Roving Bandit: Lenny Henry in Kibera

22 January 2012

Four British celebrities try living and working in Kibera for a week on the £1-£2 average daily income (hattip: my mum).

Matt said...: I saw the full version a while back - I always thought that, while he was obviously very affected by the experience, Lenny Henry took the easiest, most comforting way out when he just bought a new house for the family and got out of there. More or less how most charity works - we send in our money and then move our minds to less troublesome thoughts.; January 22, 2012 at 5:44 PM
rovingbandit said...: Better than not sending money though right? And whatever you think about Comic Relief - Lenny Henry has certainly been pretty committed to the cause for some time...; January 22, 2012 at 11:22 PM
Matt said...: Er - it depends. I'm not of the opinion that any type of charity is better than no charity at all. In my model of the world, aid of any form has the potential for a negative net impact. Even if any money is better than no money - saying
"surely any money is better than no money" doesn't really do much for arguments that these messages and the type of aid people give could be improved.
I'm not arguing that Lenny Henry was disingenuous in any way, just that the lesson that viewers take away might not be the right one.; January 23, 2012 at 9:45 AM
rovingbandit said...: Instead he should be addressing the structural governance constraints to improved livelihoods in Kibera?; January 23, 2012 at 10:08 AM

Roving Bandit