After the recent crisis in Japan, I have been more than happy to see American citizens eager to help. Public service announcements have been made, and schools and organizations have teamed up to raise money to help those in Japan. According to Yahoo!, $1,638,949 have been donated so far – and the number is growing.

However, as a senior in the Bioscience Academy, we discussed foreign aid in my Bioethics class – and I was exposed to a whole new perspective. I learned that money donated may not help as much as we are told, and that aiding in foreign affairs is expensive and risky. I learned that physically helping is very dangerous: deaths and serious injuries have been reported among volunteers who enter foreign countries in a time of crisis. I also learned that the money donated may not always go directly to the cause.

For example, I looked into the non-governmental organization called Omnipeace which sells apparel to raise money to build schools in third world countries. Recently, it was discovered that the founder of Ominpeace has been pocketing a majority of the funds for her own purse.  Does the money we donate actually go to the cause? And, if so, how is it helping? Should the government fund more organizations working in foreign aid?

I feel like there is no ideal option when it comes to aiding in foreign affairs. The first option is to do nothing, which just seems selfish on America’s part. We have so many resources that we could use to help, and to deny any kind of aid makes us just look mean.

The next option is to raise money, and donate it to the cause. While this sounds nice, there is no way of knowing how much money goes to what- and this could result in corruption.

Lastly, Americans can not only donate, but go over to foreign countries in order to help these causes. This, too, sounds good – but as a result of this, America will be seen at times as interfering, and there is a possibility of serious injuries to Americans who physically aid in these crises.

At the same time, I admire anyone who takes a stand to help their fellow human beings. I mean, even if the help is minimal, it is a relief to know that people care. However, is just caring enough?

Japan is in a serious time of crisis, so a lot of what I said above may not apply to this. However, after this unit in my class, I am more hesitant when donating to causes. I would like to make sure that the money I donate is actually helping those in need, and not padding the pockets of the founders.