Letters
Not the will lacking, but the means
1 March 2009
Alliance magazine
I was very surprised and disappointed to read the letter from David Bonbright in the December issue of Alliance. He has no grounds at all for his assumption about my ‘mental model’ of philanthropy. In my mind, the ultimate ‘beneficiaries’ are always just that – the ‘end-users’ whose lives will, it is hoped, be changed, whether they are people with HIV/AIDS, poor farmers, or homeless and unemployed young people in the UK. I specifically refer to the fact that ‘voices close to the ground’ (a term used by Rory Tolentino in the June issue of Alliance) are often translated, not always effectively, by large international NGOs.
