The road to hell is often paved with good intentions. And often, no matter the intention, people who “volunteer” in Africa do more harm than good. A big part of the harm comes from the misinformation they bring back (Middle school student is on a serious mission, Jul. 4).
After spending almost a year in Uganda I was thrilled when someone gave this article to me. That joy quickly turned to horror when I read what was written about the country I had come to see as my second home.
The very first thing to say is Uganda does not smell like body odour and garbage. In the country it smells like charcoal cooking stoves, and in the city it can smell like exhaust when you are walking down the street. Sometimes, when you are wedged in the back of a minivan (the public transport) between two people for a several hours it can be a little smelly – but I challenge anyone here to smell good after long, hot, dust-filled trips. I never found the smell of garbage unless I was standing next to a garbage truck. Despite garbage on the road and mud or dust (weather dependent) people keep themselves, their clothes, and shoes astonishingly clean.
Experiencing a country for a few days doesn’t create an understanding. One out of every two children in Uganda is not HIV positive. The HIV prevalence rate is less than 10 per cent – with most people saying it is 7.6 per cent. This is very low when compared to other sub-Saharan African countries – something Ugandans are quite proud of.
The country is beautiful and the people are known to be the most hospitable. Often families take in children whose parents have died (from HIV or otherwise) ensuring the children have a roof over their heads, and hopefully some food.
There is a lot of history and culture in Uganda. Some of it is fascinating and beautiful, but other traditions are very difficult for North Americans to understand. I don’t support some of them, but it’s up to the Ugandans to change their own society. Many of the younger generation – those who are growing up to run the country one day – find the idea of child marriage as despicable as Westerners. To simply say “if girls don’t get an education they get married off to old men that rape them,” is unfair and judgemental. It paints a horrible picture of a society that is undergoing change.
If you give a Ugandan the choice between dignity – not being stared at, their lives dissected, and judgements made – and money, they would pick dignity every time. Just as we would be angry if someone wrote horrible comments about where and how we live – so are Ugandans.
I sent this article to a friend of mine in Uganda and he asked a pretty good question. “If you think it’s so bad here, then why do you come?” He answers it too. “Most Muzungus come to make money and then they go back and say nasty things.” He is referring to the numerous groups that look at the worst parts of the society and display them as spectacle to continue to keep their organizations in business. His anger is just one voice of many.
So, you want to help? Stay home. Find someone in Uganda that you trust (an individual or a sister organization) and entrust them with the money and overseeing a project. Unless you have some specific skill set that others don’t, you are not helping and just taking the jobs away from those who need them. If you travel to paint a school, you can feel good about yourself and get to know how lucky you are. But, the cost of the plane ticket alone could have hired several locals and subsequently supported their families.
While the fundraising effort to support new schools is commendable and it’s great that students at schools around Victoria are becoming aware of global issues, this money doesn’t give North Americans licence to act superior. Spend (and donate) your money wisely, watch who you listen too, and stay here if you really want to help.
