Foreign Aid: the different types

Foreign Aid (also known as Overseas Development Assistance or ODA) is the assistance governments, non-government organisations (e.g. World Bank, IMF, Red Cross ), businesses, and individuals of one country give to the people of another country with a view to reducing poverty and achieving sustainable development.

There are different types of International or Foreign Aid

1. Bilateral Aid

Assistance given by a government directly to the government of another country. This is usually the largest share of a country’s aid. It is often directed according to strategic political considerations as well as humanitarian ones. ( it's said that this is often the largest % of Aid given, and rarely reaches the people most in need - potentially the least effective /dangerous)

2. Non-government Aid

Assistance provided by non-government organizations (NGOs) like World Vision, The Red Cross and Oxfam. The money for this aid is mainly provided by public donations from individuals and businesses. This includes money raised through events like the 40 Hour Famine or Child Sponsorship programs. However, NGOs also receive some funding from government. ( Resources have been known to be intercepted or stolen in countries in conflict)


3. Multilateral Aid

Assistance provided by governments to international organisations like The World Bank, United Nations and International Monetary Fund, that are intended to reduce poverty in developing nations. ( This Aid is sometimes presented in the form of support for projects, business infrastructure, with 'foreign' investors or contractors appointed as part of the deal - often with little impact on those who need it most)

UK Info

The UK's official development assistance (ODA) is expected to rise to £11.3bn when it hits the 0.7% target. With a population of about 63 million, the figure works out at roughly £137 per Brit. The advocacy group One calculates that a person on an income of £25,000 pays £5,465 in tax, of which £52 would go to the overseas aid budget a year.
source guardian [click]

'It’s easy to forget that Britain’s aid budget comes in at 0.7 per cent of our national wealth. It’s less in total than we spend on fizzy drinks in a year. With 99 per cent of our spending happening "at home", it’s not accurate to suggest that charity does not already begin at home'
source [click]

How would I rank them and which is best?

My No 1 = NGO's ( Working directly with the people, although some NGOs are fronted by ex- government or ex army leaders, and may also be prone to corruption/exploitation.
No 2 = Multilateral ( Potential to be No.1 if it were not for the 'strings attached' and neo-colonial tendencies)
No 3 = Bilateral ( Often cited as heading straight for the pockets of corrupt ministers. thier families and or friends).


Further Info [click]

I wonder, do you think Foreign Aid is a help or a hindrance..?
if there's an alternative.. what is it?
Or perhaps you think it's a great reminder that we are our brothers keeper, and that it is a humanitarian act, supporting others in times of need and in times of crisis..

If we spend more on cigarettes and alcohol, or cola or cake.. should anyone ever complain about the Foreign Aid budget?
or is it a political tool used to secure friends, lands and borders?

Emma Nyra..' as I'm Up..

..and rested..'


Cool tune. Nice voice, nice melody..and I'm ready for the week ahead
Have a great week all x

Crap

Oh man.. :-(
These are the times when I kinda hate being a single mum
love being a mum.. but being a single parent can be hard at times
absolutely everything, is on you.. every decision, everything ..falls on you, no back up or anything.

What am I going on about?

Okay, well today, Ti took the baby cat to his new owner... and I've felt bad all day
Now he's back he's really quiet, although he says he's fine. I know Ti.. he misses the baby cat, and I guess I do abit too..

But what else could I do?
I know that Ti has a lot on his plate with Uni, and needs to focus, and I'm very busy myself right now, as is Ij..so there's no one.. blah blah blah

Now I'm wondering if I'm making excuses.
Bottom line is it's done, and a little girl is extremely happy.. which is a good thing.
I'm just struggling with my own guilt, own sense of loss, questions about whether I've done the right thing, with only a mirror to consult
.. and that's.. the reality of it..
No buffer, no support, no additional anything
I feel quite crappy about it all today ( I clearly underestimated how attached to an animal you can become in 2 days..)
So I may have messed up.

.. As a single parent, all that you do, are, and all that you have.. has to go that little bit further.. without, what is sometimes overlooked in favour of the financial, .. emotional support, or just an additional perspective.
You feel there is no one to catch you if you fall, and if you make a mistake.. it impacts, way harder.
True.
..but what can I do..
..I'll feel better tomorrow.

Lola Rae - Iyanya - Effjay

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Black

Was never just a colour..

I caught this video over at Mark Anthony Neils blog..
A well put together song, with some very interesting footage (see below)

'Afrocentrism was never (and could never be) simply Eurocentrism in a different cloak'. Ladson Billings,.G ( 2000) .. (my addition emphasized).
.. and I agree

Afrocentricity emerged as a response to oppressive white supremiscist universalism, but unlike eurocentrism (with its roots in 18th century creation of races, or species of man, and racial dominance across the economic, private and public spheres, aka racism) its aim has been to negate the association of blackness to oppression, struggle, victim-hood, lack, championing equal respect and rights,self love and much more, importantly silencing those dominant eurocentric voices, and nihilistic tendancies. A reclaimation of a forgotten, or submerged history if you like; a rejection of that which was foisted upon a people

Some may say, Afrocentrism begets Pan-Africanism, begets nationalism, begets seperatism, begets individualism, begets selfishness, begets greed, begets conflict, begets the demise of humanity.. but hey..
my answer to that is... not necessarily :)

Anyway.. see what you think
There are times when I like to say a vibe is a vibe.. and a vibe knows no colour necessarily.. you either have it.. or you don't.
I asked it in a post recently.. who really is black today..
What does it mean to those ( like me) who we could refer to as pheontypically black, or African
I didn't see it coming, but this is one response



Personally speaking, I wouldn't say classism is the new racism .. as both have coexisted for some time, and will continue to do so, it's too easy to say that.. especially considering the impact of racism on so called classes. No, one does not just replace the other.

* I have a thing about class and 'race'.. I think too many folk get it twisted, and don't get me started on the so called black middle class.. or black and any class situated in it's Marxist context .. it's flawed; with too many anomolies, and potentially a trap.. but hey, *smiles and nods head*.. I get its appeal :)*

A moving and thought provoking video though

Desert Blues

I heard this voice and it stopped me in my tracks.. 'Who's that??'
Lured in by the beat, I wanted to know more

Turns out that this track is taken off the album Desert Blues (2) disc 1.
I'm still trying to find out more about the singer



That's just crazy cool

Wiki says..

'Desert Blues refers to the music of the Tuareg people and related nomad groups of the Sahara, who perform a style of music considered the root of the American Blues genre. This was first popularized in the West by Ali Farka Touré and has more recently been carried by a new wave of artists'

Exploring further it turns out that the album has evolved from the Festival in the Desert'..

Rokia Traore

.. enjoy the sun! :)
Happy Sunday x