A story from Australia.
A charity program sending bras to women in developing nations has provoked debate about what’s appropriate assistance. The Uplift Fiji project has sent out more than 40,000 second-hand bras from Australia to countries such as Fiji, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. But a women’s development organisation in East Timor says Operation Uplift is a classic example of a donor driven project that shows little understanding of the needs of developing communities. Nance Haxton reports from Adelaide.
HAXTON: Uplift Fiji organisers say the program gives women in developing countries dignity, and prevents fungal infections and abscesses on the chest wall that can result from living in tropical climates without wearing a bra. Rotary International ships the second-hand bras overseas to a number of countries, with a thousand bras going to Papua New Guinea this week. However not all organisations are supportive of the project. The Alola Foundation in East Timor was established by Kirsty Sword Gusmão to increase the status of women in that country through community development grants, humanitarian relief and advocacy. The community programs adviser for the foundation based in Dili is Meredith Budge. She says projects such as Uplift Fiji can do more harm than good.
BUDGE: These kinds of projects really are, only, I think designed to focus on the donor, the person who feels good because they can give something that they would otherwise throw in the rubbish. But what happens is that you then create this dependency relationship.
HAXTON: She says her main concern is that programs such as Uplift Fiji are essentially misdirected, and can undermine local economies.
BUDGE: Dumping a whole lot of second-hand and possibly new bras in a charity fashion actually would undermine the ability of anybody to actually start up a decent and cheap supply business in that country.
HAXTON: She says the Alola Foundation is now discouraging donations of second hand goods, because often they are in poor working order, can be bought more cheaply locally, and then only add to rubbish collection problems.
BUDGE: We can buy things far more cheaply here because we’re part of the Asian environment, and can get cheap things from Indonesia, than can possibly be bought in Australia and then shipped over here.
HAXTON: Uplift Fiji national coordinator Liz Baker says they sort the bras in Australia and only send them in biodegradable packaging. She says the project was created to address a critical need.
BAKER: The women we are shipping to have asked for bras. The project started because women were asking a particular aid worker for bras and she was giving hers away on a regular basis in isolated communities. In Fiji in particular, while there’s second-hand clothing available, there’s not second-hand bras in sizes to suit the Fijian women who are substantial women; and they tend to be D to E cups. So while other things they can get their hands on; they really can’t obtain bras unless they’ve got the price of a week’s wages, which is what a new bra costs at the moment.
HAXTON: Liz Baker says ultimately there is room for many different approaches to community development and international aid.
