Emily D'Ath

The squandering of $3.2 million as part of Madonna’s charity project in Malawi is another reminder that money alone is not the answer to lifting people out of poverty. The Guardian reports that the planned school worth $15 million has been scrapped due to mismanagement and excessive spending including:

what auditors described as outlandish expenditures on salaries, cars, office space and golf course membership, free housing and a car and driver for the school’s director.

Any one who has worked in the aid/development industry will have seen it all before. Money is given > money is spent carelessly without accountability > the supposed beneficiaries continue to live in poverty > another donar comes along and the cycle starts again. This situation is known as the ‘Aid Drain’. Many government aid agencies are heavily focusing on making aid accountable and an international task force called the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness was initiated in  2005.

However, with philanthropy on the rise many well meaning people and organisations are donating massive amounts of money without understanding the complexities and challenges of implementing effective aid projects. Madonna’s generosity in Malawi is unfortunately another prime example. There are many considerations when donating money, some key ones include:

Community engagement and ownership - Does the community want your help and do they have ownership and engagement of the project. If not, don’t donate.

Aid saturation and capacity – How much money can the community absorb within the local infrastructure and capacity. If your building an elite school for girls, does the community have enough teachers? How many other schools have been built?

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

I’m not suggesting we should stop donating but we need to know where our money is going and that it’s effective in reducing poverty.

image source