Another bad AID idea for Africa

I was alerted yesterday morning by Linda Raftree alias @meowtree on Twitter to the existence of a project to send 1 million tee-shirts to Africa. Run by a certain Jason Sadler, you can find out all about it here

Jason asks each t-shirt donor to enclose a minimum of $1 to contribute to shipping costs. The garments will then be sent to Africa’s t-shirtless and grateful poor. Jason is using social media to promote the message, including Mashable the high-profile social media platform, I assume because of the 2.6 million viewers following the site. You can imagine my fury when I went on to see the project being promoted on numerous sites as a means to helping Africans. As usual, I like to check the excellent Aid Watcher blog to see if people are talking about the project. Sure enough, they are, and I am clearly not alone in my frustration and anger, which only increased as I read the coverage of the project. I wanted to stay rational and calm, but I just could not help myself!

Having already emailed his colleague and got nowhere, I googled Jason, found his telephone number and called him in the USA. I wanted to find out what was going on in his head and get an answer from him. When I managed to speak with him, the conversation was heated. He could feel my anger. Why was I angry? Well, first of all, his idea is conceited, amateurish and idiotic. It will not help Africans. It is just another form of aid that is inefficient and unsustainable and will end up doing more harm than good. Those who know Africa well will agree with me that once the t-shirts arrive, they will end up in a warehouse – provided someone from the government authorises it of course. The possibility that the kids the shirts are intended for will never get them is therefore very real. And even if some are distributed, Jason will not be able to track who is getting them. But most of all, supplying a million old t-shirts, apart from being incredibly inefficient in terms of cost, does not address any of Africa’s many pressing problems. Lack of t-shirts is simply not an issue! All those who donated their $1 and t-shirts might feel good about themselves, but they will have achieved nothing!

Jason admits that he does not know Africa. Sadly, he has never been to Africa, like many Americans I meet. They think they can magically impose their ’solutions’ for Africans from America. Maybe Jason means well. Maybe he wants to help. But his idea is bad, the timing is bad and the project is insulting to Africans and Africa as a whole.

This is not an isolated event. Ideas come from America all the time. People with little knowledge and no direct experience of African decide they want to ‘help’ the continent. But these projects are more often than not damaging for Africa. This pattern needs to stop now and we need to recognise that some NGOs have failed and are still failing Africa!

I was born in Africa. I understand poverty and what is good for my continent and how we can reach out to the poorest of the poor. I visit Africa almost monthly and the dignity and pride of the poor are plain to see. They are not crying out for used t-shirts! How would Americans feel if we reverse the project and ask Africans to collect their old t-shirts and send them to the USA? Would Jason wear one? I think not. So please, treat people the way you yourself would want to be treated!

I and others are urging Jason to see the error in his idea and change strategy. He appears ready to listen .There are millions of ways to help people in Africa. Those who want to help just need to speak to the right people!

You can find excellent coverage of this story here:

Aid Watcher
Dear Jason
Blood and Milk

I am on twitter if you want to reach me @mjamme

Wikipedia and Africa

Wikipedia is expanding in Africa. The founder Jimmy Wales has big ambitions for the developing world according to this BBC article Article. And why is that? Well a continent that has with 53 countries, more than 2000 estimated Languages spoken needs to be considered and given attention on Wikipedia. I think its very wise that Jimmy has announced this move. Not only this expansion will bring an enormous value on content management and archive for Africa but it will help African people to move from an oral tradition to online written tradition. Africa is content, African people can take this opportunity to write world class stories about their continent, re -brand it and make contents more credible and accurate. They are no many African leaders biographies, stories on Wikipedia, the one you read is not written by African people or has a little African input. Real stories needs to start emerging, and I think Wikipedia can collaborate with Africans to make this happen. African People are today using the clouds to make themselves heard. This Wiki addition is just awesome.

This is an excellent move!
Thank you Jimmy and Wikipedia!

From @mjamme!

Africa is Content

Africa, the continent everyone is talking about even the biggest PR company in the world such as Google. Is 2010 the year to PR and Market the African continent better?
Africa will not be the Africa we knew 20 years ago, as its own people have taken the PR role via the social media web Twitter, Facebook and many others.
The Real stories of Africa will be told by Africans. Its time that good stories from starts Africa emerging from the continent itself- African leaders, professionals and businesses needs to start communicating with the rest of the world by writing, blogging, collecting and archiving for the next generation to come.  We need to create credible contents. Through my travel to Africa recently, I came across wonderful individuals and stories that has never been written or told. Friends of Africa should encourage and empower the locals to write their stories and share the journey in order to keep it authentic.  I invite you to listen to this wonderful video.

Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story

Thank you for reading my blog!