USAID Funding

Fresh from a trip to South Africa, a Minnesota-based organization is weighing in on the impact of the cuts to U.S. foreign aid.

And the leaders of Arm in Arm in Africa say the impact is already dire.

“They are telling me that without a question people will die without the U.S.A.I.D. funding,” said Ed Luterbach, Chair of Arm in Arm in Africa’s Board of Directors. View the interview here.

Arm in Arm in Africa itself does not receive federal funding but works with partners in South Africa that do. And that means they’re already seeing how the cuts have changed the organization’s mission.

“Our outreach is primarily in three areas: emergency food relief, health care and education,” Luterbach said, adding they’ve recently expanded that mission to: “provide opportunities for empowerment and self-reliance.”

“I think that’s the biggest thing is so many people have lost hope and when you take that away from people… it’s tough,” Luterbach reflected.

Seeing the outreach – and then the impact – firsthand

The Trump administration has explained they’ve dismantled the U.S. Agency of International Development due to waste in the organization. But since they’ve imposed the widespread cuts, the administration has not provided any information on the impact.

This weekend, a sweeping article in the New York Times offered one of the most specific, personal and geopolitical looks at the impact yet, by drawing from interviews with experts at the Center for Global Development and regional reporting.

And Luterbach and other Minnesotans offer their own insights to that big picture.

Earlier this month, Luterbach and other Arm in Arm in Africa leaders visited their partners and mission sites in South Africa. Shortly after their return home, they learned how the foreign aid cuts would quickly undermine the influence of their partner organizations.

“Sad, frustrated. That money has been used for so many years to really empower people and empower organizations to change lives,” said Jen Song, who heads up the health care outreach for Arm in Arm in Africa.

Among the organizations offering that “empowerment:” the Commercial Transportation Academy. Luterbach says Arm in Arm in Africa has supported the organization’s mission to train and employ primarily women truck drivers to help break the cycle of poverty.

“Right now unemployment is 35% in South Africa. So the ability to have skills to go find a job is so critical at this time,” Luterbach said, noting the organization – which had been held up as a “crown jewel” of efficiency – lost all of their U.S.A.I.D. support.

“We will help as much as we can,” Luterbach said, adding, "But there is a huge gap.”