People see need in developing countries - but they don't care to reason out the cause for the need. In particular, developing countries are the perfect backdrop for white fantasies of being the hero or savior to a group of people. Teju Cole explains this problem perfectly:
From the colonial project to Out of Africa to The Constant Gardener and Kony 2012, Africa has provided a space onto which white egos can conveniently be projected. It is a liberated space in which the usual rules do not apply: a nobody from America or Europe can go to Africa and become a godlike savior or, at the very least, have his or her emotional needs satisfied. Many have done it under the banner of "making a difference."
- Teju Cole | The White-Savior Industrial Complex
So how can a white person with good intentions actually "help" developing countries today? First, I believe, it begins with some humility. Stop thinking about how we have to save them because they can't save themselves. Second, get skilled. A cute teenage white girl from New Jersey is probably not a doctor, a carpenter, an engineer, or any other professional that a developing community actually needs. And until you are a professional, you're probably just an average teenager who can horse around in an orphanage, lift bags of heavy stuff, make a few kids smile, and proceed to write a college essay about how you "found yourself" in a developing country.
That's not enough.
Before you go into a developing country with the intention of alleviating a situation there, ask yourself if you actually posses the skills to help. If not, sadly, you will actually be detrimental to the community you are trying to aid. You will slow down growth and perpetuate the white savior complex that has plagued us ever since the age of Imperialism.
That's not enough.
Before you go into a developing country with the intention of alleviating a situation there, ask yourself if you actually posses the skills to help. If not, sadly, you will actually be detrimental to the community you are trying to aid. You will slow down growth and perpetuate the white savior complex that has plagued us ever since the age of Imperialism.
"There is no African, myself included, who does not appreciate the help of the wider world, but we do question whether aid is genuine or given in the spirit of affirming one’s cultural superiority. My mood is dampened every time I attend a benefit whose host runs through a litany of African disasters before presenting a (usually) wealthy, white person, who often proceeds to list the things he or she has done for the poor, starving Africans. Every time a well-meaning college student speaks of villagers dancing because they were so grateful for her help, I cringe. Every time a Hollywood director shoots a film about Africa that features a Western protagonist, I shake my head — because Africans, real people though we may be, are used as props in the West’s fantasy of itself. And not only do such depictions tend to ignore the West’s prominent role in creating many of the unfortunate situations on the continent, they also ignore the incredible work Africans have done and continue to do to fix those problems."
-Uzodinma Iweala | Stop Trying to ‘Save’ Africa