Tales from the Hood takes on Nicholas Kristof, author of Half The Sky, for his recent article in Outside magazine titled "Nicholas Kristof's Advice for Saving the World".
I am also critical of this article. Given his audience Kristof could have provided practical advice to donors on how to see past aid agency advertising to make wise funding decisions. Instead his only advice to donors is in the final paragraph (added on later?) where he encourages them to develop their own sponsorship programs:
"...if you're trekking in the Himalayas, come back not with stories of impoverished villages but rather ones about a particular 12-year-old girl who, if she received just $10 a month, could stay in school. Come back with photos of her—or, better, video that you put on a blog or Web site. Make people feel lucky that they have the opportunity to assist her, so that they'll find helping her every bit as refreshing as, say, drinking a Pepsi."