Thoughts on Today's Discussion:

Our discussion today was very lively, and I think we came across some very valid points. Although we tend to think of humanitarian aid as being selfless, I think it's important to note that nearly all (if not all) government-sponsored aid always has political strings attached. I also think we came across an imporant question as to the type of development aid we provide: Is it what we think they need, or what they think they need? From my experience in international development, I've learned that people don't appreciate or utilize that which they don't want. It's common sense. I think a crucial part of development is carefully planning projects WITH the citizens of the needy state in order to put our funds into good use through their ideas and labor force. They people need to participate and build up their lives themselves...we just need to provide the financial boost to push progress along.