Supporting while travelling - a helping hand with Aunt Anna

Writer: Anna Nilsson Spets

Travelling in the Third World is anything but poolside hangouts and colourful umbrella drinks.

Poverty and deprivation

I see the hardship, I see the poverty, I see the rubbish heaps where children go and poke with a stick to find something to sell or to eat... I can't close my eyes.

I see women weighed down by their water jugs, with a baby hanging on their backs and a couple in tow, dirty and malnourished.

Clean water, which we take for granted, is a luxury for others.

The beggars... the real beggars who really have nothing. The refugees drifting aimlessly.

The shacks without electricity or water and where the sewage runs along the street, the rats; bad luck for the rats.

I cannot save the world, nor can I end poverty, but I can do something small.

There are many ways to contribute without having a treasure chest to draw from.

Travelling

When I travel, I always book locally, never ever with a big travel agency or in a fancy international hotel. My contribution then ends up with a local entrepreneur, people get a job that they can make a living from.

If I book a tour or a guide, same thing there, and yes, I tip. A tip for the person who cleans my room, a tip for the person who feeds me, it's always appreciated.

If I eat out, it will be in small local restaurants or along the street. If I shop, it will be at the market or in smaller shops.

If you are visiting a school or an orphanage, check what is needed. Maybe glasses, medicines, vitamins, toothbrushes and toiletries. So, when I pack, it's important that it's the right stuff. Often, it's cheaper to buy school supplies on the spot.

Clothes and shoes, hmmm, nothing I drag along, but can leave behind of my own. If you are travelling in Africa, for example, these things are cheap to buy on the local market.

Sweets ... all children like sweets, but from me it will be nothing, rather buy a packet of biscuits or something healthy.

I know that none of these kids' parents ever have money for dentists.

To support for a longer time

I have two godchildren in Africa, and if I could afford it I would have a whole bunch. I have had my first godchild for many years, a girl who lives far out in the countryside in Tanzania. The sponsorship is done through PLAN international, there are different projects and fees. I get two updates a year, with photo and status.

Through the 7M organisation, I have started supporting a girl in Kibera, the extremely large slum area in Nairobi, Kenya.

Arafa is 9 years old, lives with her mother, grandmother and a sibling in one room, the mother supports herself through occasional domestic work. They do not have running water but have to fetch it from a communal water station; toilets are also used in public toilets.

7M has many strings to its bow and is led by Peter Löfqvist, the photographer with the big heart and lots of projects in Kenya and Ghana. The pillars of the organisation are WATER, EDUCATION AND HOME FOR THE PARENTLESS.

For €150 a year, Arafa can go to school, which is very important to me. I can also keep in touch with her through a local contact person.

Volunteer

There are an endless number of volunteering organisations in all fields and all over the world. Volunteering is a useful experience where you get a good insight into daily life while making a difference.

You pay for food and accommodation, work x number of hours and live simply.

During the Balkan war I volunteered with a Swedish organisation working with refugees in Croatia, it was beyond criticism to send young volunteers to work and live with severely traumatised people without any knowledge or back up. It was extremely dirty in combination with various diseases like TB. I would therefore advise to have a good look at the organisation.

Support person/local sponsor

For many years in Sweden, I led a local sponsorship programme for newly arrived refugees, a very grateful job where I received multiple returns in the form of joy, knowledge and insight.

Many municipalities probably have this form of volunteering, a couple of hours a week can be set aside.

A penny

If you don't want to help on the spot, there are many worthy organisations to donate to. My own favourites are Doctors Without Borders and Women to Women.

My mum always said - "Eat your food, think of the children in Biafra ..." At the time I didn't even know where Biafra was, I know now because I've actually been there. In Nigeria, that is.  

There is a big place in my heart for refugees and people in need, if I can do something, I will.