?The first time I donated money, after my bar mitzvah, it was for someone who needed a heart transplant,? said Daniel Fogel, 18, a founder of his Waltham, Mass., high school?s juggling club, which raised $2,353 for nets last year. ?But I had the feeling: Am I really helping? But if you can say $10 saves a life, that makes students feel they can help a lot. And every student has $10.?
That from a Times article [hyperlink] today, which opens with the observation that ?Donating $10 to buy a mosquito net to save an African child from malaria has become a hip way to show you care, especially for teenagers.?
I actually thought he was being cynical. Or maybe ironic. But no.
Unfortunately, I can?t write a response that doesn?t make me sound like a haughty and smug know-it-all. But I?d like to think the question asks itself: aid as teen fashion accessory?
Of related interest: some questions surrounding the effectiveness of donated nets [hyperlink]
My pet theory: Coca Cola should sell branded nets with their soda. There is nowhere those cola trucks (and cola donkeys) can?t reach. Distribution problem solved! Should Coke be reading this blog, I eagerly await the randomized control trial.
I?m also waiting for the impact study on the African small businesspeople who sell nets for a living. Is it raising overall awareness and demand? A disaster for their business?
?http://chrisblattman.blogspot.com