The document discusses the shortcomings of traditional disaster relief methods, emphasizing that well-intentioned help often fails to address the actual needs of affected communities and can inadvertently exacerbate problems. It critiques common practices like donating non-essential items and highlights the importance of engaging local populations, understanding their capacities, and fostering sustainable solutions. The piece also calls for innovative approaches and technology, such as blockchain, to empower communities and address poverty and inequality more effectively.

1. STATUS QUO
WILL NOT SOLVE
OUR PROBLEMS,
CRITICAL THINKING AND
ACTION NEEDED
BY ROBIN LOW

2. DISASTERS EVERYWHERE
Earthquake & 2+ Hurricanes (Sept 2017)

3. GREECE 2019

4. JAKARTA FLOODS 2019

5. INDONESIA
2019

6. MOST COMMON “HELP”
1) Facebook Likes
2) Donations
3) Volunteer
4) Virgil / Solidarity
…
Fundraising, etc.

8. DEFINE HELP
Help is any form of assistance.
-- Wikipedia

9. WHY DO WE HELP?
• Religion?
• Branding?
• Good Intentions?
• Guilt?

10. POPULAR FORM OF
HELP: DONATIONS
Individuals and business like to help by
donating money.
Some donate a certain portion of profits
while others a certain amount every regular
interval.
This is a minimal form of helping and one
of the most common form.

11. NEPAL EARTHQUAKE
(2015)
Twin Earthquakes 7.8 and 7.3 magnitude
About 9,000 people killed
650,000 families displaced
600,000 homes destroyed beyond repair

14. DONATIONS
Nepal received USD$4.1 billion from
International Communities and World
Bank.
Guess what is progress at the 1 year
anniversary?

15. REAL IMPACT IN
NEPAL IN MAY 2016
Some construction on infrastructure
started.
Some rebuilding on UNESCO sites.
Number of homes rebuilt =
0

17. OTHER PROBLEMS
• Political indecision (Nepal
Reconstruction Agency)
• Unofficial Blockade on Indian border
• PUSHING OF BLAME
• WAITING FOR HELP

18. RESULTS
• People died from exposure from
environment.
• People displaced living in tents
• Farmers living in tents on their
farms, reduced income and food.
• Jobs lost (no Fuel)
• Unequal distribution of support.

20. CASE 2: SINGAPORE
HELP IN NEPAL
Students from Singapore visited Nepal and
distributed aid.
Supported by Churches, what can go
wrong?

21. SINGAPORE HELP
Students decided not to leave Kathmandu,
and just deliver aid in Kathmandu.
They discovered bibles in blankets.
(Common practice in Relief)
They “helped” to remove it.

22. RESULTS
What do you think when a majority
Buddhist / Hindu country finds lots of
bibles in their capital?

23. MANY PEOPLE WANT TO
HELP, FEW KNOW HOW
Everyone thinks helping is easy.
Most do it out of convenience.
Does anything think about the impact of
their deeds?
Some help out of pity, and they get angry
when they see the recipients have a nice
meal or buy something nice.

24. NOT ALL DONATIONS
ARE EQUAL

25. COMMON HELP MISTAKES IN
DISASTERS
1) Bottled Water
100,000 liters of bottled water – 40,000
people a day
Cost + Logistics $300,000
Cost for NGO with Filter to purify 100,000 of
water - $300
NO PLASTIC WASTE!

26. COMMON HELP MISTAKES IN
DISASTERS
2) Canned Food
…
List goes on.

27. PUERTO RICO BOTTLE WATER

28. WHAT WE BROUGHT

29. WATER FILTERS

30. EASY INSTALLATION

31. GUESS WHAT WE ARE
SENDING TO AUSTRALIA?

32. COMMON HELP MISTAKES IN
DISASTERS
Clothes and Toys
NGOs do not have the capacity to provide
“non-essential” aid.
Most clothes and toys WILL be wasted as it
will be improperly stored and create a
health hazard.

33. COMMON HELP MISTAKES IN
DISASTERS
Many International NGOs spend in the
country the money is donated to buy
supplies, and this means that businesses
in the disaster areas are excluded.
People in charge are not on site and
bureaucracy prevents them from reacting
to changes or identifying gaps on the field.

34. CURSE OF
EXCLUSION OF
LOCALS IN
DISASTER RELIEF
AND RECOVERY

35. CAN’T HAITIANS
DRIVE?
Haiti Earthquake 2010
Food donation & delivery.
Trucks of Aid to Port-au-Prince.
5 year old saw the Dominican driver
and asked, “Can’t Hatians Drive?”

36. AID AND TRADITIONAL
NONPROFITS ARE
UNABLE TO GENERATE
SUSTAINABLE
ECONOMIC ACTIVITY.

37. Many humanitarian agencies, big aid
organizations and traditional non-
profits elect to deal with immediate
needs of displaced people during an
“emergency” period, discounting how
to integrate the survivors into existing
political and economic systems.

