The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz
“We don’t hate you. We actually like that you’re a nice girl with much to offer. What we hate is what you represent. The North comes to the South and sends a young white woman without asking us what we want, without seeing if we already have the skills we need. And this from an organization that says it wants to promote solidarity. We’ve seen this too many times before. Africa will never change if it’s always like this.” — A Kenyan woman talking about foreign aid
“In order to contribute to Africa, I would have to know myself better and be clearer about my goals. I would have to be ready to take Africa on its own terms, not mine, and to learn my limits and present myself not as a do-gooder with a big heart, but as someone with something to give and gain by being there. Compassion wasn’t enough.”
“Good hearted people would build schools without thinking about the costs of hiring and supporting a teacher- not for months but for years- and the schools would stand empty. Women would be encouraged to make crafts though there was no market for them, and so we’d visit homes piled to the ceilings with unsold sisal baskets.”
“The challenge…was not to take our privilege for granted but to use it in a way that served the world and our highest purpose.”
“Africa can stun you in an instant. It can throw floods and drought and disease at you, sometimes all at the same time. In the next moment, it will tease you with its magnificent beauty, so even if you don’t forget, you can find a way to forgive. Ultimately, it keeps you coming back for more.”
