Do Handouts Help?

So, the rains have been steady. But, not quite as intense as last year. And yes, the people in Sicchez are very poor. And the roads have landslides. People who live in the surrounding hills (70% of the district population) are at risk of their houses (made of adobe) falling and cracking. It´s not an easy living for them at all. They work hard and don´t have much cash. Many live solely off of what they can grow and sell from their small parcels of land.

So, like every year, the mayor petitions the provincial government for aid during the rainy season. He asks for things like food, corregated tin (used for roofing) and plastic to hand out to affected families. To be fair, the free handouts aren´t for everyone. A local authority from the village has to verify that a family is endangered by the rains. But, being from the village, the authority often has a hard time saying ¨yes¨ to some and ¨no¨ to others - a lot of people make the list that truly aren´t suffering additional harship. On a set day, all the people on the list are called in from their village to recieve handouts. The whole event is seen as evidence that the authorities are ¨fighting¨ for their population. Lots of wordy speeches and formality permeates the process.

But I have always had my doubts about all things extrinsic. How do these handouts help people mitigate further catastrophe, learn better strategies, or self-advocate? When the food runs out, is their living situation any better? Are they better equipped for the next year of rain? Listening to the comments of my own grandma can shed some light on these questions: ¨We aren´t affected by the rain, but this food should be for everyone, we´re ALL poor!!¨ Is that really the idea of the handouts?!?! To encourage people to expect things to come to them because they are disadvantaged? Praternalism? Learned helplessness? And the government itself is encouraging this dependancy by this practice. In my humble view, the money invested in these handouts would be better invested in training, education, and social empowerment programs. Or free health care. On things that an average person can´t reasonably prevent/provied for oneself.

This argument can be turned inside out. People with very different views from myself use it to argue againt things like welfare. I actually believe in government investment and support of a populations´needs. I like being taxed damnit!! But what I am seeing here in my corner of the world is that the support is in a direction that is making the problem worse. People get mad when they don´t get a free bag of rice from the mayor. That bag of rice doesn´t even come close to the real problem.

A person educated in Political Science or Development or Internations Affairs can probably rip this diatribe to shreds. I don´t calim to be educated on these topics. My knowledge is from direct experience, and limited at that. A year and a half isn´t much. But the more time I spend here the more wary I become of NGO´s, ¨development aid¨, and the like. But, on the other hand, sometimes helping people to help themseves is a backwards struggle. It´s easier to just give stuff out. And you also have to consider: What if they don´t want you to help them help themselves? Empowering people is risky and can come off as an imposition of outsider ways. So none of this is straight forward. A world without suffering is not an option because we don´t learn anything as humans that way; and some people choose to suffer. It´s all about finding the wormholes and pathways that do make space for possibility.

My mayor handing out corregated tin.

The food baskets, tin roofing, and plastic for half of the district´s affected.

Some señoras after receiving their food baskets.

About half of the district´s affected are gathered here waitng for their handouts.

Our dog Nene is sooooo cute, no?!?!?!? The sun came out for a few hours and he and the chicken decided to sunbathe for a while. I miss Ginger and Maggie!!!