A couple of days ago at breakfast Nava was talking about a classmate who was wandering around the school fair with a fistful of Rwandan Francs. I asked her what is father does and she responded "he helps the poor." Yikes, time for a short rant on the issue of aid and NGOs here in Rwanda. NGOs are supposed to care about the most vulnerable population - the poor.
Patricia and I are amazed at the luxury in which many Muzungus live here. They have huge mansions (with monthly rentals of $2000-$3500), drive large SUVs, fly to South Africa to shop, send their children to an expensive private school (so do we, ISK is the highest price school in Kigali, thanks Fulbright), take tennis lessons every day and live in a sheltered isolated expatriate community. Some of these wealthy Muzungus are here working for private companies but a large majority are spending the money of the NGOs who are "helping" the poor. Seeing their lives has certainly soured me on the ways in which NGOs spend their money. Worse, Muzungus drive up housing, food and commodities prices in the areas in which they do their work, how can that help the poor? As it currently appears now in Rwanda, I'm certainly not convinced the NGO model works.
Mercer tracks cost of living for expatriates around the world. This year, the highest cost of living is in Luanda, Angola. Surprised? Why Luanda? In an editorial on this finding that I read recently, the author noted that whenever the UN arrives en masse, the cost of living goes up and especially the cost of housing. I would argue that these efforts at helping are more often hurting and I will think twice and examine the motivations, goals and financial reports of any NGO before I donate in the future.
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