The epic western savior thing is very cringy and I don't know how to avoid it at his point in the project. I try to limit my role as much as possible
I think an important part is to figure out what is the best way to contribute. While it is good to let Tanzanians do as much as possible by themselves, they can't reach out to your friends. Only you can do that. When I tell my country mates about programmers in Africa, and I get a response like "They can do that?" with a big surprise impression on their face [1], I don't see how any African could do that by themselves. Bridges need to be built from both sides. If you remove yourself then you end up with half a bridge.
[1]: That was just one reaction I got when I told people about my work in Africa. Starkly contrasted by another reaction which was the opposite: "Oh cool, I am hiring devs in Ghana, they are awesome!". It's not all lost, but a lot of people simply still don't know. And that includes African-Americans.
I totally understand what you are saying and it good food for thought. I guess what I'm trying to say is there is a way to view these things where its not about being a good person but more about fulfilling a moral obligation. Like if someone is choking I don't know if it makes you a good person to do the heimlich maneuver, but I think it certainly makes you a bad person if you just sit there and do nothing.
That is sort of the light I see this in. Instead of people thinking "oh what a good person" I hope that they think "wow, look what a difference such a small amount of money can make. And look at all the untapped potential in these kids".
I absolutely agree. This isn't about good or bad. This is about understanding what works and what doesn't. That's why I came to Africa. To learn about the reality here and find out what, if anything an individual can even do to contribute, and more importantly, which contributions make sense, which are needed, what is it really that holds the development in Africa back. A lot of that are things that an individual can't influence, but there are small things we can do that make a difference in a few individuals lives in such a way that they will have a good chance of having an impact on others as well.
One thing that I feel is important, is that I do not believe charity, handouts in general are a good idea. they make people dependent or expectant of such charity instead of motivating them to solve problems.
Paying for education however is different. Education should be free. I come from a country where all education including university is free. So when I pay for a students education I am not being charitable, but I am correcting an error in the system.
Another way to look at it is to see going to school as the kids job. I literally got one kid off the streets by paying for their school and board, and all other personal expenses. The kid had already dropped out of school and ran away from home, and I offered to help only if and as long they would go back to school. That was their job. Their obligation.
[dead]