The real givers are never noisy, life has taught me that. Oftentimes, the ones who make all the noise are using OPM to shine.
A friend gave my daughter and I a great treat last weekend and in all, I noticed she wasn’t even bothered to take pictures. In fact, the only one she allowed was the one about compensating Nath for the Tarkwa Bay absence.
You know widows and single moms are often soft targets for charity givers this season and the pictures are always flooding their timelines for measure, right? Truth is, like I wrote early in the year, (refer to my January 4th post on Nigerian philanthropists that went viral!) all na mostly for show.
The real givers are quiet about it because they know who truly rewards.
I know someone here on my timeline who pays school fees for over 20 fatherless children each term, you will NEVER see it on his timeline.
My big sister Udy has an orphanage she has adopted for over ten years now, she pays fees for over thirty of their kids and send them heavy foodstuffs regularly, but as good as she is with selfies, you can never see their faces or anything about them on her page, because she is not looking for ‘NGO Support’.
How about the ones who build and give shelter to widows and the vulnerable? Sam sam, they would hardly mention it. Me and many like me have also received help from people who will warn you sternly saying, “nobody must hear of this oh!”
Don’t get me wrong, giving of rice, used clothes, Ankara and all that this season is a good gesture no doubt. I support it but what I do not support is exposing their faces on world media for all to see. Those are people’s mothers, sisters and friends, for heaven sake. Na poor dem poor, dem no kill person.
Actually, true philanthropists bother about the dignity of their recipients and not so much about the accolades they receive. ( Pictures displaying recipients faces should not be part of your philanthropy, if indeed your reason is coming from a good place).
And dear reader, if you meet someone who is quick to tell you how many people they feed and send money to bla bla bla, check am well, no be their money.
Yes,. I say it again, you be philanthropist but your housemaid dey fear to drink Bigi when dey fridge because she dey fear make you no kill her, you no be any phila kankan, you just be packager, that’s all!
TRUE GIVERS AIN’T LOUD!
Written by Grace Ayabimeh Okpo