Monday, May 4, 2009

Bad Charity

This morning I said goodbye to the people of the Hospital and School and traveled to Bhubhaneswar, the capital of Orissa. Tomorrow morning I fly to Kolkata (Calcutta) and then head up to Kathmandu.

Turns out, Kathmandu is a little crazy right now. There has been some (new) political unrest in Nepal. The Prime Minister has resigned due to some problems with the military, people are rioting in the streets, roads are blocked by burning vehicles and pits of burning tires, and there is a gas shortage. So, really, Kathmandu is just how I left it.

I spent today running around and having meetings with the big charities here in Orissa. After these meetings, I immediately took a shower, brushed my teeth, and sat in the corner hugging my knees silently mumbling to myself. These charities LOVE to talk about how much money they are spending on helping to improve the situation of the people of Orissa. However, it turns out I asked the wrong types of questions. I wanted to know what these charities actually DID. It turns out that what they DO is be charities. Well After a few hours of meetings, I now know that the situation in Orissa deserves the attention of the entire world, and they are working very hard to improve the lives of the people of Orissa through Healthcare, Education, and Economic Development. I DO NOT KNOW exactly how the hell they are actually doing it.

I think that all they do is write reports about how crappy life in Orissa is. They love to talk about how much money they are spending, but they are unable to answer what they are spending that money on.

My head hurts. I need to sleep. I have a long travel day tomorrow.

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