The Problem with Charity

Introduction to Community Empowerment What the Community Needs to Do Introduction to the Empowerment Methodology  |  Why Empower a Community?  |  Factors of Poverty  |  The Problem with Charity  |  The Dependency Syndrome  |  Hidden Resources  |  The Mobilization Cycle WikiEducator Community Empowerment Node  |  Mobilizing community  |  Glossary Kindness can Kill The So-Called Welfare Mentality Partnership and Training Corruption and the Multiplier Effect Key points Charity means giving gifts. Usually that implies giving them to poor people. Honorable as that may be, it may cause problems, including training recipients to expect more charity. This expectation can be called dependency. Charity is appropriate for emergency response, but must not continue after the need; it hinders sustainable development. At the government to government level, chariy encourages embezzlement by civil servants and politicians of the recipient country. Reading Read Charity in Hidden Resources Discussion Handout Kindness can Kill Kindness Kills Discussion Handout Charity Key Word Entry Corruption and the Multiplier Effect The Multiplier Effect Discussion Paper Discussion The So-Called "Welfare Mentality" Parallels –– Student Generated Discussion Partnership and Training Hand up vs hand out –– Student Generated Discussion This ^ Needs expansion and explanation Outcomes The student will recognize the charity approach which contributes to poverty rather than counteracts it The student will recognise the value and dangers of seeing the dependency syndrome as like the so called "welfare mentality" which keeps people on social security assistance from seeing jobs The student will see that the cliche slogan "Better a hand up than a handout," has some validity in explaining the dangers of charity The student will see that corruption, which is encouraged by charity, causes far more to be lost by the society than is gained by the embezzler The student will see that the empowerment method is based more on a partnership while the charity method is based pn condescending and patronizing attitudes