A few weeks ago Ben and I sat in a small Mexican restaurant drinking disappointing margaritas and discussing, what else, but the Mormon Church. In particular we were talking about how the church encourages each member to speak before the congregation at least once. For someone like me, who couldn’t wait until the next public speaking assignment in college, this sounded like a thrilling adventure. On expressing my enthusiasm, Ben had the audacity to tell me that he suspected any lecture from me would be “like wearing flip flops to Church” (an analogy we use to describe seemingly innocent mistakes perpetrated by someone who knows better). To drive the message home, Ben looked at me and said “Sister Lela, would you like to give a talk on charity?”
Maybe it was the tequila, or the fact that I’d spent the whole day lying around the house watching Ben study for a math test, but suddenly there was nothing I wanted so much as to give a talk on charity. And because I’m not a member of the church, you get to be my lucky audience.
(“Ahem” shuffle, shuffle, someone coughs in the background, and we begin)
In November of 2005, at the World Summit on the Information Technology, a man named Nicholas Negroponte presented a prototype of a $100 laptop dubbed “The children’s machine”. It was his dream to distribute these inexpensive computers to children in developing nations worldwide. Shortly after, the One Laptop per Child project was formed and many software gurus and Silicon Valley bigwigs teamed up together with the goal of turning this dream into a reality. Within a year the $200 XO-1 had been born.
Although $100 more than originally planned, these rugged, colorful little computers made up for the price with all sorts of interesting software, ebook capabilities, very low power consumption, and the ability to connect to the internet through other XOs, which means that even if only one family in a village has internet access, every child in the village will be able to get online.
Before long, everyone wanted one of these adorable little computers. Countries that could afford to buy them in bulk, did so, while other countries worked to fit them into the budget. Because of the interest among individuals (especially those involved in technology), the OLPC created a special website where people could choose to donate $200 to send a computer to a child in a developing nation, or they could donate $400 and receive a laptop for themselves in the bargain. The idea was embraced with enthusiasm. Suddenly hundreds of children worldwide found themselves with a bright, shiny computer to call their own, due only to the kindness (and geekiness) of a stranger living thousands of miles away. Nicholas Negroponte has been celebrated as a great humanitarian and visionary.
However, not everyone is so thrilled with the vision of OLPC. People criticize this foundation’s mission as being an unnecessary luxury. Where is the logic in distributing laptops to struggling nations when many people in these same countries are lacking clean water, adequate healthcare and nutritious food? The critics make a good point, and their concerns are worth considering.
Whenever we decide to donate time, money, or energy to a charity organization, we must reconcile ourselves with the fact that there are millions of other good causes that we do not have the resources to support. Whenever we help someone in need, we know that this means we will not be able to give to others in need. How do we resolve this with ourselves, and how do we resolve the fact that OLPC is giving out laptops instead of water purifiers and bags of rice?
Consider this story. A poor family in Uganda is struggling to earn even enough money for one meager meal a day. A non-profit steps in and give them a flock of chickens. Now this family not only has a source of food, but also a regular income, as they can sell eggs and occasionally meat at the local market. Having successfully provided the family with the means to survive, the non-profit moves on.
But what happens to the family? Do they know how much to sell the eggs for in order to make a profit? Can the parents afford to send their children to school or are they only making endsmeat? What happens if the chickens die? If everybody worked only to fill the most basic needs of those who are struggling, who would make sure the solutions could be maintained? It’s important to give to the hungry, but it’s equally important to make sure that those who have been helped need never be hungry again. OLPC may not be working directly with those on the brink of starvation, but they are working towards ensuring that children born with little opportunity have access to an education that will keep them from ever being on the brink of starvation themselves.
The question now is how to figure out who needs you most. But it’s ok, because you were born with the answer. You’ve spent years honing and carefully perfecting the answer. As with most areas of your life, it’s all about talent. OLPC is a foundation full of scientists, software engineers, and developers. They donated their time in a way that perfectly coincided with their skills and interests, which makes the quality of their product higher, and their foundation that much more successful. Is reading your passion? How about donating some of your favorite children’s books to Toys for Tots? Or reading to kids at the battered women’s shelter? Have you always been good with animals? There are hundreds of organizations in the bay area alone, dedicated to providing medical care, healthy food, and happy homes to animals in need. Are you gifted at interacting with those in emotional turmoil? The suicide prevention hotline would love to have you.
The most wonderful thing about charity is that it allows us to use our talents, interests, and skills to improve the health of our global community and therefore ourselves. When you are donating the qualities about yourself that you love best, and of which you are most proud, charity is no longer a thing you are doing, it becomes a part of who you are.