{"id":2080,"date":"2010-11-02T07:59:14","date_gmt":"2010-11-02T12:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=2080"},"modified":"2010-10-26T14:58:10","modified_gmt":"2010-10-26T19:58:10","slug":"november-3-9-2010-doing-more-harm-than-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/november-3-9-2010-doing-more-harm-than-good\/","title":{"rendered":"November 3-9, 2010–Doing More Harm Than Good?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Contributed by Jen Krausz, Bethlehem, PA<\/p>\n

Warm-up Question<\/h3>\n

How do you decide whether to help someone?<\/p>\n

Doing More Harm Than Good?<\/h3>\n

Nine months after a devastating earthquake killed over 250,000 people, many Haitians and international experts say that the millions of dollars given in aid has actually caused infrastructure and business shutdowns, and may be hurting the nation more than it has helped.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>After the 7.0 magnitude earthquake, food, shelter and medical assistance poured into the already poor country.\u00a0 American and French doctors came and treated thousands of injuries.\u00a0 Although many Haitians still live in tents after their shacks and cement brick homes were destroyed, most people now have access to food, clean water and basic medical care.<\/p>\n

The unfortunate and unforeseen drawback of all this generosity, however, is that existing hospitals, stores and pharmacies have had to shut down because there is much less demand for their products and services. Some fear that the aid will actually leave the country worse off than it was before.<\/p>\n

Nurse Beth Middleton says she has doctors handing her resumes, forced to live in tents despite their education and experience. “The healthcare that was in place before the earthquake was crippled by the relief effort,” she says. “Pharmacies closed because of all the free drugs, and doctors lost all their patients.” The middle class is finding it hard to find jobs, she says, and pay for their housing and their kids\u2019 school fees.<\/p>\n

In the aftermath of the earthquake, over 12,000 non-governmental organizations have provided aid. Some of these are doing good work, but it is difficult to tell what many are doing, if anything at all. Furthermore, some say these organizations are not doing very well working together or working with governmental agencies to best help the people of Haiti. Some\u00a0fear\u00a0 that many organizations will pull out of Haiti without making sure that the people are able to help themselves.<\/p>\n

Dig a little deeper:\u00a0 http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/idUSTRE69O2T320101025<\/a><\/p>\n

Discussion Questions<\/h3>\n