Tag Archives: charity

I fail to see…

How sharing the KONY 2012 video or putting up posters and wearing wrist bands will have any positive, lasting effect on the situation in Uganada.

First of all, I don’t think raising awareness in the west is as meaningful, or directly effects, improving the situation in Uganda. As I have said several times before, I don’t think awareness is very usefull unless it’s accompanied by positive action, and the actions the IC is encouraging don’t cut it to me.

Second of all, a large portion of the profits from the sales and donations received by IC go back towards makeing more videos and raising more awareness, although I admit, some goes directly into groundwork, not nearly as much as I would like.

Third of all, I think it is dangerous to perpetuate the idea that North Americans charity is the only way that the situation in Uganada will improve. Although I support non-profits and charities, I think they are only a part of the solution, and a video that portrays white men as coming in and promising to fix everything, seems damaging to me in some ways. In the same way, I think spreading a picture of how Uganada was 4 years ago, in some ways dissvalues the people and organizations, both foreign and Ugandan, which have been working hard to improve the situation there. I know that having a primarily negative video is more motivating for people, but I don’t like being emotionally manipulated, and I would like to see more Ugandan voices and Ugandan’s being empowered, isntead of being conveyed primarily as victims.

Just to be clear, since I’ve recieved this comment a lot, I DO support improving the situation in Uganada through various charities and non-profits. However I DO NOT suppport Invisible Children, because I don’t like the way they divide their funding, I DO NOT support sending more US troops in to Uganda, and I am concerned that their video perpetuates damaging stereotypes and gives a fairly one dimensional representation of the situation, that leads people to believe that the situation is much simpler then it actually is. However, for those of you who have researched and do agree with IC’s policies, and want to help fund them, I think that is great. I am more interested in encouraging people to research the charities they donate to and making their minds up for themselves then I am in changing their minds about the charities they have researched thoroughly already.

I DO support action. I just support, pausing and thinking critically and researching before diving in.