Batteries Not Required!

We went on more of those "tours" today. The highlight was visiting a fishing village. I would have thought we should go in the morning when the boats are coming back in. Our tour guides decided that going in the late afternoon was better. We when got there, all the boats were tied up, and no off-loading was happening. Well, except for a cargo ship that came in.

This would have been a big bust except My Lovely Wife had her own agenda for this village. She had brought a bag of toys that had been collected for the better part of a year. She also had brought toothbrushes, combs, hair conditioner, all sorts of things people might like. And there in the middle of a concrete pier, she found some kids and started distributing.

At first, the kids didn't know what was going on. Soon, word was out, and kids were bicycling in from the shore to get something. Kids started trying to negotiate a different distribution. Some put their toy in their pocket and tried to act like they had just arrived. Every trick you've ever seen a ten-year-old do was being done. This made the day, it was why fun was had. Funny, the tour guide was no where to be found.

We've done this toy giveaway before. If you're coming to the developing world, most kids don't have a lot of toys which are always welcome. But think about what you're giving. Bring nothing that uses batteries. Once the battery dies, you can assume the toy will never work again. Yo-yo's, action figures, Silly Putty, even rubber ducks will light up a kid's face. The simpler the toy, the less expensive it tends to be (we've even brought breakfast cereal toys) so you can bring more, and make more kids happy.