UNHCR – Worth Donating To?

[ROB]

Anyone got any opinions on this one?

They were pushing the Darfur angle.

I signed up to give them a regular donation, but I am wondering if my money is just going to be feeding bureaucrats in Brussels?

[Wild in Africa]

Rob
Having worked in the aid sector for many years , including a couple of short stints with the UN (both in Sudan) in all honesty I would say give your money to one of the NGO Aid Agencies rather than the UN. I believe the NGOs get mroe done and use the money more cost effectively than the UN.
The UN is a cumbersome bureaucracy with a lot of time servers and freeloaders, amongst which is a core of dedicated professionals. If you want your bucks to make a difference though give it to Oxfam, CARE, HelpAge International, Goal, Concern or any of the myriad NGOs struggling against all odds in Darfur rather than feeding the UN machine.

[ROB]

I was kind of afraid you would say that.

Now I gotta tell the hot Croatian chick from the UNHCR stand, she can’t have my money anymore. :(

[mikethehack]

You already give money to the UN.
You pay tax, don’t you? Australia is a member of the UN and I assume they have paid their dues. If not, I suggest you push them to pay up.

I know plenty of people who work for the UN that do good and it is always the same old faces in the same old places and they give their whole heart to their job.

Then again, I have met more people who disguisted me by their acts, or rather the lack of them in certain situations. There is good and bad apples in every barrel. If you want to give money, give it directly to some UN worker who is working on the ground.

[jamesintheworld]

@ROB wrote:

UNHCR – Worth Donating To?

Sure, if you don’t mind paying for some white western dude to live in a mansion, have five servants, two drivers, a BMW & SUV, plus a six figure salary wile they pay the locals 300 bucks a month to do the exact same job at the desk right beside them.

At least that is how the UN folks here in Indonesia operate, one UN dude I know here has five 42’ plasma screen TV’s in his UN leased and paid for 4 bedroom condo in one of the nicest fully serviced Expat condominiums in Jakarta.

I didn’t see one of those fuckers anywhere during the flooding, I guess they were afraid to damage there luxury cars and get there Brooks Brothers suits wet. POS!

Donate to local charities in Darfur or personally help one family out next time you go there. Plus a local NGO (or yourself) won’t extort the host country to back them politically in exchange for aid or turn there head when UN aid money goes into the ruling elites pockets due to graft.

~JITW

[khalampre]

Before giving to an NGO you should also see what % of overhead they run on. I have not had much contact with any NGOs as of late, but in the past to hear them throw out 25% as there overhead rate was not very rare, and many are higher than that.

[peterc]

There is good and bad apples in every barrel.

That goes for UN, NGO, IGO,.. I have seen UN wasting money, and places where they hardly get by living in very basic conditions. I have seen some NGOs wasting money because they don’t pay well enough to attract professionals but also in some places are so good with so little means that it is just amazing. All good and bad.

As a previous posting said: check out what the overhead is of the organisation. Less than 10% is good.

If it is not thousands of dollars you want to give, but a smaller targetted thing, then donate on the spot, for a project. Directly to the people.

Another tip: http://www.fighthunger.org, which is a concertium of NGOs, UN, IGOs, private sector doing very targetted work with food aid.

That is unless if you want to use your donation to pick up that hot Croatian chick you mention, but then a short holiday to Dubrovnic would be cheaper probably :D

Peter.

[Debris]

A schoolmate of mine managed to get a superb position as a UN-whatever in Cairo. He spent two years in a 5 room flat for himself (paid by the business), and had a driver to his office where he had hardly nothing to do, but was paid as the fat cat he was in the corp. When he was back, the bastard would show off about how he´d managed to spend two years living in satrapy.

OTOH, Croatian chicks are really hot so I more or less understand your philantropic intentions Rob. Nevertheless, next time don´t send your money to an NGO or a family; send it to me and help me finance my travels. I promisre good pieces in the near future.

[lightstalker]

Dont throw ya money away ROB.Beside,like what MIke said,you’re already donating money by proxy to the UN through your wages/salary.

If you do decide to donate money,send it to an NGO.But make sure the money is channelled to a specific project, not to pay for fancy evening meals and lattes.

Find a small NGO that you feel passionate about,inquire into their country projects and find out their main donors are…ECHO for example fund alot of NGOs in europe.

When I was in Ingushetia, i visited an IDP camp where people were living in dire conditions with no ventilation and no clean water.I saw one family living in a basement about 15 ft squared with no window for ventilation.
I went out and perchased a large window ,which opens and closes, and a frame.I knocked out the wall with the help of some other blokes and we put the window in place. The family didnt have a pot to piss in,and coundnt afford the window, so they were thrilled to have a new window just to get a bit of light and some fresh air.
Dont bother with the UN.You may as well piss ya money up the wall.

[seeker]

any opinion on Oxfam??

I am currently volunteering at our local Red Cross since they are teaching and training me in all sorts of basic stuff I’d otherwise have to pay to get the certification for *…so that’s a plus, isn’t it??

