{"id":186312,"date":"2021-06-07T12:00:59","date_gmt":"2021-06-07T11:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=186312"},"modified":"2021-06-03T03:28:55","modified_gmt":"2021-06-03T02:28:55","slug":"sponsor-a-child-schemes-attacked-for-perpetuating-racist-attitudes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2021\/06\/sponsor-a-child-schemes-attacked-for-perpetuating-racist-attitudes\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Sponsor a Child\u2019 Schemes Attacked for Perpetuating Racist Attitudes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Using individual children to \u2018sell\u2019 schemes to rich donors is similar to \u2018poverty porn\u2019 images of past, say experts, as calls grow to decolonise aid.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Plan International admitted it had made \u2018mistakes\u2019 over its exit from Sri Lanka, reigniting debate over international sponsor schemes. Photograph: MediaWorldImages\/Alamy<\/p><\/div>\n

31 May 2021 – <\/em>International child sponsorship schemes have come under attack for perpetuating racist thinking, as an apology by a charity to thousands of children in Sri Lanka<\/a> has sparked a debate over the money-raising schemes.<\/p>\n

Plan International last week admitted it had made \u201cmistakes\u201d over its exit from Sri Lanka<\/a> in 2020, following criticism from donors and former employees that it had failed 20,000 vulnerable children in the country.<\/p>\n

It apologised to sponsored children as well as to communities and partners, some of whom, they admitted, felt it left \u201cabruptly\u201d and without sufficient communication.<\/p>\n

The controversy has reignited debate over international child sponsorship schemes and whether, amid growing calls to decolonise aid, the benefits they offer can outweigh the north-south power relations they re-enforce.<\/p>\n

Carol Sherman, an independent humanitarian consultant who has held senior director roles in international NGOs for two decades, said the schemes perpetuate \u201cracist and paternalistic thinking\u201d similar to the \u201cpoverty porn\u201d images<\/a> of poor black children used by charities in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor years, we didn\u2019t talk about the white gaze, myself included,\u201d said Sherman. \u201cChild sponsorship is a small part of decolonising aid<\/a>, but it\u2019s a part NGOs need to change. It is a relic of the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sherman acknowledges that many large schemes have evolved in recent years to provide benefits to communities, not individuals, while others, such as World Vision, allow the child involvement in choosing a donor. But \u201ctweaking\u201d the model is not enough, she said.<\/p>\n