"Gifting vs Investing" according to Erika

When I say that I am travelling to Africa, people are often quite quick to ask: "What can I give you to take?"

What indeed?

I don't want to arrive here with lots of things to give and continue to feed the idea that westerners are "wallets on legs" (an expression I read in a book called Africa by Richard Dowden). I experience this every day that I am here: "I need a sponsor for school." "Give me a camera." "My children need new clothes." "I need a job." They're not being rude, they just see how much I have and hope that I might share my wealth. I can fully understand that.

It becomes especially hard when I develop a relationship with people, especially the children at the center, and then suddenly they ask to talk to me about something serious which inevitably ends up with a request for something financial. But I persevere in saying no, no, no, even when I really want to say yes.

Today, the team that works at Sanyu saw how "gifting", donating items, doesn't work. The task for the team was to sort and organize the rooms in the orphanage. There were lots of other volunteers who were there to rock babies so our team took the initiative to serve in other ways.



Sanyu deals with babies that are abandoned, sick and desperate. It is a bare bones institution until you open the cupboards and take a peek inside. This place has tons and tons of clothes, books, toys, craft supplies, colouring books... the list is endless. When one of the team members asked what a teacher needed, she said that she needed scissors. While cleaning through the cupboards, a box with 30 pairs of scissors was found. There were party favours from the Dollar Store, Barbie dolls, craft kits for kids aged 8 and up (the orphanage is for up to 3 years of age), and the find of choice was a Fisher Price microphone and tape player where you can play a tape and sing along with your voice amplified. The teachers there thought it was like a telephone.

All these items had been gifted to the orphanage. Were they being used? No. They were taking up space. The staff at Sanyu were so thrilled that someone had come to take the time to organize what they had. Clothes were sorted and folded and put away. Books were put into piles and are ready for use. Crayons and colouring books are now accessible for the children. Yes, these gifts are now useable. But eventually they will get used up or disappear into the 'cupboard of no return' until someone else comes along and invests time.

What our team did today was invest in Sanyu. What each team member on this trip has done is invest in Uganda. Yes, this takes money but it is an investment in the lives of these people. Look at the photos of the babies. We are investing in their future.

So don't ask me what you can give me to take. Ask me how you can invest in the work that Niteo is doing. This is what I'll tell you:

1. Invest your money. Niteo needs money to continue to fulfill its mandate. Books don't travel overseas on their own. The resource center needs to pay rent. And all donations receive a tax receipt!

2. Invest your time. Travel with Niteo as part of a team and invest your time in the people here. If you can't travel with us, invest your time at home and get involved in the activities that Niteo does. We always need help with fundraisers. We need people to help collect, sort and load the donations of books. Many hands make light work and for Niteo to grow, we need many more hands!

3. Invest your talents. Do you have a passion that you could lend to Niteo? Does your business do something that could be used to enhance the work that Niteo is doing?

4. Invest your voice. Find out more about what we are doing and about Uganda and if you like what we're doing, talk to people. Word of mouth is very powerful. Who knows who may hear about the work Niteo is doing and decide to become more involved. I became involved because Elaine last year asked "Who wants to come to Africa with me?". She had read about Niteo in the paper and talked to our bookclub about it. It has changed my life.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that people want to give things. Thank you to everyone who has given me things to bring. We see a need and we want to give. I do it too. I collected baby clothes. I bought craft supplies. I asked my dentist for toothbrushes.

Africa does not need things.

Do you know that for every year of education that a girl in a developing nation gets, her earnings rise by 10% per year for the rest of her life? Niteo is investing in the future of these children and in the future of Uganda. You can too!

Have a great day!

Erika :)

PS - I know that some of you are thinking about the books that we bring to Uganda. These are things too. But books are a luxury item that are not found in schools. The books we bring are used to enhance the educational experience of the children.

PPS - And all the Science equipment I took to Kawanda? Aren't these things too? Of course they are but they were not asked for, they were offered. The items I brought are things that are for experiments that they can only read about because they don't have the right equipment. And for me, it is the same as giving a book to a colleague who is asking about a certain teaching method. It's not a donation. It's not a gift. It is sharing a resource. This is just on a grander scale because I only see my colleagues at Kawanda once a year (so far anyway... maybe eventually it will be more often...!).