As a newcomer to the world of African development, I have a lot to learn. Practically a continent's worth. One of the best lessons I've learned so far is to stop giving people fish. It's an old parable, but it is more true now than ever in this world of rubber bracelet advocacy.
Every hat, pair of shoes and cast-off T-shirt from that 5k you ran that you send to Tanzania (while well-intentioned) takes away from someone there trying to create or sustain a cottage industry. There are important and understandable exceptions, particularly for items unavailable or too expensive for local production. But in every village we passed through, I saw markets full of shoes and donated western clothes, alongside locally made items. Tailoring is a good job in Tanzania, and it is better to support these efforts than to send our old clothes. Vocational skills will cloth someone for a lifetime.
So, we'll stop gathering hats and sun protective clothing for people with albinism in Tanzania. Instead, we'll raise funds to purchase the items locally, which will support individual businesses and hopefully limit the number of times a Tanzanian boy will be found wearing pink "I Love Hannah Montana" t-shirt.
There is one big exception, at least for now: the Kabanga School. No one there has the money for clothes, and they all need them. So, for now, we'll keep bringing the fish. But we're working on the poles.
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