Michael Maren is an American journalist and screenwriter who worked for several years for international charities in war-torn and famine-stricken African countries. In his book “The Road to Hell”, Maren going to write my assignment efforts of international charities and effects of their activities on Africa. He portrayed international charities as self-serving entities that are more concerned with securing bigger funding and spreading their operation than making a lasting positive difference in African communities. Maren claims that conditions of many African countries are getting worse despite all the aid they receive. Therefore, he argues that lack of professionalism, self-interest of foreign charities’ senior management, and operating charities as enterprises that need to expand have a strong destructive and negative impact on Africa. Author noted that many charitable organizations viewed famines as expansion opportunities rather than a way to bring relief to starving regions. Thus, providing aid became business by inheriting business dynamics and losing the primary focus on executing quality projects that bring positive change and relief.

I the book, Maren  shows how international charities harm native people by contributing to corruption, disrupting community life, harming economy, making Africans overly reliant on foreign aid, and fostering activities of gangs that fight for control over areas where aid is distributed. Lastly, Maren’s book demonstrates that activities of international charities in Africa are subject to several tendencies. First, providing aid to famine-stricken African countries turned into business driven by demand, competition, and availability of growth opportunities. Second, relief efforts of international charities and NGOs have a strong negative impact on African communities via fostering corrupted practices instead of stimulating sustainable development. Lastly, since long-term interests of aid recipients are not considered, foreign aid both achieves some good by preventing starvations and inflicts vast negative social, political, and economic consequences.