Opinion
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EDITORIAL
Published on August 8, 2010
Ploys to avoid aid dependence would amplify their laudable generosity
Recent news about the pledge by 40 US billionaires to donate half of their fortunes to charity should inspire many to follow the trend of giving back to society. According to international news agencies, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet think fellow US billionaires should donate most of their vast fortunes to charity - and they recently revealed that 40 are set to do just that.
In a statement released by www.givingpledge.org, 40 of the wealthiest families and individuals in the US have committed themselves to returning the majority of their wealth to charitable causes. They include CNN founder Ted Turner, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and Hollywood director George Lucas as well as Buffet and Gates. The Giving Pledge, announced six weeks ago, is the brainchild of Gates and Buffet to persuade the rich to give more to charity.
The move should be trendsetting, indeed. It is an admirable cause to give back to society. It is not shameful to be rich. After all, these billionaires, such as Microsoft mogul Gates, are exemplary models of the successful businessman who worked hard and excelled to become one of Forbes richest people.
However, the joy of giving has proved to be more precious than the joy of receiving. And Gates, along with some philanthropists, have found such joys by donating fortunes for the cause that they have been passionate about. Gates, for instance, has been actively involved in the global campaign to tackle health issues. His foundation finances millions of vaccinations in developing countries and contributes to research for a new medicine to prevent HIV/Aids.
In fact, it makes sense for businesses to give back to society as it's part of the concept of corporate responsibility. After all, many have earned profits from the goodwill image that the companies successfully established among their customer base. The giving back will affirm the image of the companies or the investors as businessmen who care. Any billionaire, or anyone at all, cannot live happily if their neighbours are still suffering bad health or poverty.
Although quite a few Thai billionaires have also made their way into the Forbes rich man's club, it does not take a billionaire to take this initiative. Everyone can participate in the process of giving back to society, either by donations or their labour. Everyone can find the cause that he or she is passionate about, be it health, education or the environment, and participate in the campaign by volunteering or looking at every opportunity to make contributions to support the cause. The experience will definitely be fulfilling and rewarding.
At any rate, charity is not a magic solution to solve global issue. The more challenging question is how the money will be spent to enable people to stand on their own feet. The fact that a number of least developed countries are still struggling with poverty, in spite of decades of billions of foreign aid, shows that development is not possible without rural empowerment.
Flows of millions of aid dollars can also instil a negative perceptions among recipients, that they will be forever dependent on donations and others' money, wrecking their will and inspiration to be self-motivated and self-reliant. Unfortunately, some aid organisations or nonprofits have misspent this donated money in some developing countries without realising the real needs and potential of the local people. Some donations fed the need for foreign aid even more. This has resulted in an increasing dependence on foreign donations among some of these countries.
Therefore, let's hope that these shrewd businessmen/philanthropists will use their business skills and top-notch management to ensure that their money will be spent to serve the root cause of the problem that they intend to tackle. Eventually, the recipients' self-reliance and being free from charitable donations will measure the success of their philanthropic project. Otherwise, these donors will have to re-evaluate their strategy if the recipients still crave more charitable money. If that is the case, their donated fortunes will be nothing but a lost investment.
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August 29, 2010 09:32 am (Thai local time)
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