The twisted logic of accepting gifts from suspect strangers

In this season of giving, I would like to turn attention to the gift of giving. Our people are considered to be overly generous. And many charities have been in our midst for much longer than many of us care to remember, doing what they say is meant to transform the lives of our people.

While it’s risky to generalise, we know that to be true; many charities have transformed the lives of our people, for worse.

Take Somalia, for instance, a country that, by some estimates, was self-sustaining with 2,000 food varieties to be found within its borders.

Now it’s been turned into a burnt-out shell, her children scattered to the four directions of the wind as refugees, despite the billions of dollars in aid.

I hear some charities have been funding terror networks in this country and region. That’s not surprising, what’s surprising is how long it took for them to be exposed.

Then there are the paedophiles, the latest one convicted in England this week for crimes he committed on our children in this very land.

Hence the question: since we cannot protect our children against such predators, or even verify the identity of visitors before allowing them in, why do we not punish the offenders?