In preparation for our upcoming photo contest, we are gathering insights from around the world. Today, we share veteran international relief and development expert Saundra Schimmelpfennig’s reflections from a blog entry for USAID and the Center for International Disaster Information. Her insights challenge aid donors to look beyond typical “starving child” images and ask why it’s important to “present aid recipients as people with dignity and ability” rather than powerless and forsaken individuals. To avoid cultivation of aid dependency, aid donors should support agencies that provide skills, training, and knowledge needed for recipients to be self-sufficient.

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