29May 2019 by 3p Admin

Fighting Voluntourism With Sustainability

Opinion
JORDAN PLACE, CEO & PRESIDENT During one of my first rotations as a medical student, the topic of my non-profit work came up in a conversation with my attending physician. After asking a few questions about what we do in Haiti, his next statement was something along the lines of, "I've heard that a lot of money raised for relief work in Haiti has been mismanaged by unskilled volunteers and doesn't accomplish anything sustainable." I heard the question in his voice before he got a chance to ask it—what makes your work any different? This is a valid question and one that I hope everyone who chooses to partake in charitable giving is willing to ask of the organizations they support. Medical "voluntourism" is a real problem and requires would-be…
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28Mar 2019 by 3p Admin

Opinion: In response to “Why Haiti?” Executive Director asks “Why not?”

Opinion
JORDAN PLACE, CEO & PRESIDENT “Why Haiti?” This is a question I often hear. There are countless homeless veterans, for example, and other groups of individuals in need right here in the United States. It is natural to believe that we must take care of our own people before assisting others. From a certain perspective, this argument makes sense. It can seem wasteful and as if our priorities are out of line if we are leaving the country to help others without helping "our own”. However, I've often found these questioners to be more interested in critiquing my desire to serve than in actually helping homeless veterans or others in need. This is how I have generally responded. First, I explain that understand where they are coming from, but because…
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