Over the next few weeks, we taught the kids baseball, held English and math classes, helped with homework, walked down to the Zambezi River (watching for crocodiles), and took a field trip to a terrifying swinging bridge at Chiningi. And I tell you, those kids have nothing close to material wealth. They dress in hand-me-downs. They eat meager meals that fill their stomachs but nowhere near provide the well-balanced nutrition children need: nshima (a thick maize porridge), little fishies, boiled greens. And yet, those children exude so much joy. 

Maybe money can’t buy love, as the saying goes, but if recent trends in the world of philanthropy are any indication, it can, in many cases, buy absolution from a host of sins. How so? When oil companies such as BP or Exxon create environmental havoc, their go-to response is usually to donate money to pliant conservation organizations.  They then take ads out in national newspapers such as the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, or USA Today touting their donations.