Catholic Relief Services Manual on Partnership Relations

Introduction - a Development Handbook

If you have been reading along here at all, you realize that I have a bit of an interest in just how we are helping "developing nations".  I've been putting forward the idea that we have it somewhat wrong, and that there is a better way, something other than "projects" and "missions".  It has been somewhat difficult to find good examples of exactly what I am talking about.  Even the noted Jeffrey Sachs does not have a lot of examples where I would agree with the approach.

But, amazingly to me, I've just stumbled on a "handbook" on how to do this - and it is not brand new, by any means.  It does not have a date, but it must be after 2006, as that is the latest reference in it.  The first few pages are the "Principles of solidarity based partnerships".  The words are chosen with care.  These are partnerships, and they are focused on solidarity.

From Helping to Solidarity

The next short section is on moving "From Helping to Solidarity".  It explains just what this means, and why it is important.  The principle author of this part is one Mike Haasl, of the local diocesan office here in St. Paul.  He points out some of the traps that we tend to fall into when we think of "helping" others.  He asks us to consider this relationship much more like a marriage - it is equal, we both contribute; it is negotiated carefully, and we are in it for the long haul.

The CRS publication is here:     CRS Manual on Partnerships

Cost of Short Term Missions

Further on in the manual, there is an extensive reference to an article by Jo Ann Van Eng, "The Cost of Short Term Missions".       Cost of Short Term Missions

This problem is a regular debate within the organizations that I am familiar with.  We really want to send people to these other places to help out, to do things, to be of assistance.  But these kinds of trips are rarely economically justifiable from that perspective.  Even medical mission trips are rarely cost effective.  If we spent all of those travel dollars on local resources - that would likely reap larger returns!  In fact, in many, many cases, the "mission" group is not a positive experience for the local community at all.  Everyone loves to do these, and they are life changing experiences, but the impact on the ground is more often negative than not.

This article explains some of those problems in considerable detail.  It offers recommendations on how to do these "missions" more effectively. And, fundamentally, it points out that the real benefit of this kind of investment is in the travelers themselves. It includes excellent suggestions on preparation and conduct to achieve this end, avoiding the negatives of the typical "project" or "mission".

 "I suggest we stop thinking about short-term missions as a service to perform and start thinking of them as a responsibility to learn. Let's raise money to send representatives to find out what our brothers and sisters are facing, what we can do to help, and how we can build long-term relationships with them."

"Short-term missions are expensive. They spend money that third-world Christians could desperately use. But short-term missions can be worth every penny if they mark the beginning of a long-term relationship. Money invested in learning about the causes of poverty in developing nations--and what can be done--is money well spent."

Other Information - How To, Orientation, etc.

Besides these insightful contributions, the CRS manual is full of information on culture, on exercises to alert people to cultural values, and how to prepare people for these adventures.  It is just excellent!

The U.S. Culture 

There is another reference in the document to "American Values" and the work of L. Robert Kohls on this topic.  I have a bit of a problem with anyone that identifies "American" as being identical to residents of these United States of America, but I can overlook that!  He does a nice job of identifying the values that most U.S. citizens carry about in their heads as givens for all of human kind. I've been talking about those a bit as well.  You can find his article here:  L. Robert Kohls on The Values Americans Live By.

That's about it for now.  I am working on some other things - but it takes my brain a while to work these things out.  Stay tuned.  What did you think of these?