From conversations to contributions: A lesson on altruism
A few weeks before the winter holidays, Mr. Schmidt’s Philosophy class was engaged in a conversation about human nature and whether or not people are hard-wired to be selfish or altruistic. Discussions continued for several days as the class examined the motives of various individuals, both real and fictional, through class readings.
With the holiday season upon them, the students began to ask about possible projects in which the class could express its beliefs that altruistic behavior was more natural than some of the philosophical thinking which we had been examining. As a class we undertook a project in which students examined several different service programs and agencies, including local, national, and international organizations, to determine how they might make a difference for others through a financial contribution to one or more of these organizations.
Following presentations and discussions about several different organizations and service groups, the class came to a consensus to support two projects through the KIVA Foundation, whose purpose is to make loans without interest to individuals and groups throughout the world; these loans are made possible through the contributions of individuals and groups such as the GSB Philosophy class and are repaid to the donors in a defined period of time.
Recently the class made contributions totaling $700 to two groups through KIVA’s website, www.kiva.org . The first, Clarita Cariaga’s Group is located in the Philippines. The class loan will enable an 11-member group to purchase seeds, seedlings, and young crops for a group farm in their small village. The second, the Daniel Group, is located in Mankessim, Ghana and the class loan will enable a small collective farm to purchase more poultry.
Students eagerly await updates from KIVA about the progress of the projects which they have supported and look forward to continuing to reinvest the money they have raised in new projects in the future.