Flying Kites offers a preferential option for orphans

Somehow what always seems to slip through the cracks of debates about policy, efficacy, and strategy is the existence of the people actually affected . . . the families, the children, and the orphaned children. The quieter the voice, the more easily it is overlooked. Sounds like Flying Kites, like Farmer before them, has the right idea – cut through the political, “ethical,” often self-serving rhetoric and simply commit to doing something about a problem. With that model and spirit, hopefully they’ll have as much success with Africa’s orphans as Farmer did with Haiti’s tuberculosis patients.

posted by rmchabot on 6/24/2009 9:20 am

Orphanages usually invoke negative and depressing images in my head. It's overwhelming when you consider the number of kids who become street children, sex workers or worse. Even more overwhelming is the realization that many orphanages only succeed in keeping these kids alive and do very little to guarantee them a future. Flying Kites lifts the cloudy outlook from the usual orphanage model and reveals that orphanages can be happy places too. Not only is Flying Kites addressing the immediate needs of their children (food, water, shelter) but it is also addressing the longer term problems inherent in the orphan crisis: what becomes of these children when they grow up? It seems to me that the Flying Kites children will have opportunities to become successful adults who can contribute to Kenya's social and economic development.

posted by sjsturg on 6/24/2009 1:57 pm

Flying Kites sounds like it is making an incredible effort to change the way we approach orphaned children. For far too long, it seems that we have taken narrow approaches to the crises of children in developing nations: we focus solely on health care, or education, or simply providing fresh water, without taking a holistic stance and providing infrastructure for a given community. I laud Flying Kites for bringing a relatively fresh approach on the scene.

However, I often find a thorn in my side whenever I hear about efforts to improve the situation in Africa. This thorn is comprised of voices from both the past and present, such as Steve Biko and Dambisa Moyo.

Steve Biko, a non-violent revolutionary during South Africa's Apartheid, argued that the liberal, bleeding heart Anglo presence within the Black Consciousness movement only inhibited Black Africans' ability to achieve political and economic self-reliance.

Dambisa Moyo, a critically acclaimed Zambian Economist, claims that sending foreign monetary aid to Africa merely provides a crutch for developing countries who are attempting to find their way out of poverty and dysfunction. She says that "Aid has and continues to contribute to the dysfunctionality of African states" (Munk Debates).

My question to all of of you is simply: How does Flying Kites, or any aid organization, for that matter, resist or counteract the problems of corruption, mis-use, and hoarding of foreign aid money? How can foreign aid contribute to African infrastructure in a fundamental way that is sustainable and grounded in reality?

posted by KyaD on 6/24/2009 4:38 pm

First, I would like to thank rmchabot, sjsturg, and KyaD for their posts. All three of you provided excellent insight that cut right to the core of what makes Flying Kites unique. KyaD, you raised the precise questions that deserve to be, really must be, answered by an organization like Flying Kites.

The debate over whether aid to Africa does more harm than good is a very worthy debate in my book and I believe that critics of the practice like Ms Moyo voice a concern that must be addressed: despite the billions of dollars in foreign aid that have been poured into Africa over the last fifty years, a large portion of the continent continues to languish in a daily misery that is the product of pervasive poverty, hunger, and sickness. In fact, since 1990, life expectancy in Africa has fallen from 50 years to 46 years, and gross national income per capita has dropped from $550 to $490, according to the World Bank.

There is no doubt that foreign aid to Africa has been misused; in 2007, Transparency International ranked Kenya 150th out of 180 countries in its perceived corruption index. This provides a bit of insight into why channeling aid to foreign governments is not an effective method of ameliorating humanitarian crises or fostering development.

However, it is a mistake to equate the failure of foreign aid exchanged between governments to the failure of aid delivered by organizations like Flying Kites. In stark contrast to some large aid agencies and governments, Flying Kites is small, with no elements of a bureaucracy in which money somehow always "disappears" through the cracks, and it operates directly on the ground, presently in the Kinangop community in Kenya. Thus, the organization is able to do what governments have failed at: tangibly improve the lives of the surrounding people.

I see the emergence of a booming non-profit sector as a hopeful and necessary means of fostering development in Africa right now. Here I must vehemently disagree with Ms Moyo's belief that aid to Africa must stop in order for African countries to improve themselves. I believe that Flying Kites and other organizations like it, which are improving the conditions of children's lives as we speak, are filling what would otherwise be a gaping hole in social services for orphans and abused/abandoned children.

It is certainly our hope that someday there will be no need for orphanages or outside assistance on the scale that is currently needed in Africa, but it is currently projected that by 2010 over 20 million African children will have lost one or more parents to AIDS. While Flying Kites alone cannot better the lives of each one of those 20 million children, we intend to give the very best to those children who do end up in our care.

Further, in answering the valid questions KyaD raises, it is imperative to note that Flying Kites' entire model is based on the understanding that Africa's next generation of leaders need to be less corrupt and more accountable. In order to ensure a high-quality of leadership for the future, children need to experience a happy childhood and an excellent education, the foundations from which visionary ideas and extraordinary leadership will emerge.

When one thinks of childhood, the images that come to mind are not of hungry, sick children or of children caring for their younger siblings because their parents are both gone. On the contrary, childhood evokes images of children running through fields, blowing bubbles, playing hide and seek, and flying kites. This type of childhood is not a privilege, it is a right. Flying Kites is making this right a reality for the children in our care.

posted by jmorrall on 6/25/2009 10:26 am

It seems that Flying Kites is taking a fresh perspective on improving the current situation in Africa. I think it's admirable that their model works for creating a more ideal childhood for the kids in their orphanage. By providing excellent childcare, health care and education, Flying Kites will help create more opportunities for the future and hopefully foster individuals who will have the resources and knowledge to bring their country in a more positive direction.

posted by kflynn on 6/25/2009 11:14 am

It's nice to see that the days of "putting effort into something you care about, rather than something that will fatten your wallet" haven't ended. All too often, us Americans hear about the American dream of becoming rich, having a nice family, a neutered dog (ironically named Scraps) and using their "connections" to go to ballgames or concerts. Flying Kites has a different default setting. Helping other people...dare I say that this organization isn't groveling for a position at PriceWaterhouse or an internship at Deloitte?!?! And here I was thinking that money will fix all of our problems! Who needs action and dedication when you have 10 bucks! Rock on Kiters, because so many people won't do what you will.

posted by Bovaan on 6/25/2009 1:24 pm

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