Samantha Power wrote in Chasing the Flame that Sergio believed “the best way for outsiders to make a dent in enhancing [individual dignity] would be to improve their linguistic and cultural knowledge base, to remind themselves of their own fallibility, to empower those who know their societies best, and to be resilient and adaptable in the face of inevitable setbacks.” It’s sometimes easier said than done, however. Living in the United States often makes it difficult to get truly nuanced perspectives of different cultural realities, and the kind of humility that Sergio sought can easily be forgotten.
For that very reason, anyone interested in foreign aid would do well to listen to Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippet’s recent discussion with Binyavanga Wainaina, winner of the 2002 Caine Prize for African Writing, African’s most prestigious literary award; founding editor and executive director of Africa’s most well-respected literary journal, Kwani?; contributor to South Africa’s largest newspaper and director of Bard College’s Chinua Achebe Center for African Languages and Literature. It’s a strong reminder of the often unforeseen counterproductive effects of charity and the need to question easy assumptions. How else can we try to do better?
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