resourced hospital in the first place)… sanitary towels, toddlers disposable nappies, wet wipes, infant formula, nursing pads (maybe these are useful, even essential, if you are used to using them – but are they really valuable items for someone who is hungry?)… aftershave, mouthwash, deodorant, toothpaste, conditioner, shampoo, hand lotion (maybe these items could be useful… possibly?)… and then we get to the hairspray, acne wipes and pre-shave scrub (apparently hairspray used on the hair of a black person damages it or makes it fall out, acne is not a major problem for black skin, and… well pre-shave scrub?).
You may ask why EFZ accepted such a donation? But when you are representing poor communities and are offered a free donation for them, are you really in a position to turn it down – especially when you are not even told what was being donated? Yes, they should have turned it down – but I don’t think you can blame them for saying yes. Many people will be genuinely grateful for the donation – and those receiving some of the goods will be really pleased to have been ‘thought’ about – but does that make it right?
What was the donor charity thinking? Are any of these goods actually going to meet the needs of a poor community? All of these goods come in plastic bottles and wrappings – so what is going to happen to the waste alone? Many of these goods will become an environmental hazard – take the disposable nappies, they take fifty years to decompose. Can you imagine hundreds of disposable nappies being dropped on a small poor community – what will happen to them? If people get given free disposable nappies, won’t they than think they ‘need’ them all the time – doesn’t this then create a dependency on something that is expensive, needs importing and acts as an environmental hazard?
The staff here now have the task of sorting through all the boxes (which will take some time), deciding who to donate these gifts to and then transport them across the country. In return for their donation the donor charity wants photographs of communities receiving these gifts. Yet why does this charity – and the companies that donated their products to it – think it can dump it’s rejects (for that is what they are) on the poor – and then sit back with an eased conscience? But is this much different to our general approach to Africa, of handouts with an attitude of superiority that say, “you really want our wonderful lifestyle – and this is what you need to get it”? Instead of sending photographs of happy people receiving their acne wipes and pre-shave scrub, I am going to suggest we wait a while and then send a photograph of piles of plastic bottles and nappies in an African village setting attempting to decompose.
2 comments:
Hmmm. I totally agree with what you say... but in a perhaps naive moment of optimism... I wonder whether EFZ could have asked for specific items that would have been useful and appropriate?
I recognise that is a hard conversation to have, and perhaps not realistically possible- but how can we expect well-meaning do-gooders to change their attitudes and practice if they aren't challenged, informed, and educated?
Glad you are both well... and keep up the updates :o)
love from Ros +Darren x
Thanks for your comments Ros - I totally agree, EFZ should have been more proactive in their relationship with the ‘donor’, but I am not sure that they were offered the opportunity. We are finding uses for the products sent – the most scary thing is that a lot of the boxes have stickers on them saying ‘Tsunami Relief goods’ for a very well known charity – I only assume someone had the sense to stop them being sent as Tsunami relief and diverted them here instead, where they are arguably more useful and relevant!
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