The Challenges of Lending a Hand
Helping people is not always as easy as it seems.
Faye is a Briton who spent most of her life here in Tanzania. She is well-known in town for her charity work. I reached out to her because I realized that I would need a support system and some mentors if I make the most out of volunteer work here in the next 2 months.
It started to drizzle as I walked up the hill towards her house. I was happy to feel the rain drops on my shoulders. It’s been a hot and dry weekend. There was an electricity rationing going on due to shortage of hydropower.
Faye lives in a big house by Lake Duluti. When I got to her house, there were already several guests at her front porch, which overlooks the town of Tengeru and Mt. Meru Most of them moved out here from Europe and set up their own non-profit organizations to help the local communities. When I told them about the Maasai women’s project in Lengijave, they were more than happy to share with me their experience and suggestions. They suggested that I change the payment term from cash to goats to be consistent with the local custom and increase the collection rate. They also recommended that we require the villagers attend a class on how to raise goats to help them become successful with the business.
Knowing that many locals have grown accustomed to foreign aid, we quickly shifted our discussion to focus on how to develop projects that wean them off such reliance and ensure continued success. The conversation got so exciting that I couldn’t help bring out my camcorder to capture some of the thoughts. Most have encountered dishonesty and frustration during their projects, but their passion for the country and the satisfaction of being able to make a difference have kept them going.
I look forward to meeting each of them next week at work and learn more about their projects here.
I have to stop here before the electricity goes off again as the storm hits town and my keyboard is getting sandy. Later!
Faye is a Briton who spent most of her life here in Tanzania. She is well-known in town for her charity work. I reached out to her because I realized that I would need a support system and some mentors if I make the most out of volunteer work here in the next 2 months.
It started to drizzle as I walked up the hill towards her house. I was happy to feel the rain drops on my shoulders. It’s been a hot and dry weekend. There was an electricity rationing going on due to shortage of hydropower.
Faye lives in a big house by Lake Duluti. When I got to her house, there were already several guests at her front porch, which overlooks the town of Tengeru and Mt. Meru Most of them moved out here from Europe and set up their own non-profit organizations to help the local communities. When I told them about the Maasai women’s project in Lengijave, they were more than happy to share with me their experience and suggestions. They suggested that I change the payment term from cash to goats to be consistent with the local custom and increase the collection rate. They also recommended that we require the villagers attend a class on how to raise goats to help them become successful with the business.
Knowing that many locals have grown accustomed to foreign aid, we quickly shifted our discussion to focus on how to develop projects that wean them off such reliance and ensure continued success. The conversation got so exciting that I couldn’t help bring out my camcorder to capture some of the thoughts. Most have encountered dishonesty and frustration during their projects, but their passion for the country and the satisfaction of being able to make a difference have kept them going.
I look forward to meeting each of them next week at work and learn more about their projects here.
I have to stop here before the electricity goes off again as the storm hits town and my keyboard is getting sandy. Later!
posted by Nancy at 3:04 AM
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