Charity

We've been having a bit of a clear out at the MAF compound - emptying out our store room and deciding what we really need to keep and what we will no longer use. It's been a bit reminiscent of my last assignment in South Sudan (albeit on a much smaller scale) where a large part of my job seemed to involve deciding how to dispose of things that those who have worked there before thought  worth keeping 'just in case'. Not being a natural hoarder I fine this approach difficult to understand although when you live somewhere where things are either hard to get hold of or very expensive I can see how it becomes the prevalent attitude.

So for the last few weeks there has been a pile of old furniture stacked in a corner of the compound, just outside my bedroom window, that we have decided we are never going to use. Storing anything wooden in an out-house, where every insect and animal in N'Djamena can access it, is not the best idea and what was probably once quite good furniture is now very definitely past its best. Every time I have opened my bedroom curtains and seen this furniture I have been reminded that we need to do something with it. As in most developing countries rubbish disposal in Chad is a major issue with there being no real 'system' in place and so getting rid of anything is always a challenge.

One of my expatriate colleagues suggested we should offer the furniture to our national staff. Something in me was reluctant to do this. I struggle with the idea of giving to others the things that we consider 'rubbish'. If it's not good enough for me then how come it is suddenly OK for someone else? The 'rich' westerners giving to the 'poor' Africans just seems to illustrate all that was wrong with colonialism and is still wrong today with a lot of humanitarian aid. Why do we think it is OK to just give the 'crumbs from our table'? Shouldn't we be giving the 'first fruits' instead?

Despite these misgivings, and mostly because I had no better solution, I decided this was the best option. I explained the situation to the staff on Friday and invited anyone who was interested in having some of the furniture to come to the compound today at 11.00 a.m. where they could share it out between them. I had visions of them being disappointed in the condition of the furniture and arguing about who would have the 'best' things but I needn't have worried. Five of the nine staff turned up and, after much discussion, they divided the furniture into what they considered nine equal piles (one for each member of staff). They then made a great show of drawing lots to see who would get which pile. After each person had claimed their pile there was clapping, cheering and congratulations. When all the furniture had been divided up one of the staff made a speech to thank me for my generosity in giving them these things.

The furniture is still outside my bedroom window as they need to organise to get it taken to their respective homes but they have gone away happy and I am left wondering about the nature of charity...