CRS (R41880): Foreign Assistance: Public-Private Partnership (PPPs) (JAN 2013)

CRS Report:  Foreign Assistance: Public-Private Partnership (PPPs) (R41880: JAN 2013)

Link to Report.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4BE1_xKfeEUSVpUNVdPMW9WSEE/edit?usp=sharing

7 Worst International Aid Ideas- Worth Your Time to Read

7 Worst International Aid Ideas

I don't agree with everything in this article but the author does make


a few great points:

On 50 Cent in Somalia:

1. If you Like Fifty’s Facebook page — without even buying the drink — a child, presumably in Somalia, gets fed.
2. We can infer that there is a pot of dollars somewhere earmarked for feeding needy children. Two million meals worth of feeding if you count the million Like-meals plus the potential million bonus.
3. Those meals, while they could be donated, and have presumably been budgeted for, willnot be, except to the extent that you give Street King props online.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is called extortion. Dramatically photographed, concealed-as-humanitarian-activism, extortion. I can feed so very many meals to these starving children, but I won’t unless you give me something.

On making food aid the same colour as cluster munitions:

"Probably the most devastating screw-up in the history of helping was the decisions that lead to cluster munitions and daily food ration packets both being coloured canary yellow."

From Matador Network

and a couple of others one that are worthy of deeper thought and discussion:


On using USAID as a foreign policy tool (I can see both sides):


"In 1990, on the eve of the first Gulf War, Yemeni Ambassador Abdullah Saleh al-Ashtal voted no to using force against Iraq in a security council session. US Ambassador Thomas Pickering walked to the Yemeni Ambassador’s seat and retorted, “That was the most expensive No vote you ever cast.” Immediately afterwards, USAID ceased operations and funding in Yemen."


On becoming a machine gun preacher (I  waffle on this one):


"No matter how much you care to help the women/children/villages/gorillas in a particular warzone, trying to solve what is in effect a problem of armed insecurity through establishing another minor armed militia is never a good idea."

Link:
http://matadornetwork.com/change/7-worst-international-aid-ideas/

Berlin Conference Redux? Will Europe Underdevelop Africa Again?

Berlin Conference Redux?  Will Europe Underdevelop Africa Again?

This is an eye opening article.  Take 20 minutes and read how the EU's latest initiative may stunt any chance for development in Africa.

http://www.newafricanmagazine.com/features/economics/will-europe-underdevelop-africa-again

Basketball and War for Somali Girls- Kickstart it!

        I am a big fan of Kickstarter--through it I contributed to the funding efforts of the Blue Like Jazz film last year (premiering at SXSW this March!)  Incidentally, go see Blue Like Jazz when it comes out in theatres--it's a challenging film that has something in it for everyone--independent of your religious beliefs.

So if you haven't heard of Kickstarter, check it out today!
   
 Kickstarter offers a way for entrepreneurs and dreamers to realize their goals.  It's crowd-sourced fundraising.  Typically the fundraisers offer different incentives depending on the amount that you give.  The clincher is that if the person/group doesn't meet their goal in the allotted time, you aren't charged anything!
     
      To that end FUUO will select one Africa-related Kickstarter project each month to feature here.    The first FUUO Kickstart selection (special thanks to my friend Allison for passing it on) is Lessons of Basketball and War: A documentary project.   Here's a description from the website:


“Lessons of Basketball and War” is the story of a small group of adolescent girls who are dropped into Kevin’s life from half a world away in war-torn Somalia.  After surviving a childhood marked by violence and deprivation, they now find themselves in a strange land with little to hold onto beyond the familiar comfort offered by family, culture and religion.




http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lessons/lessons-of-basketball-and-war

http://www.bluelikejazzthemovie.com/