My sponsored child Davis

Reading the article in Cork News about child sponsorship with World Vision this week made me think about my own sponsored child. As a World Vision employee, it may seem strange that I’m a child sponsor, perhaps even self-serving to some. The truth is that sponsoring Davis in North Rukiga ADP in Uganda is one of the most rewarding and cost effective ways I can use my money to make a difference. I know that only a fraction of my donation (22%) is used to cover the Irish office fundraising and programme quality costs and the vast majority goes to benefit Davis’ community. Unlike most charities, with World Vision I get to see exactly how Davis benefits from my donation and I have even visited him and met his family. The school that he goes to was seriously overcrowded with ramshackle buildings, but thanks to World Vision and partly thanks to my contribution, Davis’ school now has three classrooms. We occasionally write and he lets me know how his life is going and how World Vision is assisting him and his family. My relationship with Davis is a great window into life in rural Africa and one of the most transparent and accountable ways my money can be used.

Life's a beach

There’s an old Swahili saying “Mambo ya pwani si mchezo”, which means that life at the coast isn’t a game. On the surface, this is hard to believe – the Kenyan coastline is beautiful and life moves at a sumptuous, leisurely pace. Drive a few kilometres inland though and life is anything but a game. This is one of the poorest and most disenfranchised areas of Kenya. Three years of consecutive drought have left tens of thousands on relief food and the rations are never quite enough. There are hundreds of moderately and severely malnourished children. Before the rains arrived this season, the closest water points were a 60km cycle away. And the place is so full of poisonous snakes that Steve Irwin filmed an episode of Crocodile Hunter out here. No Complaints But people aren’t sitting around moping or complaining about their misfortunes. Anything but. Despite six consecutive crop failures, they have prepared and planted their land. This is back breaking work under an unforgiving sun, which seems to promise yet another drought. 'Poverty tourism' I was there for three days this week visiting an Irish Aid funded food security recovery project and it is one of my favourite projects in the country. I’ve even brought friends to visit it while they were over in Kenya. They were reluctant at first, fearing that it would be a depressing and somewhat invasive “poverty tourism” trip. They actually found the opposite. Heart warming hospitality When we stepped out of the car, we were met by large crowds of women and men singing our welcome. Despite barely having two beans to rub together, they rolled out the red carpet for us. They sang us songs with our names woven in and gave us an array of gifts including chickens, a handmade bag with my name woven into it, and an assortment of spoons, as a thank you for our support. When they saw me melting under the jua kali (fierce sun) they lent me a kanga to cover my head with. I can’t begin to explain how humbling and heart-warming their hospitality and generosity is. It’s also astute on their part – charming visitors encourages them to be generous in return. I always leave wishing there was more we could do. Food and Water World Vision Ireland has achieved a lot in the past three years in this area. In partnership with the community, we constructed rain water harvesting tanks and reservoirs (as shown in the photos) which can store water for the next few months – some even until the next rainy season. When the drought was at its worst, the government trucked in water and filled the tanks, which meant an end to the 60km cycles. We’ve also trained farmers on improved agricultural methods, which helped them to capitalise on what little rain there is. A major success it the super goats that were given from the world vision gift catalogue – many kids have been produced, which means more milk, meat and money for families. I just pray that the rains come back.

I'm in the Irish Independent today

It’s so weird seeing yourself in the paper. Today’s Irish Independent has an article in it that I wrote to highlight the difficulties faced by those who wish to "make a difference" in people's lives.

The headline is ‘Don’t be a mug when you’re trying to help…’ and talks about how it takes more than good intentions to make a difference.

Many NGOs, like World Vision Ireland, have gotten past a lot of the hurdles I mention in the article and have gained a lot of experience about what it takes make a genuine impact on people's lives and deliver effective aid effectively.

Aid really does work - when it's done right. You can read it here >