Storytelling Critique: Mercy Corps - Bria Justus

Mercy Corps is an international non-profit that focuses on relief efforts in conflict-prone areas around the world. One technique Mercy Corps uses to garner support from the public and to attract donations is to tell stories of those impacted by conflict. The story I choose to focus on was of a Syrian farmer named Abu Goubran. The story is titled, “Seeds of Hope, a Farmer in Syria.” The story is formatted with a short article followed with eight pictures of Abu and his family. The images are professionally taken yet unposed and portray a very real, raw and candid feeling.

The article begins by focusing on the context of the Syrian conflict and slowly ties Abu’s livelihood into the implications of the conflict. The main highlight of the story is Abu’s connection to Mercy Corps and how Mercy Corps elevated Abu’s life by providing access to a greenhouse and tools so that Abu could grow produce. Abu’s story is centered around Mercy Corps aid, alluding to the narrative that Abu is the victim and Mercy Corps is the hero. As the story is not written by Abu but instead a writer from Mercy Corps, Abu’s voice is incredibly passive. This story is used as a fundraising technique, to put a face to a donation. By framing Abu as in need of help and by framing Mercy Corps as a mechanism for bettering Abu’s life, funders are more likely to donate, to support the Abu’s of the world.

Abu’s story is successful for that it highlights the first three moral foundation values, outlined in The Management Moment, Advocacy for Leaders: Crafting Richer Stories for Public Health. The most prominent moral foundation value that Abu’s story identifies is the need for physical necessities such as food. The entire story of Abu illustrates a farmer’s need to provide food for his family and his community. The story plays into the narrative that without Mercy Corps, Abu’s family would not have access to proper nutrition or be able to sustain themselves. The second moral foundation value identified is freedom and oppression. Due to the conflict happening in Syria, Abu does not have freedom. He is not able to own his land or have control of the food he produces. Mercy Corps highlights this lack of freedom in Abu’s story and provides a solution to grant him freedom which is illustrated by the greenhouse Mercy Corps provided for Abu.

Lastly, Abu’s story focuses on opportunity and the ability for a Syrian farmer, in the midst of conflict, to succeed. The ability for Abu to have equal opportunity to succeed as a farmer falls into the third moral foundation value of fairness and cheating. As stated in The Management Moment, “For this foundation value, the common positive component supports equality of opportunities.” As conflict typically furthers inequalities, Mercy Corps relief efforts enabled Abu to have access to equal opportunities.

Overall, Abu’s story was a success. It touched on three of the six moral foundation values that are needed in a story and it provided a personal connection for donors to have when making a donation. Abu’s story also gave potential donors a clear idea of where their money may go and how their money can make a real difference in the lives of those suffering from conflict.