Weh Yeoh realised that there was so much more he could do with his Physiotherapy degree than hands on, 1 on 1 clinical work.
It was a combination of his physio training, clinical experience, and his travels (volunteering and working for charity overseas) that made him realise that the standard charity business model is broken.
If a charity grows, then it may not actually be doing the right job, and it might actually be harming the communities that it is supposedly serving.
Charities are so often more focussed on band aid solutions, rather than solving the problem that caused the issue in the first place, and get stuck in the funding "hamster wheel" with a constant need to justify their existence.
Instead of indefinite burden relief, if charities aimed to be the catalyst for change, involving 3rd parties like local government or the private sector, and set firm dates in the calendar for when they will hand over the work to locals ( in effect make themselves redundant) they can have a far greater, and more sustainable impact.
The concept of redundant charities is one which Weh firmly believes in, so much so, he has implemented it into his charity OIC Cambodia and written a whole book about it.
It's a challenging read, especially if you are inclined to donate to charity, or run a charity yourself.
And that's why it's great.
It forces you to actually consider what makes a good cause, centred around 1 key question
When does the charity plan to leave?
This was a great chat, I really enjoyed the challenges, and I learnt a lot in the process.
Enjoy!
You can get a copy of Weh Yeoh's book 'Redundant Charities' here:
redundantcharities.com
You can watch Weh's TED talk here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vuAL0qatSw
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