I've been reading up on Uganda and just Africa in general. Here is something I came across recently, and has been good to think about. Here's the
Link if you're interested in reading further. Thanks Suzy G. for sharing this information.
This idea of "Poverty Porn":
So in today’s social impact landscape, what is poverty porn? It could be: Photos of rape victims in the Congo used to raise funds in annual reports. Images of squatting South Asian women looking up at Western aid workers. The “bad black man” trope reinforcing the “savior complex.” Short films featuring emaciated children lying in the rubble after Haiti’s earthquake. “Darfur for Dummies.” Celebrities, DIY activists, or NGO marketing departments creating photo opportunities with children swarming at their knees, saying the experience has changed their own lives. How do we know it when we see it? The use of media, image, and design in any social impact field is of course dependent on context. It isn’t simply about the image—which in and of itself may be innocuous, or in a different context, realistic or even powerful. Images and media sink to the level of manipulation depending on what they are used for, and how they are shaped and placed. Understanding how to see propaganda and instead create initiatives grounded in respect with an attention to complex realities requires critical thinking and an educated eye.
... “in addition to violating privacy and human rights, poverty porn is
damaging to those it is trying to aid because it evokes the idea that the poor
are helpless and incapable of helping themselves, thereby cultivating a culture
of paternalism.” (Unite for Sight)
It is the leveraging of pity, whose flip side in the world of
aid and development is a combination of guilt and superiority, which sets a
cultural stage for disrespect and disconnect. There are countless organizations
and projects that keep falling into the savior trap, trying to do what they
think is best, but creating output that is outdated and misguided and
old-fashioned.
It’s time to catalyze a paradigm shift.
If we want to advance positive social change—striving towards vibrant,
participatory, open, just, economically stable communities in which the entire
world can actually invest—we must partner with communities, not impose our
constructs. And if we seek to truly collaborate with people, we need to think
of each other as equals. We need to educate ourselves—donors, NGOs, and
creatives—that our narratives and design need to reflect that equality and
shared humanity
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