Not just a fishing rod

At my Rotary club meeting today, we had a couple of representatives from Alliance for Smiles stop by and present. This group provides operations to repair cleft palates, as well as training, etct. to enable local doctors to do the work. For those not familiar, cleft palate is a genetic disorder, and, besides disfiguring, causes all sorts of health problems, from malnourishment to respiratory infections.

At any rate, during the Q and A session, one of my fellow Rotarians asked, "well, if you're training the local doctors to do this work, what stops them from setting up a for-profit clinic to do this work?"

I answered that question for our presenter. Any time we do relief work, the goal should be to enable the beneficiaries of that relief to fend for themselves. Yes, if a guy is starving, give him a fish. Then give him a fishing pole.

I gave $100 to Alliance for Smiles. Your contribution is welcome.