Reshaping the Meaning of Charity

Tomorrow is the International Day of Charity. This year, we want to focus is on reshaping what charity should mean. We believe that charities need to do more to move away from the traditional saviour narrative and towards an empowering charity model of social impact.

The Meaning of Charity

The word charity can mean many things to people. Unfortunately, when you say charity, many people often think of the images used in campaigns that feature starving children from low to middle income countries (examples include Band Aid in 1984, Red Nose Day telethons and television and poster appeals by many charities). Despite good intentions to help those who are in need, this kind of behaviour has created poverty porn: images that make a spectacle of those in need to make supporters feel sympathetic and generous. This approach has raised money to end human suffering at the cost of the dignity of people in need. It has also contributed to a wider, problematic narrative that people of colour are dependent, less prosperous and need to be pitied.

Charities that operate a traditional model need to review their belief that they are the active agents and those they support are the passive beneficiaries. We need to rebalance the power relations so that charities in the western world do not claim power over communities in low to middle income countries.

Social Impact and Charities

We never want to assume that we have it right. We are committed to continuing to learn from organisations that have started from — or shifted to — a social impact model. The social impact model focuses on the effect that charities can have on communities. It requires charitable organisations to prioritise building relationships with the communities they work with instead of assuming superior knowledge or solutions.

Partnership really matters to us. To be able to understand the extent of the sanitation crisis in Madagascar, we collaborate with local organisations and government bodies and ask them to lead on suggesting if and how better data could help end the crisis. Together, we are working to empower local governments with accurate, accessible data.

This International Day of Charity, we want to invite other non-profit organisations to think about what they can do to rebalance the global power dynamic. Together, we must pursue partnerships, design projects and use images and words that empower communities and honour their dignity.