15 or so years ago I was in a remote African town and a local business had a picture of Gerald Ford up. Perplexed I asked why. The United States, I presume while Ford was president, had sent aid to build a bridge, some irrigation canals, and eradicated what he described as a worm that you pull out of your skin by wrapping it around a pencil and turning, an inch an hour. I guess it would have been this worm or something similar.

Not a big deal for us, I'm sure hardly anyone outside the area heard of it. But for the locals it changed their lives, the food they could eat, the quality of life they could live. I'd say that I wish we did more stuff like this instead of the geopolitical games, but on another trip I found out that the majority of the Kenyan governments entire budget is foreign aid. Didn't seem to be doing much. But I knew some people from the USA who existed on donations that ran a free school for children, with meals out of a slum. They were poor in the US, but doing so much good. While the official NGO staff drove around in $50,000 SUVs to do surveys.

Doing good is hard. Throwing money at something is not enough. It takes thoughtful, wise people and hard work. But there have been so many people pulled out of really bad conditions over the last few generations. Many many unsung heros.