Where to give kids clothes and toys ?
 

Hello

I'm going to Morocco on the 16/10, and I was thinking, if anyone on the forum knows where to give clothes and other goods for kids. I'm not keen on giving to the kids begging on the street, I've been told they leave school to go beg from turists on the streets.

My off road route starts from Midelt, down to the Dades gorge, the Todra, down to Zagora, Mahmid, then East to Merzouga, so any place around this areas would be of great interest.

All the best

Tito

Hi Tito,

You're right not to give to kids on the street. Once they know you've got stuff to give away you'll be mobbed and it's not pleasant or dignified.
Give to a responsible adult who might make sure that the stuff gets to the kids and not onto the nearest market stall. I'm sure over the course of your travels you'll make some good friendships and get to know folks you can trust. Campsite/hotel/garage staff who've helped you out will appreciate clothes for their children.

Happy trails,

Peter

Hello,
If you to want to donate kids clothes and toys to any trustworthy charity, then you can contact The Outreach Center for children. They work for under-privileged children of the society. Call 800-515-6789 to know more.

Are you seriously suggesting someone makes a transAtlantic telephone call to a charity in the United States to find out how to donate clothes to kids in Morocco?

Hi Clubman

If you are in a car and have the room then follow Peter Girlings advice.

My wife and I have done this many times in many places.

For a variety of reasons(some of which have been stated)do not be tempted to give to kids in the street.

Well done and happy travels.

Clubman
 

I can point you in the right direction. Check your pm

Hi Bertrand

Received you e-mail/pm and I send you a reply.

Tim, your right, no need to call to the USA, already got more place to donate than what I can carry on the Range Rover.

Thank you all

Tito

Hi, good for you for planning to do something like that when you travel. It is always good to give something back, and even better when you think about how to do it responsibly. I definitely agree that giving to kids or adults on the street is not the way to go. Any worker in the hotel where you stay, or a cafe owner, will probably be glad of some clothes for their family or it sounds like you have some good ideas from the group about which charities will take clothing donations.

Hi have 2 possible places so far, one is the owner of one hotel close to Mahmid says that we can put me in contact with the right people and the other is a school close to Merzouga.

The reason I started this post was that it makes me very sad to see they way the kids behave like in pure desperation to receive something, once , when I drove away they even throwed stones !

Leaving in one week :D

Tito

They throw stones because French tourists have trained them to expect sweets and other goodies and if they are not forthcoming they retaliate.

What would you think if visiting Japanese and Chinese tourists started giving stuff to your kids?

You are contributing massively to the economy by visiting and the wealth trickles down. The absolute best approach is to give nothing.

http://www.morocco-knowledgebase.net/tim/P1010696e.jpg

That's what the sign above asks—"Don't make too much noise, keep a distance from wild animals, respect places of worship, avoid behaviour likely to shock locals, DON'T GIVE TO PEOPLE--especially children--sweets, pens, drugs, so as not to encourage begging"

Yep, and it needs translating into about 50 languages because it applies everywhere.

@Tim Cullis, I meant to donate for USA region only, not Morocco that number is also belongs to USA. Thanks for pointing out the mistake.

I think the issue of whether or not to give touches on the huge issue of worldwide charities regularly assisting people in an area. Personally I have no issue with giving to people/a society who have encountered something out of their control such as natural disasters or disease epidemic, such ability to support each other has helped humans to become very successful in terms of surviving as a species. However I believe that when you consistently support people there is the risk of them becoming disabled in the sense that they lose the ability to bring about their own solutions. Sure specific individuals may have very little ability to make that difference unsupported, however if the society within which they live doesn't figure out that it is in their long-term advantage to help each other they are at risk of hobbling their society's long-term survival. I could go on but I'd guess there are threads here on the HUBB already on this issue so my advice would be to let the locals figure out themselves as a society how to make the best of life, even if it takes them 50 years to do so as the damage I think is inflicted otherwise will be long lasting.

I agree with the above. Looking at the situation of England in the 1700-1800s, the country was terribly disadvantaged compared to today, yet there was no richer country to come along and give handouts. So the country pulled itself up by its bootstraps.

Perhaps we should butt out and let people in other countries get on with things themselves.

On a slightly different tack, during the Islamic golden age the Arabic countries were in the vanguard of invention and discovery (algebra, medicine, paper, early universities) and I wonder what happened?