Are there always strings attached?

There's been a lot of buzz about Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg's letter to their newborn daughter where they commit to donating 99% of their Facebook shares. The comments from Melinda Gates, Gavin Newsom, Richard Barth, and many more seem to echo the sentiment that I had when reading the letter. More or less that...this is awesome, it may encourage similar people to do the same, and will really make a positive impact for our global community.

My curiosity led to looking up some of the organizations that the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has supported (well...not officially on behalf of CZI until now I suppose). They are largely focused around education and healthcare (not surprising given Priscilla Chan's background and work), which, given my interests and experience made learning about these organizations really interesting. 

​Then I came across this Guardian article that challenged me to think more critically about the impact of not only western philanthropy but also the work that I, and many of the folks I'm meeting here in Kampala are doing and the system we are supporting. 

"...the rich are still effectively buying the future they’d like to see, no matter how selfless their intentions may be. International philanthropy and the western world’s desire to eradicate poverty and disease can’t ever truly rid themselves of their imperialist roots; as many critics have pointed out, the white savior industrial complex has never been more pervasive in global culture. When you have an extra $45bn lying around, nothing you do with that money will come without strings, whether you craft those strings or not."

Since being here, I've met lots of interesting people and have started to have some great conversations around this topic. I've been going back to some of the reading I did in college around international development (like Escobar's thoughts around the "Problematization of Poverty") now that I'm interacting with this space more personally. 

I'm not sure I have any coherent opinions to share yet (would love to hear yours!), but general observations include:

• The young adult population in Kampala is extremely well educated
• There are a lot of international development organizations (many faith-based) here - in addition to a handful of smaller organizations, I pass by the IOM and UN buildings (one of the many) on my way to work
• Every foreigner I've met so far in Kampala is working in the development space (solar energy, education, global health).
• At the CHAI Uganda office, over half our staff (including the Country Director) is Ugandan. While this is celebrated, I don't get the notion that this is extremely unique to CHAI - a few of the young Ugandans I've met are also working at social businesses or aid organizations.