Norah 3

I guess the whole point of putting all this on facebook and my blog was to start a discussion about what should be done, by everyone, in general.

1. If people think I should do something, they should. There are literally millions of kids like Norah.

2.... If people then decide to do something what should they do? The first thing most people think of is getting a sponsor child, but I'm saying that's a bad idea and can actually do more harm than good.

3. You can't just throw money at things. Give your time first and foremost. Learn about development, read a book, talk to someone. It is possible to do damage with aid projects, so you have to think about the big picture and make sure you're doing the right thing.

A final note on Norah. I can guarantee that if I gave money to her family that it wouldn't be spent on school. If you gave money to a Canadian family that had trouble buying food and told them to save it until their child was in college, do you think they would? If I just gave money to the school it would probably be stolen by the staff. The truth is that there isn't much I can do to directly help Norah. I want to help her and that's why I'm living in Africa. I think what I'm doing now is the best thing that I can do. Helping working adults earn and keep an income so THEY can take care of their kids.

Norah is special so what I'm about to say is not to take that away. Her situation is not unique. I met a grandmother that is caring for 8 orphans. My neighbour has 2 orphans living with her. Generally, my neighbour's contract is ending soon so he rode his bicycle 110km round trip yesterday for a job interview. Not on pavement, but on dirt road. Not on a mountain bike but on a 1 speed heavy and slow bike. He left at 3am with no flashlight. He wanted to borrow money from me to take a taxi but we were sleeping and he didn't want to wake us up. Life is hard but people, smart people, work hard.