* all relevent and essential to my ‘one year plan’ to be on a plane somewhere on or before Mar 28, 2008.

I think this makes sense – i have asked myself some basic questions honestly ie: how easily could I live away from the grid? and am taking steps to maximize that answer (as well as keeping a progress diary).

Essentially it means things like quitting smoking – what could be more pathetic than having a nic fit in a jungle?

And getting in shape – why would i want to be out of breath if I really have to run, climb, trudge, or sustain a severe beating?

Do these goals make sense? It”s that “ounce of prevention…” axiom. It’s not like I can plan for avoiding accidents – but I can be prepared to deal with them if they emerge – right?

I’d be interested in hearing anyone else’s prep ideas and recommendations – SORRY – OT – I’ll post this on another thread.

[Lee Ridley]

@seeker wrote:

my ‘one year plan’ to be on a plane somewhere on or before Mar 28, 2008

It’s around that time that the Bradt Travelguide to the Democratic Republic of Congo is published. Written by our very own oddball, SRR.

Why not head for Kinshasa; travel up the river, go cross country and exit at North Kivu; put the book to the test, and report back? An adventure it will be most certainly.

[peterc]

@mikethehack wrote:

You already give money to the UN.
You pay tax, don’t you? Australia is a member of the UN and I assume they have paid their dues.

Just a small clarification/correction: The UN humanitarian organisations like UNICEF, UNHCR, WFP, OCHA,.. are voluntary funded. This means they do not get anything from the countries’ contributions to the UN system.
Each of the humanitarian projects, each appeal they do, is funded by contributions from individuals, governments and other organisations on an ‘ad hoc’ basis.

This is one way to keep the organisations on their toes: if they perform well, their next project will be funded too. If not, contributions will dwingle down.

PS: if you are still looking to donate to a humanitarian cause, also have a look at Plan International (previously known as ‘Forster’s Parents Plan’. The concept is that you ‘adopt’ a child in the third world, and contribute monthly for that child’s healthcare/education. Twice per year you get an update directly from the child. Our family does this with a child in Pakistan.

Peter

[peterc]

@seeker wrote:

any opinion on Oxfam??

Oxfam has an excellent reputation in the field.

I am currently volunteering at our local Red Cross since they are teaching and training me in all sorts of basic stuff I’d otherwise have to pay to get the certification for *…so that’s a plus, isn’t it??

This is also how I started doing what I am doing now: a one week’s training by the Belgian Red Cross for international missions. The training was excellent and resulted in them sending me off to Angola, Malawi and Ivory coast.

i have asked myself some basic questions honestly ie: how easily could I live away from the grid? and am taking steps to maximize that answer

Often the technical part of doing relief or development work is not the problem. The problem most people did not foresee in coping with is ‘being away from family’, and moreso: ‘how is your family coping with you being away?’. So you are correct to concentrate on this stuff..

Essentially it means things like quitting smoking – what could be more pathetic than having a nic fit in a jungle?

Still have to go to a place where I could not find smokes… (apart from the Antarctic and some remote Pacific islands I went on expediton) :)

You want other tips? have a look at: http://www.aidworkers.net/, a website by and for the international aid workers. It has loads of stuff you can use to get yourself prepared.

Peter

[seeker]

thanks for the responses Peter and Lee.

I aksed about Oxfam because I had heard very excellent things about them from my UK cousin, but she’s a banker type working in Germany now looking for a rich man to marry, so my radar is usually up with her.

As far as the UN goes, I had a roommate from Colombia who worked as an engineer, and during his 3 monh lull he was offered a UN gig in East Timor.

I gave him the b/g I knew about E Timor, etc. and helped him find some up to date research. Frustratingly, I have tried to keep in touch with him and lost contact around 2003 – and have had no luck locating him even through the UN Agency he represented.

Very good, patient guy though – believe that stewardship was the ultimate goal and had *yet* to experience any bureaucratic disillusionment with the UN, so I often wonder if he’s OK and what he’s doing now.

SRR penned that Bradt segment eh? awesome.

Thanks all for the links and the advice and feedback. I feel comfortable knowing that in my regimen, there are some experienced people here I can ask for advice.

Essentially writing is the ultimate goal (i’m a reporter / producer / media / news-nerd person), i am not averse to working in any capacity, and one thing I am also doing as an aside from my steady job is talking to the places I freelance for about ensuring their interest in pieces if (or rather WHEN…gotta think positive) I make my way around – as well as adding new publications to the list that I can submit to. I’m hoping it will be a safety net of sorts. These places can also be resources in the form of accreditation, support, income, et al.

I’m also adding a small college level bit of ed. and taking digital photography, etc. since I figured if put myself in an environment where I have access to the equipment and instruction, I’ll not have to reinvent the wheel.

And again, access to the equipment is a plus. rather get some practice in instead of finding myself in a great situation only to reel off a bunch of unusable garbage shots. Digital is more forgiving, but still there is so much to learn.

thanks friends.

[ROB]

Ya know, I think I am sensing a little hostility to my idea… ;)

[Author]

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