Something is better than nothing
“Well, you know. Something is better than nothing, right?”
This is the fundamental attitude of many non-profits and wellmeaning volunteers entering poorer countries. It’s the default argument for providing something, even if the end goal isn’t ever apparent.
we like to be needed
When you work internationally with a charity, your goal is to build up others to take control of their own destiny. But this is hard. Why?
Because when we work overseas, we often over-inflate our expertise to get by. This is exactly what I did, when I worked in China. After all, it’s nice to be needed.
But this is why we often struggle to let go.