The Water Buffalo Of Tears

We recently watched this video by Robert Thompson entitled 4 Generations: The Water Buffalo Movie, during Web Class. While watching this video, a group consisting of Christina, Christine, Jeff, and I took collaborative notes using Google Docs. The video informed us how Robert Thompson came across a post written by Phillip Greenspun entitled: “Water Buffalo: Worst Possible Christmas Present?”.  It spoke about how Thompson came across Greenspun’s webpage that had discussed an organization that would give a needy family in Asia a water buffalo when a donation was made.  Greenspun had later found out that the site’s fine-print said that the money for the water buffalo just went to a fund and that the buffalo itself was a  symbolic gesture.  Thompson later commented on his blog post that:

The only reason this is a crummy present is because…they don’t actually give anyone a water buffalo

 Rob Thompson also stated that:

I’m an American living in China with my wife. I live in a small, mountainous town in Yunnan (southeastern province)…  After reading your blog I drove out to the fields and I asked local farmers (who are poor and the lowest class in China) whether a water buffalo would be a good gift or not. They said a water buffalo would be “zui hao de liwu”, or “the best gift” without hesitation.  

 cc some rights “hello mr water buffalo” A_of_DooM

 I think that this was a very interesting idea.  Even though a donation to a charity is not bad, direct help is definitely a lot better; not only for the recipient, but the giver as well.  When a person gets direct contact with their benefactor, they know that someone cared enough about them to go to their presence and give it.  Other means can seem too impersonal and the recipient could end up believing that the gift was just an afterthought.  Also, donations almost always end up being less in reality because many organizations take a percentage out to support themselves.  At least, that is what I believe, but I do not have the only opinion.  Check out Will Richardson’s and Karl Fisch’s Response to this story.

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