I want to rescue this 8 year old girl from a life of poverty

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
21

Actually, there is an alternative, and it doesn’t necessarily involve much capital upfront. Microlending something to the mother for HER to start a business of some sort might be a better option than approaching the dad. Once mom has her feet under her, and dad sees that it’s possible to make money without breaking the law, then is the time to get him in on it. Give him funding now, and all you’re likely to do is fund better forays out into theft of property, which isn’t what you want to do. (Obviously, if mom is off helping dad fence things, then microlending to mom may not be the best option either…)

I think the best ideas I’ve heard so far on this thread involve helping the mother (or father) become more able to support themselves legally, keeping in as close and supportive contact with the girl as possible, and starting a fund of some sort in her name for her to use only for education and making sure the girl KNOWS ABOUT IT and what it’s for. Sure, maybe she’ll end up with a baby at 13, but she may also realize at 19 that there is a pre-paid trip to a better life just sitting over there with the local priest, and by that point, it may still make her life better, just not on your original timescale. If your goal is to make her life better, then give her as many (and varied) chances to get to “better” as you can manage.

22

Here is a real-life cautionary tale, for all of those advocating the “bishop” approach (and remember, Valjean stole from the bishop- it was only when he realized his own value for himself that he became honest.) This really happened, I know the people involved, and it’s used as a warning for those who want to play Santa Claus.

An American girl became good friends with her Cameroonian host family, who were poor subsistence farmers who would often go months without adequate food. By all accounts they were decent, honest people- devoutly religious and not at all shady, which is a rarity in the “nation of hustlers.” After about a year, she decided to really help them out. Taking a cue from Heifer international, she decided to invest in a herd of cattle and a motorcycle, with the theory that the host brother could use the motorcycle to start a taxi business, and the cattle would be both income-generation and a sort of savings for the entire family. It should be self-sustaining enough to make the entire family secure for generations. In all, I think she put in around $10,000 USD.

Well, nobody says “when I win the lottery, I want to keep working.” The family immediately sold the cattle and began to plot what they really cared about- moving to the capital, building a house in the home village befitting their new prestige, and visiting far-flung relatives in Paris and perhaps emigrating there.

When the American went to visit, she asked to see the herds and was given the runaround. Finally, after several visits she became suspicious and demanded to see the cows. The host father took her to some random field with some random herd in it. The host father started loudly proclaiming “Yes, here they are. These are ALL MY cattle. All mine.”

Well, the herder who actually owned the cattle heard that, saw this bizarre foreigner, and deduced that it was a plot to steal his herd and sell it to the foreigner. He called the police, and the host father was immediately arrested. The police, suspicious of foreigners anyway, didn’t really care about his side of the story.

It took a lot of money and time to clear things up, and I believe the host father was in jail for a period of years, which obviously was tough on the family financially. The American’s organization took a huge blow in credibility, and was not able to work in the region for years. Everyone figured it was something scandalous that probably involved sex or selling children, and that was something they didn’t need in their community. It took a long time to build that trust back.

Be careful. Grand gestures can have huge unintended consequences.