Richard Howlett
Hiya!
My name is Richard and I work at ActionAid in London.
Do you know what aid money is? It’s money that our government gives to poor countries to help things get better for the people that live there.
Sometimes poor countries are so poor that they don’t have enough money for all the children to go to school. Or enough to pay for doctors and nurses for when people get sick. Aid money helps poor people in these countries get the things they need.
Sounds good doesn’t it? Well, it is, but sometimes the government gets a bit cheeky. They start telling poor countries what they should or shouldn’t do. For example, they tell them what to spend the money on. It’s a bit like being given your pocket money but being forced to spend it on things you don’t want. Imagine!
We reckon that poor countries should be free to decide for themselves how to spend aid money. After all, they’re more likely to know what people in their country really need.
So, along with thousands and thousands of ordinary people in this country who feel the same – we tell the government what we think. We call this campaigning and it’s amazing what it can achieve.
Since we started campaigning about this, the government has made aid loads better than it was before. We will keep doing this– until aid money is helping poor people as much as it possibly can.
Questions and Answers (February 25, 2008)
Q: [from Ben] I am doing a speaking and listening piece for my GCSE and wondered if you could answer these questions for me? Can schools support a village by helping fund building works, educating the villagers, helping them form businesses? If a school could support a village do you have any information on what feedback the school will get and how much money would it cost to fund a villge? Thank you
A: Yes your school is able to support a village or community through raising funds. We currently have several priority projects which help some of the poorest communities. For example, we have one project that builds wells and toilets in schools in Sierra Leone and another which helps farmers re-start their businesses in Liberia. Any individual or group who supports a priority project receives a yearly report explaining how the project is going and to demonstrate how their money has made a difference. Supporters also receive a message and a photo from someone who has benefited from the funds they’ve given. You can find more information about our priority projects here www.actionaid.org.uk/priorityprojects and if you would like us to send you a priority projects information pack please email us at: priorityprojects@actionaid.org
Q: [from Phil] What has the government done recently with aid money? Are they getting better at giving it?
A: They are getting better at giving it – they don’t force poor countries to buy things from British companies so much any more. But they are still a bit cheeky. They still make poor countries pay for advice from British people when they would probably be better getting it from local people.
Q: [from Jenny] What kind of things do countries spend their money on?
A: Building schools and paying teachers. Training doctors and nurses
Q: [from Joy] How much money does our government give?
A: Two years ago they gave £6.85 billion as aid money. That sounds like LOADS doesn’t it?! But it’s actually only about 0.5% of all the money the government has. It’s not so much when you think Britain is one of the richest countries in the world and there are millions and millions of poor people.
Q: [from Liz] What can I do to help?
A: There are several ways you can help. One of the most important is making people aware of what’s happening in poorer countries. Another way of helping is by raising money. Some of the money raised by people for ActionAid goes towards employing staff in the UK office whose jobs are to make sure the UK government spends its aid money in the best way. I work with others to keep an eye on what the UK government does with its aid money. Sometimes it doesn’t spend all the money it’s put to one side for aid but spends it on things like expensive British advisors. We work hard to make sure this doesn’t happen.
Q: [from Gerald] Which countries does our government give money to?
A: Poor countries all around the world – like Kenya which is a country in Africa, India in Asia and even tiny places like the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean.
