I agree with most of you say here, indeed all things being equal a person from Kenya is going to be far more effective at doing anti-poverty work in Kenya than someone from anywhere else. The problem is your caveats - things are almost never equal...
1) Education systems just aren’t nearly as good in lower income countries. This means that that education is sadly barely ever equal. Even between low income countries—a Kenyan once joked with me that “a Ugandan degree holder is like a Kenyan high school leaver”. If you look at the top echelon of NGO/Charity leaders from low-income who’s charities have grown and scaled big, most have been at least partially educated in richer countries
2) Ability to network is sadly usually so so much higher if you’re from a higher income country. Social capital is real and insanely important. If you look at the very biggest NGOs, most of them are founded not just by Westerners, but by IVY LEAGUE OR OXBRIDGE EDUCATED WESTERNERS. Paul Farmer (Partners in Health) from Harvard, Raj Panjabi (LastMile Health) from Harvard. Paul Niehaus (GiveDirectly) from Harvard. Rob Mathers (AMF) Harvard AND Cambridge. With those connections you can turn a good idea into growth so much faster even compared to super privileged people like me from New Zealand, let alone people with amazing ideas and organisations in low income countries who just don’t have access to that kind of social capital.
3) The pressures on people from low-income countries are so high to secure their futures, that their own financial security will often come first and the vast majority won’t stay the course with their charity, but will leave when they get an opportunity to further their career. And fair enough too! I’ve seen a number of of incredibly talented founders here in Northern Uganda drop their charity for a high paying USAID job (that ended poorly...), or an overseas study scholarship, or a solid government job. Here’s a telling quote from this great take here by @WillieG
“Roughly a decade ago, I spent a year in a developing country working on a project to promote human rights. We had a rotating team of about a dozen (mostly) brilliant local employees, all college-educated, working alongside us. We invested a lot of time and money into training these employees, with the expectation that they (as members of the college-educated elite) would help lead human rights reform in the country long after our project disbanded. I got nostalgic and looked up my old colleagues recently. Every single one is living in the West now. A few are still somewhat involved in human rights, but most are notably under-employed (a lawyer washing dishes in a restaurant in Virginia, for example”
I think (somewhat sadly) a good combination can be for co-founders or co-leaders to be one person from a high-income country with more funding/research connections, and one local person who like you say will be far more effective at understanding the context and leading in locally-appropriate ways. This synergy can cover important bases, and you’ll see a huge number of charities (including mine) founded along these lines.
These realities makes me uncomfortable though, and I wish it weren’t so. As @Jeff Kaufman 🔸 said “I can’t reject my privilege, I can’t give it back” so I try and use my privilege as best as possible to help lift up the poorest people. The organisation OneDay Health I co-founded has me as the only employed foreigner, and 65 other local staff.
I agree with most of you say here, indeed all things being equal a person from Kenya is going to be far more effective at doing anti-poverty work in Kenya than someone from anywhere else. The problem is your caveats - things are almost never equal...
1) Education systems just aren’t nearly as good in lower income countries. This means that that education is sadly barely ever equal. Even between low income countries—a Kenyan once joked with me that “a Ugandan degree holder is like a Kenyan high school leaver”. If you look at the top echelon of NGO/Charity leaders from low-income who’s charities have grown and scaled big, most have been at least partially educated in richer countries
2) Ability to network is sadly usually so so much higher if you’re from a higher income country. Social capital is real and insanely important. If you look at the very biggest NGOs, most of them are founded not just by Westerners, but by IVY LEAGUE OR OXBRIDGE EDUCATED WESTERNERS. Paul Farmer (Partners in Health) from Harvard, Raj Panjabi (LastMile Health) from Harvard. Paul Niehaus (GiveDirectly) from Harvard. Rob Mathers (AMF) Harvard AND Cambridge. With those connections you can turn a good idea into growth so much faster even compared to super privileged people like me from New Zealand, let alone people with amazing ideas and organisations in low income countries who just don’t have access to that kind of social capital.
3) The pressures on people from low-income countries are so high to secure their futures, that their own financial security will often come first and the vast majority won’t stay the course with their charity, but will leave when they get an opportunity to further their career. And fair enough too! I’ve seen a number of of incredibly talented founders here in Northern Uganda drop their charity for a high paying USAID job (that ended poorly...), or an overseas study scholarship, or a solid government job. Here’s a telling quote from this great take here by @WillieG
“Roughly a decade ago, I spent a year in a developing country working on a project to promote human rights. We had a rotating team of about a dozen (mostly) brilliant local employees, all college-educated, working alongside us. We invested a lot of time and money into training these employees, with the expectation that they (as members of the college-educated elite) would help lead human rights reform in the country long after our project disbanded. I got nostalgic and looked up my old colleagues recently. Every single one is living in the West now. A few are still somewhat involved in human rights, but most are notably under-employed (a lawyer washing dishes in a restaurant in Virginia, for example”
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/tKNqpoDfbxRdBQcEg/?commentId=trWaZYHRzkzpY9rjx
I think (somewhat sadly) a good combination can be for co-founders or co-leaders to be one person from a high-income country with more funding/research connections, and one local person who like you say will be far more effective at understanding the context and leading in locally-appropriate ways. This synergy can cover important bases, and you’ll see a huge number of charities (including mine) founded along these lines.
These realities makes me uncomfortable though, and I wish it weren’t so. As @Jeff Kaufman 🔸 said “I can’t reject my privilege, I can’t give it back” so I try and use my privilege as best as possible to help lift up the poorest people. The organisation OneDay Health I co-founded has me as the only employed foreigner, and 65 other local staff.