The Problem with Donations

Sitting in Bodhgaya last night, eating dinner, I talked with an American guy doing research here on NGO's and development. Like many tourist areas, Bodhgaya is full of touts... one of the big things here is getting people to donate to local schools. Being in Bihar, one of India's poorest states, the Buddhist shrine's location here allows spiritual tourists ample opportunity to fulfill their desires to help the poor.

There are many schools set up, mainly to make money. Allegedly, in many of the schools, over 50% of the monies go to the owners. And my American friend told of one school that has encountered a grave problem. It sits near the center of the tourist area, and has outdoor classes and an obvious lack of facilities. For years, many years, if you get my drift, it has been "trying" to raise money to build a proper school. The apparent lack of facilities make it an obvious choice for donors. To the school owners' dismay, a foreign lady managed to raise enough money for them to build a completely new school with complete facilities. If they build the school, they will loose their cash hog because tourists won't see the need to donate money... like they see when they see the roomless classrooms. And the owners will loose their way to make money. Yet here they are with the amount of money they asked for. Apparently they are in quite a quandry.