And proceeded to gorge ourselves in true Thanksgiving style. We had: a roasted chicken, french fries with ketchup, baked apples, salad, garlic bread, and pancakes and vanilla ice cream for dessert (a European touch from Mo).
The hospital visit put us back another few days getting started on our work at Tafi, so we are just now rolling on some of our ideas. Our mission is trifold: to assist in business management, tourism development, and community work (anything the community needs help with like teaching, tutoring, painting, farming, digging, etc.)
The four tour guides with whom we primarily work are wonderful, especially Sylvester- an extremely selfless and well educated Tafi native with an irreplaceable smile. The seven of us will work together to accomplish our goals (benefitting from the duel perspective of tourist and native guide) and will then report to the Tourism Management Committee, who ultimately must run everything by the chiefs and elders. This, predictably, has the potential to slow progress, since each decision must pass through three levels of authority. However, we are starting small and trying to stay optimistic through the slow pace of change.
In the meantime, the people of Tafi Atome have truly stolen our hearts. They are happy, proud, and extremely generous with the little they have.
An English woman a few years ago began a sponsorship program to enable more children to attend school. The program seems to be working well (I will provide details in the next post if you are interested) but it is not perfect. One of the tour guides, Patrick, is in a polytechnic University in Ho, thanks to a sponsor. Last Monday, he left the village to begin his second of three years, but returned Tuesday because his sponsor could no longer support him and had not paid his school fees. Sylvester explained the situation to us when we asked why Patrick was still here.We want to help Patrick, but the situation is a tricky one. We cannot simply hand him the money, and if too many people hear we sponsored him, we will have beggars on our doorstep. After much conversation among ourselves and with Sylvester, we decided it is appropriate for us to sponsor him this year and try to keep that information among ourselves (he only needs about $150 USD).
Now here is my question to you, the ones who have sponsored and supported me to be here. Do you think it is appropriate for me to help sponsor Patrick with the money I raised before arriving in Ghana? I am struggling with this question because Patrick is a personal friend who is in need. Though the money may help many down the line (like his future family), it is going towards an individual. What makes the greater impact: helping a few individuals or providing something for a group (a school, orphanage, or program)?
There is a second case I am struggling with even more. Before we left Mampong, Mavis (our host mom) explained to both Mo and myself that she plans to turn the empty building behind their house into a cold store (where you buy frozen meat and fish). But she needs some help with the startup money and asked if we would donate to her. Again, this is a situation where I would be helping a personal friend; however, this is something she wants to do. The family does not need to depend on the money she will make. How much does that matter?
These are questions I have been seriously considering recently and, though I know the final decision is my own to make, I would love to hear your input. Your support is a very important aspect of my trip.
These are questions I have been seriously considering recently and, though I know the final decision is my own to make, I would love to hear your input. Your support is a very important aspect of my trip.
9 comments:
You raise tough questions! If it were me, I would definitely support Patrick in his educational pursuits. Education has the trickle-down effect and, I firmly believe, is the great equalizer and the key to ending poverty worldwide. That sounds dramatic to say, but I believe we can trace many societal problems to a lack of education. Even though you could definitely support a cause that affects a larger group of people, Patrick has an immediate need, and you are in a position to offer support that will affect the course of his life. I say, go for it!
As far as Mavis is concerned, I would probably offer support in ways other than monetary (perhaps offer to work in her store for free once she gets it going), because, as you say, her request is a want and not a need. On the other hand, she has hosted you for these past couple of months and perhaps it would be an appropriate gesture of thanks. However, I'm assuming she receives money for being your host family and that it's not a volunteer opportunity on her part. Hmmm..... Here's a suggestion... Kiva.org is a great non-profit that allows individuals to provide business loans to people in developing countries. Once the business gets off the ground, the entrepreneur then repays the lender. Perhaps offer to help Mavis post her need on the website and then you can even offer to link her post to your blog so that your friends and family can have the opportunity to help her. Just a thought!
Miss and love you!
Sarah
Dear Becca, I would like to sponsor Patrick this year And all I need to know is how do I pay you the $150.I will be so proud to do this. Tell John I am happy he is recovering so guickly. Also we miss you & love you.MaMa Jack
I definately agree that sponsoring Patrick is a good decision. Though the money would only be going towards one person, he would be able to pass along lessons and perhaps even sponser others in the future.
Regarding Mavis, it definately seems trickier, both due to the fact that it is a want rather than a need and that the money is going to a personal friend. That being said, there are some schools of thought which would argue that creating new business owners would modernize a region as fast as any other method, and Cold Storage seems to be something that the area lacks and may catch on quickly. Without sounding to much like Mr. C (most respectfully), have you asked her about her business plan?
