Charity according to the West
The Oxford dictionary describes charity as "The voluntary giving of help, typically in the form of money, to those in need".
During my two months here in the Gambia, I have visited many projects operated by international charities, and have seen even more that have failed. Driving around remote areas of the country, there are abandoned nursery schools, health clinics, communal gardens, women centers, sewing ateliers, and many more. Speaking to people active in this field, I have learned that 85% percent of all foreign and domestic projects set up to help the local people ultimately fail.
Why is this number of failed projects so high? It is a fact that people here are definitely in need of help. Education standards are way below African average (there is only one university in the Gambia). Healthcare is available, yet only for basic care. For serious ailments that require surgery the only option is to go to Europe or Senegal for less complicated procedures. Infant mortality is way above the African average. People are starving, children are malnourished, and unemployment is above 60%, although there are no official figures available.
The main reason is that there is little motivation among the people to improve their situation. Most projects here are started with the long-term objective to teach people a skill or share knowledge, allowing them to ultimately improve their condition and become more self-reliant. The goal is not to continue sponsoring indefinitely, but to set a time frame (say 5 or 10 years) after which they must be able to run the project without further reliance on the sponsoring charity.
So why this lack of motivation to develop oneself? The answer lies in the local culture. Gambians live a social system based on extended family which has a patrilineal structure and plays a vital role as an institution in society. This means that in one compound, one man might live with 3 wives and their children, along with cousins, uncles and in-laws. The structure changes continuously depending on the coming and going of extended family members. Due to high unemployment, the responsibility of bringing home the bacon falls on one of the younger able bodied men, who in turn need to provide for up to 20 family members.
An average income of 30 euros (1500 dalasi) per month is nowhere close to being enough to feed all those mouths. It is customary here that if you have money, you share it. If people know you have money, they will find you and ask you for it. Even family members from other parts of the country will call you when they hear you have money, to demand some for buying rice, a hospital visit, or to pay school fees. When I walk the streets here, sometimes little children will walk up to me and say "give me money!". No matter what you give, it is never enough and people are never grateful. People are always poor, even when they're rich.
Also, there is little compassion for others, no loyalty, no taking pride in developing yourself and community. I believe this is a result of short term thinking, i.e. will I have food on the table tomorrow? One does not work to develop oneself, but to buy that pair or shoes, or a new mobile phone. As soon as that money has been earned, it's back to the compound waiting for someone to provide food. Waiting for someone to give them work. Waiting for someone to give them charity. Insha'Allah.
Back to the question of why so many projects fail. Westerners set up projects to help people, but they expect something in return, namely effort, development and gratefulness. They are then surprised when the night watchman steals the solar panels from the pump installation, the administrative assistant is shaving money off the books every month, the driver falsifies receipts for purchases for building materials, and the local manager leaves after one month to work for someone paying him a fraction more. Holding on to the western values of what is right and wrong, how things should be done, and how people should be treated only makes things worse. Few take the time to understand how society works here, and instead are confident that their western values and knowledge are more efficient, logical, and will bring more success.
They should be grateful that Westerners provide them with income, employment, food and knowledge, right? WRONG! Gratefulness does not exist because no matter what you do to help, it is never enough. Loyalty only exists until the next paycheck. Motivation exists only with the promise of money. Pride exists through having a big car or the latest smartphone. Showing gratefulness to Western charities is even more far-fetched in this logic: they (the charities) have money and I don't, so it's only logical that they give it to me. The charity has now become the richest member of the extended family, supporting entire communities.
This being said, there are some good projects who have helped many people over the past years. They have understood how things work around here, and have had the fortune to work with motivated and honest local staff. The key for a project to succeed is to keep it simple, stay on top of everything, hand pick the people you work with, and encourage the local community to take responsibility for the success or failure.
During my two months here in the Gambia, I have visited many projects operated by international charities, and have seen even more that have failed. Driving around remote areas of the country, there are abandoned nursery schools, health clinics, communal gardens, women centers, sewing ateliers, and many more. Speaking to people active in this field, I have learned that 85% percent of all foreign and domestic projects set up to help the local people ultimately fail.
Why is this number of failed projects so high? It is a fact that people here are definitely in need of help. Education standards are way below African average (there is only one university in the Gambia). Healthcare is available, yet only for basic care. For serious ailments that require surgery the only option is to go to Europe or Senegal for less complicated procedures. Infant mortality is way above the African average. People are starving, children are malnourished, and unemployment is above 60%, although there are no official figures available.
The main reason is that there is little motivation among the people to improve their situation. Most projects here are started with the long-term objective to teach people a skill or share knowledge, allowing them to ultimately improve their condition and become more self-reliant. The goal is not to continue sponsoring indefinitely, but to set a time frame (say 5 or 10 years) after which they must be able to run the project without further reliance on the sponsoring charity.
So why this lack of motivation to develop oneself? The answer lies in the local culture. Gambians live a social system based on extended family which has a patrilineal structure and plays a vital role as an institution in society. This means that in one compound, one man might live with 3 wives and their children, along with cousins, uncles and in-laws. The structure changes continuously depending on the coming and going of extended family members. Due to high unemployment, the responsibility of bringing home the bacon falls on one of the younger able bodied men, who in turn need to provide for up to 20 family members.
An average income of 30 euros (1500 dalasi) per month is nowhere close to being enough to feed all those mouths. It is customary here that if you have money, you share it. If people know you have money, they will find you and ask you for it. Even family members from other parts of the country will call you when they hear you have money, to demand some for buying rice, a hospital visit, or to pay school fees. When I walk the streets here, sometimes little children will walk up to me and say "give me money!". No matter what you give, it is never enough and people are never grateful. People are always poor, even when they're rich.
 |
| Walking home from the village water pump |
Back to the question of why so many projects fail. Westerners set up projects to help people, but they expect something in return, namely effort, development and gratefulness. They are then surprised when the night watchman steals the solar panels from the pump installation, the administrative assistant is shaving money off the books every month, the driver falsifies receipts for purchases for building materials, and the local manager leaves after one month to work for someone paying him a fraction more. Holding on to the western values of what is right and wrong, how things should be done, and how people should be treated only makes things worse. Few take the time to understand how society works here, and instead are confident that their western values and knowledge are more efficient, logical, and will bring more success.
They should be grateful that Westerners provide them with income, employment, food and knowledge, right? WRONG! Gratefulness does not exist because no matter what you do to help, it is never enough. Loyalty only exists until the next paycheck. Motivation exists only with the promise of money. Pride exists through having a big car or the latest smartphone. Showing gratefulness to Western charities is even more far-fetched in this logic: they (the charities) have money and I don't, so it's only logical that they give it to me. The charity has now become the richest member of the extended family, supporting entire communities.
This being said, there are some good projects who have helped many people over the past years. They have understood how things work around here, and have had the fortune to work with motivated and honest local staff. The key for a project to succeed is to keep it simple, stay on top of everything, hand pick the people you work with, and encourage the local community to take responsibility for the success or failure.
Comments