In his new book, a Burman University professor argues that international aid organizations should temper their expectations.

Adam Kis teaches anthropology and is author of The Development Trap: How Thinking Big Fails the Poor, which is based on a decade he spent working in sub-Saharan African for the Adventist Development and Relief Agency.

The book is published by Routledge and the launch party took place Tuesday at the Social Eyez lounge on campus.

Kis says NGOs set unrealistic expectations about eradicating poverty that lead to cynicism and fewer donations.

“This belief that we can defeat poverty completely is what the whole industry is based upon. The fundraising, the hype, the hope that people have, is based on the belief that we can defeat poverty,” he says.

“It’s a big problem to promise things that you can’t deliver. I got my start in the development and aid industry also believing the hype, saying you could save the world. It’s really messy in the field and I realized that we weren’t saving the world.”

Kis, who does not believe poverty can be eradicated, advocates for a different approach to aid work -- fighting poverty on a micro, not macro level.

“There is a role for dreaming big but then the actual work is small. It’s at an individual level, a household level, community level, where you can make the biggest impact,” he says.

“One of the analogies I use is, would you rather build 25 schools with four walls, or build one wall for 100 schools? Same amount of resources. It makes more sense to do a complete job on a smaller scale.”