Four Generations: 水牛

My English teacher's colleague sent this video http://www.thompsonjazz.com/movies/waterbuffalo/flash-hi.htm to all of the English teachers at my high school. Since it's related to the previous post (Singer's Solution to World Poverty), my English teacher thought that it would be good for my class to watch too.

The video is about a violinist named Robert Thompson who is living in China and reads a blog (hey look at that!) about giving a water buffalo to a needy family in China. It turns out that the idea is just hypothetical and that there isn't really an organization that has water buffalo's to donate. Thompson decided to contact the author of the blog, who donated $250 to buy a water buffalo to donate. Thompson found a needy four generation family living in Dajuan, Yunnan Province to donate to. When the family received the buffalo, they were speechless.

This kind of selfless act could be a lot more common. If we all followed Singer's "plan," it would theoretically happen so much that poverty could be eliminated. Although Singer's plan is shallow, poorly thought-out, and would end up killing the world economy, his heart must have been in the right place. This video about the water buffalo was very touching. I personally thought it was more effective in making me want to do something about poverty than Singer's essay. This wasn't some lazy writer typing crazy accusations in his plush chair in some upscale loft in New York. This was someone who was right there with the people, and met the people he was helping face to face. Seeing Americans doing this kind of thing for complete strangers was far more inspiring to me than being told that I was immoral for having things that aren't necessities.

This idea of donating a water buffalo to needy farmers reminded me of Heifer International, an organization that does just that. Heifer International donates livestock to third world countries. According to their official website:
"Heifer is about communities and families. In areas where there has been conflict, Heifer helps communities by providing them with livestock and training that lead to a values-based, sustainable lifestyle that helps them put their differences aside." To learn more about Heifer International, visit their website at http://www.heifer.org/. Or, if you go to my school, make sure to donate on our student senate's annual Cow Day, which fundraises for Heifer International.

Questions Raised by The Singer Solution to World Poverty

1. Are we, as people born into affluent nations responsible for the welfare and upbringing of those less fortunate in third world countries?

2. Is there really a simple solution to such a complex problem?

3. Who is to blame for poverty? Is it us?

4. Who needs our help the most? Where do we start aiding?

5. How do we know when poverty is "solved?"

-Alex Y.