Glad your Thanksgiving was delicious, say hello to John and a few of the monkeys for me.
Love & Miss You
-Brian
Boxley here....on your questions - I think both are easy - you got money because people trusted you to do the right thing...so you can decide. By the way, I think education and new business are two things Africa needs more of, so you can't really go wrong.
In our news (remember you said you wanted news...hope you still do), we went to Louise's funeral on Tuesday. We had just visited a few weeks ago. She was not enjoying life much these last few months, but she did smile at our grandkids when we visited, which was a joy. The service included lots of good things about her, which I experienced more than most of the family cousins. She enjoyed serving others - her family and community - and even took Meals on Wheels to the elderly long after she was elderly. I really liked her even if she did call me Rascal (the family dog - she got our names mixed up quite often).
We had the whole crowd for Thanksgiving in Charlotte. Holidays will not be as much fun for a while as we still think often of Drew, but three grandbabies sure did their part to make us cheerful. All three were so excited about the big dinner that, when we finally sat down to eat, all three fell asleep.
We look forward to being with the family around Christmas - we will tell you how well your folks are taking care of things in your absence - probably pretty well. We will miss you at the foosball table - image how much better we will be by the time you return.
Keep writing - it's great.
Becca,
I would most definitely sponsor Patrick. Think of what greatness can come of a man with an education. I believe it is not only his family who will benefit down the road...you have no idea the man he can become.
With Mavis, it is a difficult dilemma however I too see the need for fostering business in Africa. It may not only benefit Mavis, but others in the community. Perhaps instead of donating the full amount, maybe you can offer her a business loan to be paid off as her business is started.
I'm so proud of all the good work you are are doing...you are such a catalyst for change!!! Give John my best! We miss you terribly!
Love,
Krista
Hey roomie(s)!
Bec, your dilemma over Mavis's request brings to mind a remarkable fellow named Muhammad Yunus. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work bringing micro-credit to poor people in Bangladesh, and I wonder if the lessons we have learned from his work may be applied here. The brief version of the story is that poor people in Bangladesh were often underserved by banks because the loans they wanted were too small to justify the banks efforts in giving them out and subsequently trying to collect payment. As a result, poor people who sought smaller loans often resorted to loan sharks and payed extremely high interest rates (interstingly, not unlike the US, but that's a different story). Yunus saw an opportunity to help these people and create a profitable business at the same time by offering microcredit (very small loans at reasonable interest rates - very often to women). For example, he might loan someone in a rural area $50 to buy a cell phone. That person then might set up a "business" in their village selling phone calls for ten cents each. Ideally, over time the loan gets paid back, the borrower is able to start their own business, and the villagers are better off than before because they can make phone calls that they certainly couldn't have afforded to make before. It's a win-win-win situation, and I imagine that it is exactly the kind of thing kiva.org (the site Sarah cited) does.
So to boil it all down, Mavis's need (in that it is mostly a "want") seems like one that might be well met by microfinance. I would not necessarily suggest that you loan her the money, but perhaps you could offer to help her develop a business plan and get microcredit financing from appropriate sources. I did a quick internet search for microcredit in Ghana and found a few interesting things, along with some encouraging success stories. There is a growing network of microfinance lenders in Ghana, and the Ghana Micro-finance Institutions Network (GHAMFIN) is (perhaps) conveniently headquartered in Accra. Perhaps GHAMFIN can help get you connected to some lenders that are located near where you are.
Ok, that's all from me. I'm really glad that you are doing well (and doing good)! Please let me know if I can offer anymore assistance from afar. Take care, and tell John to do the same!
You have gotten a number of quality suggestions on your inquiries so I will just complement you on your questions. As for the picture of John (taken from the back), which of the 6 doctors surrounding him was the leg specialist?
Love, Dad
Hi Becca!
I hope all is well. I agree with Brian on this one, you are a smart person and you will make an educated/wise decision regarding what to do with your money. I can't believe your trip is already several months underway. Happy Holidays! Let me know what you end up doing for New Years!
Thanks for the great blog updates,
Megan
Heartfelt thanks to Mo, your friends and you for so ably assisting John when his leg took a turn for the worse. Anna and I are truly grateful. We applaud your presence in Ghana and the good that will come from it.
You post two interesting questions. #1: Patrick's continued education will positively affect
anyone who comes in contact with him in the future - be it friend or family, personal or economic. "If you think education's cost is high, consider the cost of ignorance." #2: I also
would offer support in non-monetary ways. Any start-up is stressful and time-consuming for the individual & family. Your personal support - be it working in her store or networking in her behalf - would be invaluable.
Your decisions will be the right ones!
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