Why Does Ben Affleck Tie Congo's Ebola to America?

Ben Affleck says philanthropists should not show up and dictate how local work gets done. Flying in people from Europe or North America and paying them to stand around as experts leaves no real value and no real improvement where they work. His model is to invest in local organizations until they become sustainable and need no further investing. The work includes women victims of gender-based violence in war, capacity building with coffee farmers and growers, education, internal health, access to clean water, and healthcare.

The abrupt dissolution of USAID raised the stakes. Affleck calls USAID a tiny fraction of the US federal budget and a very meaningful piece of the aid that goes out to the world. He says it was one of the noblest things the United States government did, and it is now wiped out, so the need is even greater. An ongoing Ebola crisis is underway in the DRC, in Eastern Congo, where they are working. Half of the money from the millionaire went to trying to stem and limit the spread of Ebola.

Affleck says a problem far away is still your problem if Ebola gets out and crosses the borders. He also believes people with good fortune and something to give benefit from helping others. It gets them out of their own lives, connects them to other people, and is quite healing. He hopes the work has done some good for other folks, and he knows it has done a lot for him.