38. Both skilled and unskilled labor
supply go under utilized because of
policies within camps. Transforming
Survivors into refugees.

39. Is helping any help?
Not really…
At least not in the way we are doing it…

40. Often when we help…
We make life decisions for
those we are helping.

41. Often when we help…
We fail to see the whole picture
and feel content to help.

42. Often when we help…
We search the approach most efficient to
us not to those we are trying to help.

43. Often when we help…
We destroy the very same environment
we are trying to help.

44. Often when we help…
we displace local capacity.

45. Often when we help…
we measure our success by the delivery
of help or completion of actions not
actual impact.

46. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN DISASTER
STRIKES IS AN UNFORTUNATE
TWIST OF FATE.

47. WHAT HAPPENS AFTERWARDS
IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY…

48. When disaster strikes…
Some people are given a burden:
The burden of enduring the disaster
and the conditions that follow

49. When disaster strikes…
Some people are given a gift:
The gift of being spared
from disaster.

50. How can we
not use our
gift to lift the
burden of
others?

51. Disaster Response Lies…
• Only experts can help.
• You will be a burden in the field.
• We don’t need anything, we have all we need.
• Do not send clothes or food, send money.

52. We all can respond…
• And guarantee an efficient response…
• Donate Action, not money, not words…
• But how?

53. Disaster Response Basics:
You can be useful in the field if…
• Bring your own supplies and food to the field.
– Or buy them locally if possible.
• Engage the local stakeholders and work for
them, with them.
• Are connected.
• Have independent mobility.
• Listen, learn, respect.

55. When disaster strikes…
The social infrastructure remains,
people’s capacity is untouched…

56. What appears to be random or chaos
is neither…

57. There is order, social structure…

58. There is people,
like you and me, willing and able.

59. Who are the people who
survive disaster?

60. Disasters create survivors,
they don’t create refugees.
It is the conventional relief system what turns
survivors into refugees.

61. Disasters do not destroy
knowledge or capacity
Teachers are still teachers, doctors are still doctors,
nurses are still nurses, carpenters are still carpenters…

62. DANGERS OF SOCIAL
INTERVENTION
Making life decisions for those we are
helping
Is there “Over Helping?”

63. ARE YOU HELPING?
Should you do nothing?
Should you support status quo?

64. SO THEN
WHAT
CAN WE DO?

65. NEVER HELP
ENGAGE, ENABLE,
EMPOWER & CONNECT

66. POOR PEOPLE ARE
NOT STUPID

67. ECONOMICS OF
POVERTY

68. POVERTY IS A
COMPLEX PROBLEM
Many people think poverty can be solved
by one idea.
Policy makers think that simple police
change can uplift millions living in poverty.
“Copying China” is not a solution.
Technology may be improving, but how can
poor people be affected by “Smart Cities”
“Poverty” is not uniform; different
communities in the same countries have
different needs and problems.

69. THERE IS NO ONE SIZE
FITS ALL SOLUTION
People turn to microfinance.
Banks and institutions follow.
Social Entrepreneurship is a big thing.
Countries and universities are excited to
support the next big social startup.
No much studies are done to learn about
failures as funding is just for success.

70. POVERTY COSTS MORE
Everything costs more when you are poor.
When you buy sachets, you pay more.
When you take loans, you pay more.
(Higher default risks?)
Credit card discounts do not apply.
Cost of single trip a lot more than monthly
transport pass.
…

71. POVERTY NOT BY
CHOICE
Nobody choose to be poor / homeless
Some may work 14 hour days 6 days a
week just to pay bills and have not enough.
EVERYONE makes irrational choices with
money.
Risks of bankrupting because of a mistake
is much higher for the poor.
“Free” Information is not free if you do not
cannot afford Internet.

72. INEQUALITY
When wealth inequality is so high that the
rich end up sitting on more money than
they can spend, all that money is doing is
hanging around in a bank account.
The poor can have multiple jobs and still
not able to afford rent and feed themselves.
Social Mobility is worse now than before
with rising inequality.

73. Capitalism - A core feature of
capitalist economies is the so-
called free market, within which
some will inevitably win and
others will lose out — and that
spurs people to work harder.

74. “the rich man glories in his
riches, because … they naturally
draw upon him the attention of
the world,” while “the poor man
goes out and comes in
unheeded, and when in the midst
of a crowd is in the same
obscurity as if shut up in his own
hovel.”
-- Adam Smith

75. DISTORTION OF SYMPATHY
AND EMPATHY
It undermines both morality and happiness.
Crazy Rich Asians is full of “vice and folly”.
People admire (or worship) the rich
regardless of
how their money
was made.

