Why Do Some Discount Altruism That Isn't 'Pure'?

A journalist writing in the Irish Herald ends an article on 'charity gurus' by saying "charity work is best done when it is done quietly". I assume that charity work that is done quietly is that which doesn't attract the attention of the mainstream media, press, TV, glossy magazines, the works. Because this journalist may be relieved to know that most charity work is done quietly, most people doing volunteer work or any other kind of development work, attract little or no attention. I find that gurus of all kinds are created by the very media that so loves to then condemn them once they are no longer able to control them.

This journalist, apparently, made a film about a woman who started a charity in Asia and 'hands out wads of cash to the poor'. The woman enjoys giving money to the poor and the journalist interprets this as meaning that the woman enjoys their gratitude and adoration.

Again, the journalist need not worry so much. I have never seen or heard of someone working in development who hands out wads of cash. Nor is everyone particularly grateful, nor do most people who do voluntary work expect people to be grateful. At least, that's my experience. People who receive charity may sometimes be grateful, perhaps very grateful, but their reaction may be embarrassment, shyness, contempt or perhaps a combination of things, often contradictory things.

I'm not saying this journalist is wrong or that she is misinterpreting things. I'm just saying that she is perhaps underanalysing what appears to be a rather unusual phenomenon. And I don't think she is cynical in interpreting the charity woman's enjoyment the way she does. I'm sure that among all the emotions and sensations people who work in development feel, it wouldn't be unusual to feel some enjoyment of any gratitude and adoration, if they receive such.

But supposing you were to do a survey of lots of people who worked, in any job, to find out what they enjoy about their work, or even why they work at all. I think you would find that many people work for money. They may or may not enjoy their work but the majority will do the job they do because they have to do something to pay their way. But I don't think your analysis of the survey would be very interesting or insightful if it was your main conclusion that people work for money.

Some people working in development earn money, some earn quite a lot. But most of the people I have known working in the field earn very little. Some volunteers earn a local wage and have all their expenses paid. But again, most of the volunteers I know do not earn regular wages, nor do they receive much in the way of expenses. Most of them volunteer for some of the week and do other things the rest of the time, so that they can feed themselves and perhaps their families.

I haven't surveyed the people I know who give some, often a lot, of their time for free. But one, who works as a volunteer for part of almost ever day has even pointed out to me that often when you do a lot for someone, they don't want to know you once they are better. Those were his words. This man has a sense of public spiritedness that you rarely find even among volunteers. Another volunteer, a woman, has never really discussed the subject. But she gives her time and sympathy and even some of the little money she has. And she also knows that people who receive her care can treat her with scorn later.

In fact, most of the volunteers I know don't even give out money most of the time because they don't have very much. They do work, take time, donate their skills and reach out to people who have no one. I don't know if they go home at night and bask in the glory of doing something that they may never even receive thanks for, let alone money. Nor do I care, I don't believe that altruism needs to be 'pure' in order to be altruism. People's motives for anything can be mixed, contradictory and even hidden to them.

By all means, Ms Journalist, condemn the thieves, the bullies, the smug, the sanctimonious, the extortionists and whoever else you like in the world of development, charity and the voluntary sector. But please recognise that they are probably the ones who were unusual enough to be picked out by you and your rather undiscerning and unanalytical media friends. They were picked out because they were unusual, not because they were the low key, modest people who often do things for other people without first thinking what there might be in it for them.

Differing Mindsets: a Goal or a Way of Life?

Western Non Governmental Organisations (NGO), funders and most Western volunteers tend to think in terms of projects, programmes, lengths of time, numbers of participants, amounts of money, outcomes, objectives, goals and targets. Of course, there needs to be accountability, there needs be a good level of monitoring and evaluation and all that. Things need to be managed.

But it's remarkable how differently local Community Based Organisations (CBO) and Kenyan volunteers work. Much of the work is never ending so things are not viewed as projects or programmes. Lengths of time are irrelevant, as are numbers and stated goals and targets. People are very pragmatic. Orphans are looked after until they grow up, sick people are looked after till they recover, if they recover, old people are looked after till they die.

There is no need to ask what a good or bad outcome is, either an intervention works, in which case it will be continued or it doesn't work, in which case it will not be continued. Of course, there are exceptions, foreign volunteers who become very pragmatic and Kenyans who become sticklers for measureable things, exclusively.

When it comes to money, attitudes vary also. Of course, people who have no money look for ways of making some. Everyone would prefer a job that is not too strenuous or stressful and one that is better paid. But some CBOs just get on with whatever it is they set out to do. Others get on with writing a proposal and waiting around for money. If they get money they may get on with the job, or they may see getting the money as an end in itself.

But some of the CBOs that just get on with the job and see funding as a longer term requirement often do amazing work before raising a single dollar. Even volunteers working for a small amount of money for a period often continue working just as hard when the money stops coming in.

Today, we interviewed four people to volunteer to work perhaps half a day, five or six days a week for six months. All of them said they would be willing to work for as long as required, a year, several years. After all, they have already worked as volunteers for three to five years. They were all asking for very little in allowances. And that's just as well because the allowance on offer is very small.

For some people, the work they volunteer to do is more of a way of life than just a job that has measurable, countable outcomes. Perhaps these differing mindsets explain some of the friction between those who always insist on targets and results and those whose aim seems to be to bring about some kind of change for the better.