Hard to swallow isn’t it? But before you burn me at the stake, allow me to present my beliefs in the form of a story.
A number of years ago a humanitarian organization went to Africa intending to alleviate pain and suffering. The group came upon a village (in a region I cannot recall) that suffered from an atrocious lack of sanitation services. There was no clean drinking water or sewage disposal. Children played freely in the stream of sewage that ran through the center of the village. Infectious disease claimed the lives of many villagers each month. Clearly, the people of this village needed help.
The humanitarian group, in accordance with their mission, set to rectify the situation. They paid many thousands of dollars to contractors to come to the village and build a modern water purification and waste disposal system. The contractors came, did their work, and within a few weeks the village was given a solution to their problems. The people had clean water, any trace of sewage disappeared, and the rate of disease decreased dramatically.
The humanitarian group commended themselves on a job well done (or so they believed), and left to give charity elsewhere while the villagers lived on happily ever after.
But the story does not end here. For while the humanitarians had given the villagers a great gift, they had not solved their problems.
Several months later, another humanitarian group came upon the village. They had heard about the great gift bestowed by the previous group, and wanted to see the effects of charity first hand. Much to their surprise, they found the village more squalid than ever. Once more children wallowed in sewage. Once more disease plagued the people. As before there was no clean water or sanitation to be found.
But how could this be true? The modern sanitation and water purification systems installed should have lasted for decades. Yet, in only a few months they had fallen into disrepair. The water stations were filthy and misused. A great act of charity had been for nothing!
The humanitarians, puzzled by the situation, sought the chief of the village, and asked him why his people had wasted such a gift. This was his reply.
“How can you blame us? We are simple people who know nothing of modern machinery. The others came and bestowed it upon us, and it was a great relief. But after they left, things began to break down. We do not possess the knowledge to repair these problems, and the result is before you.”
That may be true, said the humanitarians, but what about the water stations? They have clearly been abused. Have you not the common sense to protect your own assets?
At this the chief looked at them cockeyed and replied.
“And what did you expect? These people had been many years without clean water. Then you gave it to them for free in abundance. They took all they could use and more. The people did not work for those water stations. They do not own them, and they could not be persuaded to maintain them.”
The humanitarians were silent. The chief had spoken truth. The great gift alone had not been enough and the reasons could be clearly observed. Perhaps, it is human nature to abuse a gift. The humanitarians returned to their camp and thought long and hard about how they could help the villagers.
The next day the humanitarians returned, determined to rebuild the water and sanitation systems with the following conditions.
- The villagers would have to pay for water and sanitation. Not more than they could afford, but there would be no gift giving this time.
- A group of villagers would work with the contractors to build the system and would be taught how to repair every aspect of it. These villagers would in turn train others so the system would never fall into disrepair.
With these new conditions in place, the water and sanitation systems were stored. This time the people had respect for the systems because they owned them. This time they were able to repair the system when it broke down. To this day the villagers have plenty of clean water and live free of filth and disease.
The above story is grounded firmly in truth, though the details are mine. It was related to me by a college professor who was himself a member of the second group of humanitarians. Though I forget much of what he taught me, I do recall one very important saying.
Never give to the poor.
Help the poor.
Upon this fine statement, I cannot improve.
Erin shows overscheduled, overwhelmed women how to do less so that they can achieve more. Traditional productivity books—written by men—barely touch the tangle of cultural pressures that women feel when facing down a to-do list. How to Get Sh*t Done will teach you how to zero in on the three areas of your life where you want to excel, and then it will show you how to off-load, outsource, or just stop giving a damn about the rest.
I really enjoy the blog article. Thanks Again. Cool.
Very good blog article. Really looking forward to read more. Really Great!.
Enjoyed every bit of your blog post. Really thank you! Much obliged.
This website was… how do you say it? Relevant!! Finally
I have found something that helped me. Appreciate it!
Wonderful blog! I found it while searching on Yahoo News.
Do you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there!
Appreciate it
where can i buy viagra over the counter canadian pharmacy viagra how much will generic viagra cost
cheap viagra online canadian pharmacy cheap viagra buy real viagra online
generic cialis at walmart buy cialis cialis 20 mg
discount viagra viagra for sale is there a generic for viagra
ed and diabetes ed pills cheap ed in young men
ed medication online cheapest ed pills online erectal disfunction
viagra over the counter walmart buy viagra from canada viagra prescription
cheap viagra 100mg buy viagra viagra amazon
where can i buy viagra generic viagra viagra online canadian pharmacy
cvs viagra viagra canada viagra professional
best pills for ed Cheap Erection Pills online drug store
prescription drugs without doctor approval otc ed drugs viagra without a doctor prescription
male ed generic cialis treatments for ed
herbal ed cheap ed pills canadian drugs
cialis going generic in 2019 in us buy tadalafil 5 mg cialis coupon printable
Great article.
cost of cialis 20mg tablets generic cialis cialis vs viagra effectiveness
best canadian online pharmacy cheap medication online pharmacy drugs
Nice blog here! Also your web site loads up very fast!
What web host are you using? Can I get your
affiliate link to your host? I wish my web site loaded up
as quickly as yours lol
Right here is the right web site for everyone
who hopes to understand this topic. You realize a whole lot its
almost hard to argue with you (not that I actually will need to…HaHa).
You definitely put a new spin on a topic that’s been discussed for years.
Excellent stuff, just excellent!
This is very interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger.
I have joined your rss feed and look forward to seeking more of your magnificent post.
Also, I have shared your web site in my social networks!
sildenafil pharmacy sildenafil generic
payday loans personal loans for bad credit
payday loans no credit check personal loans for bad credit
buy generic drugs buy generic drugs online from india
tadalafil pharmacy buy cheap tadalafil
125295 317710Thanks – Enjoyed this post, can you make it so I receive an email when you make a fresh post? From Online Shopping Greek 62648
228522 520744Howdy! I just wish to give a huge thumbs up for the great information you might have here on this post. I will probably be coming back to your weblog for much more soon. 418958
detectives privados arganda del rey
ダッチワイフが生命のないロボット彫刻であった時代はもう過ぎ去り、それを使うのも面白くありませんでした。 しかし、時間と技術によって状況は変化し、今では男性に本物の女の子の感覚を与える超リアルなダッチワイフを手に入れることができます。 ラブドール販売
에볼루션코리아
501jPylmg`#<
에볼루션카지노
250NerLUf`@_
에볼루션룰렛
680UEmJgK|}-
에볼루션블랙잭162vteyPY>};
The best e-cigarette liquid site in Korea. Korea’s lowest-priced 전자담배 액상 사이트 e-cigarette liquid.
스모크밤416 스모크밤
제주룸609RhlOur&&[
해외선물해외선물선물옵션은 바로 이곳
해외선물해외선물 마진거래
첫가입꽁머니
955pXOfTZ@=(
가입시 꽁머니
077hIJuSc>’$
첫가입꽁머니
381cnPwjJ]^$
가입시꽁머니
712emJlaD+{$
강남카지노빠
352gzfiWe].@
강남사설카지노
940xMzOEq&}<
affgate