I welcome the news that ActionAid is moving away from child sponsorship schemes, following other global NGOs in recent years (ActionAid to rethink child sponsorship as part of plan to ‘decolonise’ its work, 22 January). These schemes are colonial-like from a global analytical perspective, and local residents have long subverted and refuted their terms because they represent “poverty porn”. They also reify the community in ways that don’t work for those who sign up for them. Such schemes are not without their issues, but mark a considerable improvement. Is it now so politically incorrect to try to improve the lives of all children and women everywhere because this is “paternalistic” and “transactional”, as Taahra Ghazi, ActionAid’s co-chief executive, states?