Today, I started by reading Bill and Melinda Gates’ annual letter. I’ll be honest, I have never read any of their other letters, but I think it will definitely be worth some more of my time in the future. This year, they tackled the challenges of dispelling the myths of foreign aid. Sometimes I feel like the conversation about foreign aid gets stopped in its tracks the minute you bring it up. We think, “We have enough problems, what are we doing trying to solve other people’s problems?” I get that. It’s a valid question, but to that I would encourage you to take the time to read this letter. It by no means sugar coats the problems or paints a beautiful picture full of sunshine and daisies, but it does shed light on the good that foreign aid and nonprofit organizations are doing around the world. There is a bright side in a world that really likes to report on only the bad stuff. The focus remains on sustainability. Melinda Gates writes, “We make the future sustainable when we invest in the poor, not when we insist in their suffering.”
The myths that Bill and Melinda Gates comment on are as follows:
Myth 1: Poor countries are doomed to stay poor
Myth 2: Foreign aid is a big waste
Myth 3: Saving lives leads to overpopulation
If some of these myths are ones you hold to, or even if you agree that they are myths, I encourage you to read their letter and learn the facts to back it up.
–By Hannah Gaskins, intern with Covenant World Relief
