Being charitable, but doing it cautiously

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, we have officially reached the holiday season. And along with the holidays come all the trappings -- Christmas carols on the radio, Kwanzaa candelabras in stores and, everywhere, bowls of candy canes and Hanukkah gelt. But in addition to the levitating reindeer, this time of year also emphasizes charitable giving and volunteering. Thus, during the holidays in particular, it's important to give wisely. Unwise, poorly examined giving can get you into a heap of trouble.

The United Nations has learned that the hard way. In December of 1996 (right around the holiday season, interestingly), the United Nations launched a brave and charitable new initiative -- the oil-for-food program in Iraq. In response to reports of severe Iraqi malnutrition and skyrocketing child mortality, the program seemed like the perfect solution: Iraq would release some oil for worldwide consumption, in exchange for money to use for food, seeds and other food-related matters. It seemed like a plan in which everyone could be a winner. It had the added political bonus of permitting President Clinton, along with other government representatives, to maintain sanctions against Iraq without angering human rights activists.

Unfortunately, all was not sugar plums in the United Nations. According to The Washington Post, Saddam Hussein used the oil-for-food program to compel his new trading partners to pay illegal bribes. Moreover, poor program oversight, coupled with profound mismanagement, enabled Iraq to report inflated prices for food imports; the puffed-up receipts provided cover for more oil sales. Most of the extra cash enriched Saddam's regime to the tune of $21.3 billion dollars, but some of it was used to fund terrorism by Palestinian suicide bombers, according to The Associated Press.

And unbelievably, the corruption went even further. At the United Nations, top officials personally embezzled money from the program. The director of the oil-for-food program, Benon Sevan, acquired $3.5 million for himself before quickly submitting his resignation. Kojo Annan, the son of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, is currently under investigation, according to The Washington Post.

With so much disgrace to go around, it's important to remember that the corruption isn't even the worst thing about this scandal. The biggest problem isn't the officials who acted shamefully, or the unfairness to the U.N. member countries (and taxpayers) who donated in vain. The worst part is the thousands of Iraqi children who starved and died while billions of dollars that were earmarked for them went elsewhere.

What can we, as Penn students, learn from this? I admit that most of us lack the $100 billion budget of a U.N. program. We lack a fabulous New York building surrounded by flags. Our daily interactions, too, are less weighty. That said, Penn students are often devoted to community service, political activism and charitable giving. Like our U.N. counterparts, we will face decisions on how to share our time and money this holiday season. I think we can learn a few lessons from their experience.

First, it's especially important for students to learn to make effective contributions. For one thing, students usually have limited time and funds. If you don't have much to give, it's important to make it count. Moreover, student volunteers, activists and donors are establishing habits for a lifetime. When they support one group over another, they are having a say in which charities survive for the future.

More importantly, studies show that college students are especially likely to make poor charitable decisions. When donating, college students do minimal research and often give to causes that they are completely unfamiliar with.

What can we do to improve our ways of giving? First, never give money to an unidentified person who requests it on behalf of some group. You have no idea where your money might be going or what it might support. On that note, don't give money to beggars on the Penn campus. You're not doing anyone a favor, and you might be supporting someone's addiction that prevents him from moving off the streets. If you're concerned about the plight of homeless people and beggars, focus your altruistic urges on organized groups, such as homeless shelters and homeless advocacy groups.

Second, check out a charity before you commit to it. Legitimate organizations are happy to give you brochures, financial statements and tax forms, and their volunteers love talking about the work they do. The Better Business Bureau keeps records on most recognized "legitimate" groups, and the BBB-affiliated Web site www.giving.org offers lists of charities that it has certified as following its legitimacy and efficiency criteria. Once you discover a group that you like and trust, tell your friends about it.

Finally, and most importantly, being savvy about your volunteering and giving shouldn't discourage your passion for helping others. Rather, it should energize you, since you'll know your work is actually helping. Because the one thing that we can learn from the U.N. oil-for-food crisis is the tragedy of charity gone wrong.

Jennifer Weiss is a senior Linguistics and Theatre Arts major from Los Angeles. War On Error appears on Wednesdays.

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