Dignity and Shoes

A Day Without Dignity was created by Saundra Schimmelpfennig, owner of the Charity Rater LLC, as a counter-campaign against TOM'S Shoes A Day Without Shoes awareness raising campaign. TOM'S Shoes A Day Without Shoes awareness campaign encouraged supporters to go one day without wearing shoes as a way to understand the plight of children living in poverty.  This video documents the negative effects of individuals and organizations donating shoes to global south countries; it asserts that donations of shoes and other items denies those living in poverty dignity, hurts local economies and does nothing to solve the issue of poverty. In 2006, the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights adopted draft guiding principles titled "Extreme Poverty and Human Rights: The Rights of the Poor. They sought out the views of NGOs and people living in poverty and one of the overriding views was that people living in poverty should be treated with dignity. A quote from the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights final report, Dignity in the Face of Poverty, "we don't want the local authorities to come into our communities, into our village just to bring us second-hand clothes. We don't want them to give us gifts. What we want are respectable jobs, work that allows us to live like normal human beings."

I think the issue of international aid and development is important because many well-meaning people are not taking the time to research and learn about the people and countries they say they want to help and instead are donating items to global south countries that are not necessary. Latching on to a campaign and or an organization because it is popular and receiving a lot of media attention is not the best way to help people living in poverty. In my next post, I will highlight an organization, the Center for International Disaster Relief, that provides information to the public about appropriate forms of international aid.

Good Intentions Are Not Enough

One Day Without Shoes 

Dignity in the Face of Poverty