Some Early Thoughts

While meeting with the chief, he talked about a serious concern he had about promises made from groups like ours. It is the same concern we have heard from many of the people we have talked with. They have been promised a lot over the past 15 years, but most have not lead to anything but false hope. But the region still desperately needs help, and the community can’t let the disappointments of the past cause them to miss opportunities. So they talk to strangers from New York City with cautious optimism and patience that does not come easy.

It is because of this that we feel even more confident about our work here. The best feedback we have heard the last few days is that people feel different about our project because we promise to come back to help implement the program ourselves. A lot of Charities raise money for something and just assume it will go towards what they want. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. There has been a problem with money being raised for Coffee Bay that “somehow” never gets here. Government grants have being diverted to other regions, earmarked money has been given to what people hear refer to as “ghosts”, names of people who have died but are still on the list of aid recipients. Corruption is everywhere, but when it happens in a place like this, it is hard to take.

This idea of do-it-ourselves has been the driving force behind FocalPointAid from the start. It is that idea that has given us hope for Coffee Bay, and in turn has allowed the people of Coffee Bay to welcome us so warmly.