It's an epidemic. They are everywhere. A large number of people seem to lack the most basic of common sense; and lots of them are tourists in foreign countries. Of course, I generalize.
Driving along what seem like remote dirt roads, the children from the villages come running with their hands outstretched - "sweets, sweets, sweets" is what you usually here them say. They have become accustomed to tourists lavishly dispersing bits of Western culture, like monkeys in a cage being fed peanuts. Indisputably, the tourists have good intentions at heart but ignorance to the consequences of these intentions is still not an excuse. Tourists hand out sugary treats and the slightly more conscientious bring pens, pencils and t-shirts with the notion of helping the poor African children. Or is it more about self-gratification of seeing the children smile or perhaps even an unconscious attempt at an absolution for our own actions that have contributed to the vast imbalance of world wealth?
What's the harm in an innocent candy? Sweets are nice treats. They taste good. Children like them. But it is not always the correct decision to indulge in something that tastes good or feels nice. These children do not have dental care, many of them probably don't even brush their teeth. What kind of favour is the tourist really doing them by giving them sugary, tooth decaying pleasures? But the underlying issue goes deeper.
Think for a moment what free hand-outs accomplish; destructive and counter productive dependency. Road side hand-outs surely cause more damage than good. Children learn from an early age that all they need to do is stand by the road with their hands outstretched and surely some white tourist will stop and give them what they want. They trend away from creating arts and crafts, herding their goats and cattle or trying to create a life for themselves. The attitude of getting something for nothing is reinforced. Not only are tourists creating a dependency, they are now creating an expectation. We have come across groups of children who are becoming demanding and insist that they be given something. To such an extent, that we have even heard of children throwing rocks at vehicles that did not give them anything. Definitely not a desirable situation to be creating.
For the genuinely concerned tourist, I would suggest getting involved in a volunteer organization, be it time or money. Now be careful; I caution at blindly donating money to these large, popular and very publicly known organizations. Their flashy adverts, new company vehicles and upscale staff housing must all be paid by somebody. Find a smaller organization, a group of people, a couple or individuals with sincere intentions of making a positive change and find a way to work with them or support them.