Editorial | Philanthropy is alive and well

Human suffering can evoke sympathy way beyond expectations. We have seen this played out in the past days when it took merely 24 hours to raise US$40,000 to send 12 year-old burn victim Adriana Laing, overseas for the critical medical care that she needs.

The tremendous emotional response to a family tragedy by corporate Jamaica, charities and individuals, from here and overseas, has ensured that the 12- year-old Westmoreland girl will get a second chance at life. It is reported that Sanmerna Company and its Foundation played a major role in raising the US$40,000 that was needed to airlift the child from Jamaica to Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States.

What was accomplished in those 24 hours also helped to restore the waning hope and negativity that some Jamaicans harbour about their country. There is no denying that a certain kind of ugliness continues to scar the face of this beautiful island. Despite that, however, philanthropy is very much alive and scores of persons continue to open their hearts and wallets to help the less-fortunate.

Corporate Jamaica is not shy about reciting the many ways in which it uses its money, time and skills to engage in donating to various causes ranging from homelessness to promoting education. Much of this corporate philanthropy is funnelled through foundations that have developed formal programmes to “give back to communities” and enhance the lives of the people who live within them.

CONDUCT AN AUDIT

Were we to conduct an audit of some of the communities or institutions which have been beneficiaries of corporate largesse, we wonder what we would find. For instance, would we see visible, impactful changes designed to improve life chances?

Take education, for example;many corporations have declared that education sits at the top of their agenda. They routinely offer substantial financial and other tangible support to students and schools, to demonstrate their commitment to the sector. Despite this focus, education continues to be described as a sector in crisis and children are graduating from school illiterate and not skilled to cope with the workplace.

It is imperative that these questions be considered by donors, to determine the effectiveness of corporate giving in the national scheme of things.

How much change could be wrought in our society if all this corporate giving succeeded in helping to tackle the big issues that continue to confound us? Well-worn challenges that include lawlessness, corruption, violence, environmental degradation and poor customer service appear to get greater by the day.

While it is heartening to see quick responses to short-term challenges, we feel that, if philanthropy is to make any progress in tackling the root causes of these challenges that bedevil society, foundations and corporate donors must find a strategic approach to drive systemic change in society.

We see the need for greater advocacy work in our communities to bring about change in attitudes. The bottomline is, though, no matter how much money is thrown at societal problems without the requisite public policy changes, there can be little hope of seeing a reduction in poverty.

Like the rest of the nation, we wish Adriana a complete recovery. We hope, too, that she will get necessary professional post-op help, for we anticipate that, long after her scars are healed, she will be haunted by the reality that her three siblings perished on that fateful night.