When Novogratz first arrived in Africa, some of the female members of the local African community shunned her as an outsider. Why do we need a white foreigner helping us with the work that a local woman could do?
Well... she does have a good point. But, at the same time there are expertise and resources that a trained foreign consultant brings to the table. They tend to have a formal education and experience working on projects that local community members may not have known exist.
On another note, I have definitely felt out of place when trying to volunteer at a local non profit, as I can't really sympathize with many of the problems that the people living and/or working at the nonprofit have been through. I didn't have a tough upbringing and I can't really relate to discrimination.
BUT, while all of that is true, I am a soldier willing to fight for any cause I believe in. It may be awkward at first, but if you know that you are genuine in your actions and are not helping because you 'have to' or you 'should,' then it should not be hard to convince anyone that you are there because you want to be there.
That was the case for Novogratz, and even though those tensions never completely disappeared, she earned the right to be there. She earned the respect of the women in those community because those women also understood that she didn't have to be in Africa. She could be elsewhere, but she was in Africa and she made it her mission to bring about change.
Ultimately, it isn't always simple to sympathize with the plights of others, but if you are ready to work hard and work for what you believe in people will get behind you and support you if your motivations are genuine. It was great to see how Novogratz became a leader in her field and showed how hard work, passion, and a bit of luck can help anyone pave the way for change.
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