by Sasha Alyson

Follow @TrojanAid

I recently received the following email from a man in East Africa (@BaroleJ):

Hi, I’m James in Uganda. Been following you on Twitter for a couple of months now. I want to ask for some advice. I am head of an NGO that has completely refused foreign aid… How best can we help our fellow Africans, especially the youth, understand the concept of not selling out to these colonialists that come in all forms? How then can we instill knowledge, skill, or otherwise unto Africans so as to help each other grow, spiritually, economically and socially?

That’s a good question, a hard question, and the answer will vary with one’s circumstances. And I certainly don’t have the best answers. I don’t live in Uganda, and my focus is not what people in Africa (or Asia, or Latin America) should do, but rather what the West should stop doing.

Having said all that, and having been asked, I’ll offer my thoughts about what I think is possible in some circumstances. You, James, and anyone else reading this, know your situation better than I do, so it’s up to you to decide if — in your case — this advice is good, bad, or just a good start. Others are invited to add comments, and their own advice, below.

My first suggestion is: Don’t tell them what’s wrong. Instead, ask questions that encourage them to think deeply about what’s going on. From schools to governments to global NGOs and the U.N., we’ve got enough people already who want to tell everyone the “right” answer. If it’s really right, then people can figure it out themselves, if they have information and guidance to think about the issues from different perspectives. The world needs more such people.

Get the conversation going. You can start by looking at an INGO project that claims it will improve education, agriculture, or whatever. Talk with others about it. How much money will they spend? Where will it go? What is the likely impact? Will it have hidden impacts? Have there been similar projects in the past? What did they promise? What was the outcome? Other stories on this site could provide a starting point for discussions. (Stories listed below look at some of these issues. For example, when a corrupt government collects fees from a foreign NGO, that NGO is propping up that government.)

Use thoughtful, open-ended questions. Help others – and especially young people – develop the habit and ability to ask questions about the forces that shape their lives. Schools based on “memorize for the test” produce graduates who think somebody else has the answer. Nobody has the answer to many of the hardest questions facing us today. And often, schools and government and foreign agencies also shape the questions. The World Bank and U.N. ask, “Will this raise GDP?” But we also should ask, “Will this create a stronger sense of community among ourselves – or will it weaken our social fabric?”

A lot of good questions start with WHY, or sometimes with HOW. You may need to ask the first questions, but then you can ask other questions, based on the reply. After they start thinking freely, and feel permission to go outside the box, children and youth will soon come up with their own questions. (Adults may take longer!)

For example: UNICEF gives free backpacks, with its name in big letters, to schoolchildren in many developing regions. If this happens where you live, some questions might be:

• Could children carry their things themselves, before they got these backpacks?
• These often replace locally-made bags, which had designs reflecting a region or ethnic group. Is it better to have bags that advertise UNICEF?
• Have these backpacks improved education quality? Do children learn more because they have a UNICEF backpack?
• Do you think children who get these will feel like they need UNICEF to help them have a better education?
• What do YOU think would improve school quality?
• Why do you think UNICEF chose to spend its money on this, rather than anything else?

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Those are my thoughts. Please use the Comments section below, to give your own ideas, or to comment on what I’ve written.

Comments from Twitter

We announced this story on Twitter, where readers made these comments. Please add your own comments at the bottom of this page.

AJETUNMOBI OLUWAFEMI, @Fajetunmobi: 1) Africans should be afforded knowledge of their history with a purpose of redefining their personality and future. 2) Africans should be taught to see the economic potentials in Africa based on economic realities.

Yungin’, @edrinenollan: The last part of your article got me thinking, if people could really ask questions before they say yes to foreign aid as you suggested, we’d be living better for sure

Mily, @dark_ekstasy: Imagine if we started from our own backyards here in Africa. If we actually started funding our own activities. Imagine if a sizeable number of the population in a country gave less than a dollar every month from their monthly wage (and some people can afford way more than this)

Where is Jack Ma ?, @Jaya_Jaya_Ram: Never ask help from foreign NGO’s, most of them are missionaries (conversion). Look for revenue sources like small scale mfg of home products related to local tradition and use online portals to sell them. Ask Individuals or corporates for sponsorship for training funds. In India there are lot of such trusts which are self reliant and not dependent on anyone for funding.

Lillian, @muz_lillian: Social enterprise could be more helpful. 1. There’s baking a larger cake and ensuring all targets get a slice. 2. Beneficiaries get to have a say in the agenda.

Dr Arour Schannuong, @ArourM: Bravo James in Uganda. That’s the mindset we African youth should have, & start to believe in ourselves rather than foreigners especially westerners & Europeans with their illicit hidden agendas.

Harold Godwinson, @HaroldOWessex: When Japan opened up to the world in the late eighteen hundreds they sent their best and brightest pupils to further their studies in the West. Then they brought them back to enrich their homeland. Africa’s diaspora doesn’t seem to come back. Maybe that’s a starting point.

EATegrity, @EATegrity_Sonia: I’ve worked with NGOs & smallscale, emerging farmers in South Africa & now advise farmers to create their own market access and become independent from NGOs. Encourage community driven projects & support what’s already happening on the ground. Also support indigenous knowledge & help reduce reliance on external inputs which disempowers communities that could be using resources within communities (think local seed savers & growers) & compost makers

Abdisalam Yassin, @AbdisalamYassi1: Good question put in a spirit of love for freedom. We can dispense with seeking foreign aid by: first, believing in ourselves, our capabilities, and our cooperation; and second, in having vision and acquiring the local tools to realize that vision. We have to build with our hands.

[Sasha adds: Many comments look at the issue of how to get funding, and I think the solutions fall into three categories. (1) Rely on volunteers. This can work well, but is hard to sustain. (2) Ask for donations, locally or from abroad. It is difficult, however, to avoid the trap of doing what the funders like rather than what you feel is needed. (3) Provide a product or service that offers value, that people want and will pay for. Often I’d say this is the best choice. When I’m not blogging, I spend most of my time working at a private school started by colleagues and myself in Laos. Parents are happy for an opportunty to pay a moderate tuition if it means their children learn and engage in a range of activites – from reading and math to debate and dance. And it’s sustainable. The first school, opened four years ago, has grown into three, all run by Lao people who developed their skills by working with us, all with local teachers.]

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