Begging Makes You Richer

Met John yesterday on the streets of Nansio when I was out alone buying breakfast. An stout man of imposing stature, he chatted me up amidst my brisk pace, even as I was wary of his intentions. But compassion gave way. John was simply looking for a job and badgered me as he felt I could help. But I felt helpless. Lamentable how decent men like John were looking to work for decent wages, but shortchanged due to lack of employment opportunities. My job in NCSS identifies this as a “service gap” and here in Tanzania, it’ll take years of social enterprise and state intervention in job-creation before such needs can be met.

This contrasts with a story we heard from Ron Rieckenberg whom we met in Moshi town 2 weeks back. An American sinking his roots in Tanzania after marrying a local and immersing himself in NGO-work here, he told us how some beggars were raking in much more money daily as compared to the sweating street vendors peddling their wares, or women who had to endure long dusty walks from their villages everyday to sell fruits or firewood in town. Thus the moral dilemma of whether to buy something you don’t need from a street vendor harassing you for a sale, or contributing to the possible pile of a blind man or hapless-looking mother. But since it’s not a zero sum, probably a bit of and to both.

Also better managing my struggle with our roles here in Africa. On one hand, you feel real guilty spending big tourist bucks when you know your nearby neighbour is living on less than a dollar a day. On the other, throwing yourself fully to live/eat like the locals or taking the full plunge to work in full-time development work in Africa is a drastic decision that requires a clear calling. It’s telling how most of the foreigners we met so far are involved somehow in NGO work. Maybe our next stop in Uganda tomorrow in a formal volunteering role will help us better understand what we can or cannot do, here in Africa.