It takes an annoying bit of sifting. I think the foreign NGO-to-USA connection is one that's easily corrupted because there's no one really regulating truth in advertising on this front. TCF is based in Maine, so there are US laws this organization must abide by. There's an organization in Belize called Cornerstone that looked intriguing in a very free form, build-your-own-adventure way, but my friend in the Peace Corps says their reputation on the ground was something more along the lines of sociotourism, that they were nose-diving financially and hired this successful porn site webmaster from the Netherlands to glitz up the recruitment site and make it look more appealing, and that once volunteers arrived, they really didn't make the difference one would expect. That's not necessarily a bad thing I suppose, but you could see how making a trip to another corner of the world only to find out you're just hanging out with some locals and brainstorming ways to make things better with no resources might leave you in an awful mood.
I can't remember if it's Rwanda or Uganda where they use Diane Fossey's name (against her will) to attract ecotourists, at the detriment of the gorillas, who are agitated often through these disruptive visits. The government does this in cooperation with an NGO. Meanwhile, in Kenya, they have guns and will blow your shit up if you try to interact with or disturb the wildlife. I feel like these are somewhat similar cases when you compare them to the Tanzanian Children's Fund and something like Cornerstone. There are cash-hungry puppet masters hiding behind a lot of these websites.
Thanks, Jen, I really appreciate all the kind words (and the recommendation to go to Olivieri all those years back :) As for the slave to the paycheck thing, it might not feel so bad next year when I come back writing that Bill and I are living in my Galant now.
It takes an annoying bit of sifting. I think the foreign NGO-to-USA connection is one that's easily corrupted because there's no one really regulating truth in advertising on this front. TCF is based in Maine, so there are US laws this organization must abide by. There's an organization in Belize called Cornerstone that looked intriguing in a very free form, build-your-own-adventure way, but my friend in the Peace Corps says their reputation on the ground was something more along the lines of sociotourism, that they were nose-diving financially and hired this successful porn site webmaster from the Netherlands to glitz up the recruitment site and make it look more appealing, and that once volunteers arrived, they really didn't make the difference one would expect. That's not necessarily a bad thing I suppose, but you could see how making a trip to another corner of the world only to find out you're just hanging out with some locals and brainstorming ways to make things better with no resources might leave you in an awful mood.
I can't remember if it's Rwanda or Uganda where they use Diane Fossey's name (against her will) to attract ecotourists, at the detriment of the gorillas, who are agitated often through these disruptive visits. The government does this in cooperation with an NGO. Meanwhile, in Kenya, they have guns and will blow your shit up if you try to interact with or disturb the wildlife. I feel like these are somewhat similar cases when you compare them to the Tanzanian Children's Fund and something like Cornerstone. There are cash-hungry puppet masters hiding behind a lot of these websites.
Thanks, Jen, I really appreciate all the kind words (and the recommendation to go to Olivieri all those years back :) As for the slave to the paycheck thing, it might not feel so bad next year when I come back writing that Bill and I are living in my Galant now.
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