Prof Offers Tips For Relief Efforts

Amid coffee and Milano cookies, Kennedy School Assistant Professor Asim I. Khwaja encouraged students to donate their time and energy as opposed to their money to relief efforts to help victims of the earthquake that struck Pakistan and India last October.

Khwaja reminded students at the event—sponsored by the South Asian Association—that the effects of disasters like earthquakes last for a long period of time. But the message that echoed throughout the discussion was that there is not one way to help the earthquake victims, but an infinite number of ways.

“Focus on what you think you can do best,” Khwaja said in the Kirkland Senior Common room, stressing that the biggest resource Harvard students have to offer is their time. “Students are skilled labor at low prices.”

When asked what he recommended students who wanted to aid in the relief effort should do, Khwaja said students should first be clear about how much time they have. After that, he said, they must determine whether they are doing something because it will be personally rewarding or because it will provide greater benefit for the relief effort.

Khwaja gave the example of students who wanted to rebuild the homes of earthquake victims. He pointed out that building houses will make students feel like they have done something, but they could contribute more in other areas (such as fundraising or working for non-governmental organizations).

Khwaja spoke about his experience collecting information for RISE-PAK.com, a website that documents which villages have received a lot of aid, and which ones have not. Something that shocked him was how little some organizations knew about what their donations were funding in Pakistan. While he acknowledged that some organizations had very precise data about the aid they were providing, many others had no idea what their suborganizations were doing.

“I’m a firm believer in complete sharing of information,” Khwaja said.

Khwaja dismissed the notion of donor apathy as an excuse for the lack of donations and media coverage of the Pakistan-India earthquake. “I’m a firm believer that human emotions are very powerful and don’t get exhausted.”

To support his point, he informed students of a donor meeting that took place in Islamabad, where international donors pledged $5.4 billion.

Arjun Vasan ’07 said he was grateful for the chance to discuss such an important event as the Pakistan-India earthquake.

“I think the most important message I got out of the lecture was to constantly critically think about issues that go on in the world and that no one issue has one side to it,” he said.

Rohan Kekre ’08 said he thinks that everyone who attended the discussion came away with a sense that they could do a lot to help the relief effort.

“It’s not just all about money,” Kekre said. “The professors and students at Harvard have something really special to offer and we should look within ourselves to find that and to put that into action.”