Kix

I know I'm going to get hammered for this but....

I don't think anyone should give any money to it (even though the UK people managed to give £75million - a new record - recession? what recession?).

Why do the donators think that saving loads of african children is a good thing? Surely education would be better and getting the parents to have just 2 or 3 kids, not 8-12 is more acceptable.

You just have to look at what happened in Ethiopia before and after Live Aid (which I did see - it was a hell of a concert), to see that throwing money at such regimes is madness.

Now if Red Nose Day was for the starving underclass in the UK, I would support it, but I will never support it's african agenda.

It's main host is Lenny Henry - no agenda there then.

The Dean

Lenny Henry is happy to 'donate' his time free of charge - mainly because nobody will actually pay him for his work these days anyway...........

You have a point - I always thought it would be better to raise money for, say, desalination plants so that areas of low rainfall (e.g. NE horn/corner of Africa) can get their land irrigated and start to grow their own crops more efficiently etc.

But didn't Red Nose/Comic Relief start off originally as UK-focused? What happened?

Millhouse

What do you run the plants on?

typical

What makes you think that Comic Relief doesn't support organisations that help with education and birth control in Africa?

scot47

I always ignore it. There is something distasteful about making a big noise about how much one is doing for charity.

Do good quietly.

kittycat1

Hmmm, whilst in theory I support any charity work/funding, I must admit having just looked at the comic relief site I do agree a certain ammount with you Kix http://www.comicrelief.com/how-we-help whilst they do still support domestic charities when you look at the funding and the ammount they raise it doesn't sound like much is going to Uk based charites, having said that international charities need support from the richer countries whether it is spent on the correct projects is another question, I've always felt Oxfam is a good charity to support for this though. If I was in the Uk though I would have given a couple of quid as I would whenever I see someone collecting.

Personally, I have certain charities that I support directly so I know they are getting the money.

Kix

They shout out all over the BBC, send us £5 and we can give an African child a vaccine against xyz.

The countries they vaccine are all relatively rich and they live on western aid.

It's wrong.

Let them be, forget about aid to anyone, after Live Aid, and because of Live Aid, the population of Ethiopia grew from 20million to over 80 million. Because we saved the kids. Ethiopia is still a train wreck country, Geldof was deluded and misguided, LiveAid made more problems than ever.

mikelincs

I agree, that more funding to save children just causes a population explosion, the money would be far better spent on contraception and education, especially in the limiting of family sizes. Population explosion = more starving people = more aid needed.
How many other countries have these fundraising TV things, and what do they raise money for?.

Kix

That map is amazing. We give £2.8million to India? They have a better economy than the UK!

Beggers belief.

mikelincs

India have said they don't want any more money, and apparently they will not be getting any more.. after 2014.. seems they can't stop it before then.

Kix

They can't stop it? Why should it be given?

All the adverts are black kids with big bellies (we should open a bar) and flies buzzing around them. Its crazy, stop the aid to other countries, look after UK first.

mikelincs

That's what the government say..

typical

Because that's where children are dying of xyz.

The first is definitely not true. The second perhaps true in some cases - but so what? Aid has come a long way in terms of seeking to build capacity as well as respond to immediate needs.

"Send us £5 and we will put it towards a capacity building program helping to train rural teachers in ways that will help over the next 15 years to overcome the structural problems of the country" is neither as pithy nor as likely to get people to open their wallets as the vaccination appeal.

The picture is much more complex than that. Ethiopia isn't the train wreck it was in the 80s, but it's true the outcome of Live Aid was problematic. Then again, I am not particularly comfortable trading off starving children against potential future problems.

Kix

The problem is, if they keep being baby machines then the problem will worsen.

There should be a sterilisation program, I'd donate then

typical

Several of the charities supported by Comic Relief have contraception and even abortion programs. (It's one reason parts of the Catholic Church try to tell followers not to support Comic Relief, in fact.)

I see what you mean on the other thread about you being Hitler, though...