Here's a quick case study for how trying to help can actually hurt poor people. Norway gives more of its government resources, as a percentage, to foreign aid than any other country. In the not-too-distant past, the Norwegian government decided to build a fish packing plant in Kenya on the shores of Lake Turkaria. The new facility would create jobs, provide a market for local fishers, export fish, and boost the local economy. It was a compassionate idea, motivated by the best of intentions. However, there were a few problems with the plan.

First, there were no reliable roads connecting the plant with larger cities where the fish could be shipped and sold. Second, the locals were nomadic herdsmen who considered fishing to be women's work. The result? Within a year of opening, the fish packing plant was offline, and the local herdsmen were using it to shelter their goats from the sun—millions of dollars of aid ended up only as shade.