The Promise of America and the Demise of Foreign Aid

An American man, Volker Franke, has been directing an innovative aid program in Liberia, a country that is resource-rich and in general loves America. The program was just ended by Elon Musk.

USAID....from the American people.

(Portland, Ore.) - Dreams shattered. Hopes crushed. Visions for a better future destroyed. Possibilities replaced with anguish, anxiety and fear. All with the stroke of a sharpie.

President Trump’s Executive Order to reevaluate US foreign aid suddenly halted hundreds of humanitarian assistance projects in countries around the world that had been promised help, support and hope.

Until January 27, 2025, I have been directing a USAID-funded locally led development program in Liberia, when suddenly the Trump Administration’s Stop Work Order brought our efforts to a halt.

Our “Hope for a better Future” program builds psychosocial and conflict resolution skills that enable participants to dream of and envision a better future for themselves and for the communities they live in, and to take concrete steps to pursue those dreams and create those futures.

Novel about the Hope approach is that we offer only a process that brings participants together to create better futures; the content of those futures and the steps towards them are agreed upon by participants and their neighbors.

As the process takes hold and communities take their own steps toward overcoming their biggest challenges, they become more resilient and self-reliant. The more self-reliant communities are the less outside assistance they will need.

Isn’t this exactly the goal of effective humanitarian assistance?

Since the beginning of the Republic, America’s promise of freedom, hope and peace inspired even the darkest corners of the world. USAID has carried the torch of American hope with the tag line “from the American people.” The goodwill generated by this promise of hope, peace and opportunity resonates all over the world.

We teach our children the importance of keeping the promises they make for without the ability to rely on others and trust their word, we cannot plan our future.

Promises made by the American people are now being broken by an administration on behalf of a misinformed and disoriented voter base that does not reflect “the American people” or the values the United States was founded on.

As we travel through these dark times, let’s remember the words of Nelson Mandela who reminds us that “our human compassion binds us the one to the other – not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future.”

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Author Volker Franke is Executive Director of TRENDS Global, a metro-Atlanta based 501(c)3 nonprofit focused on community-centered peacebuilding and conflict transformation. Contact: volker@trendsglobal.org