#HowMatters

A “big game” and a yogurt commercial may have led you to stumble upon this website today.

But you won’t find a grizzly bear here. When we talk about #HowMatters, it’s about how well-intentioned people often fall short of changing the lives of the people they want to help.

This blog on addressing global poverty began in 2010 with the aim to “explore the skills and knowledge needed by all international ‘do-gooders’ (professional and amateur alike) to…put real resources behind local means of overcoming obstacles.”

Working in international assistance and philanthropy for over a decade, I have seen way too many do-gooder projects bypass—or sadly even destroy—grassroots initiatives. When our passion to change the world kicks in, the first thing people miss is that people are already organized and doing something to transform their nations and neighborhoods, more often than not. What people in the developing world need most often are, first, our financial resources and, second, our solidarity and encouragement, not our efforts and ideas. (If you’re still reading but you’re a foreign aid opponent, you might be interested in this.)

In the many years I’ve been doing this work, I’ve made many, many large and small mistakes, sometimes causing much more harm than good. I have learned the hard way just how much #HowMatters. But I have also come to believe that our role as “outsiders,” whether we are working for the U.N. in Nairobi or having wanderlust dreams during our unfulfilling office job in Ohio, must be about getting community leaders the resources that they need to address their own priorities. It’s actually never easy to help another person overcome great obstacles, but as the world shrinks and technology improves, there’s more ways than ever to do this, and do this well. (Working on a book about this…stay tuned.)

How matters, so let’s take off our “savior” and “outside experts” hats long enough to recognize that transforming society and challenging the bonds of violence, poverty and oppression is, at its core, ultimately about connecting with and listening to people.

Here’s an opportunity to start. Watch the #BigGame commercial the NFL is not going to air. (More here.)