76. FAIRNESS?
The wealthy are often lauded as innovators
and job creators.
The poor has to juggle with a small budget
and make it work for his family.
The poor lacks options and do not have the
luxury to think sustainability.

77. RESULT?
Unhappiness – 99% movement
Fragmented people – Poor does not care
about the rich. (Foreign labor in Dubai /
Singapore)
Prone to fake news.
Rise of populism.
Rise of fundamentalism.

78. 2020 –
INFLECTION POINT?
Will we slide into vicious and downcycle of
major conflicts, climate catastrophe and
eventually civilization collapse?
Move of Indonesia’s Capital to East
Kalimantan, will we see more forest
removed and more forest fires?
Impact of Belt Road Initiative, is this going
to be China’s soft power? How would
middle eastern countries react to the rise?

80. WHY ARE MORE PEOPLE STILL
GETTING INTO POVERTY?
1) Inequality
2) Conflict
3) Climate Change
4) Lack of infrastructure
5) Limited capacity of government
6) …
Are we trying to end poverty or just keep the poor alive?

81. WRONG FOCUS
There is often a disconnect from the policy
makers, CEOs and foundations with their
beneficiaries.
They live in different worlds.
People believe that you have to do well
before you can do good.
Rich people want to fund large scale
projects and get quick results.

82. NGOS - GIVE
Mosquito nets
Great solution to reduce Malaria / Dengue.
People can work / attend schools more.
Giving continuously can affect livelihoods
of the person mending nets as a career.
Abuse will happen as some will use nets for
fishing.
Are different models of providing nets
tested?

83. Is being to “PC”
harming us?
Is there cultural
appropriation?
Are ballerinas
vulnerable to
discrimination?
POLITICAL
CORRECTNESS Kendall Jenner

84. DID TRUMP WIN BECAUSE POLITICAL
CORRECTNESS WENT TO FAR?
Ethics, policies and political correctness.
Is it ok to talk about the uncontrolled
population growth that needs to be
addressed?
Can we complain that a handicapped
grabfood delivery person takes too long to
deliver food?

85. EFFECTS
How would poverty / inequality affect us?

86. SOCIAL INNOVATION
The point is, everyone can contribute.
Not just with money, not just doing
little tasks with no real impact.
We have innovative ideas, knowledge
and skills to solve complex problems.
There are interesting projects near
you or you can gather friends to work
on something you care about.

87. There are so many new
problems happening
everyday.
Complaining does not solve
problems, protesting does not
solve problems.

88. There is only so much the
government or NGOs can do.
Being big and bureaucratic
allows them access to
resources, but they are slow
to respond to changes.
We need innovation and
people to take actions and
accountability.

89. The crisis is not a crisis of
resources. It is a crisis of
imagination. When the plight
of humans is approached as a
crisis of resources, the natural
response is to produce
handouts.

90. For some, it means creating
businesses that address those
needs, and developing
plausible pathways to scale
those businesses so that
solutions stretch to the scale
of the challenge.
Then it is to look at how we
can support these businesses.

91. The solutions to the problems
the world face are complex
and getting to this solutions is
not an easy task.
There is definitely a solution
out there.

92. 2020 TECHNOLOGY?
Can technology alleviate poverty and
inequality?
Doubtful, but it can empower people who
are creating solutions.

93. BLOCKCHAIN
Creating trust, but also efficiency
• Distributed power
• Partner interoperability
• Ad hoc capabilities
• Privacy

94. BLOCKCHAIN
Blockchain crowdfunding: groups can raise
money transparently for public good
projects.
Blockchain governance tools: democratize
fund allocation by allowing donors to
directly vote on how money gets spent.
Blockchain general ledger tools: show
donors where each bit of value goes,
ensuring that their votes translate into
money spent on desired initiatives.

95. BLOCKCHAIN
LIMITATIONS
Complexity: Not everyone understand
Network size: Requires a large network of
users. If a blockchain is not a robust
network with a widely distributed grid of
nodes, it becomes more difficult to reap the
full benefit.
Transaction costs, network speed:
‘Bloating' because it forces miners to
perpetually reprocess and rerecord the
information. (keeping all records)

96. BLOCKCHAIN
LIMITATIONS
Human error: The data stored on a blockchain
is not inherently trustworthy, so events need to
be recorded accurately in the first place.
Security flaw: If more than half of the
computers working as nodes to service the
network tell a lie, the lie will become the truth.
Politics: Blockchain protocols offer an
opportunity to digitize governance models,
essentially they are smart contracts which
parties need to agree on. (Still evolving as it is
a growing field)

97. P2P
P2P systems can make relief very efficient.
Maps showing locations of survivors and
their needs can be broadcasted, and
donors can come and solve those needs
and buy only things
e.g. Amazon Disaster registry