Commentary, Opinion

Teach a man to fish

September 17, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

‘Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish, and he will eat for a lifetime.’

That old proverb suggests education and skill-building enable ongoing independence and are more effective than temporary aid.

There is a lot of truth in that proverb. Obviously, the more you know, the better you can make your life turn out.

However, there is a flip side to that proverb that is seldom talked about.

There are people in this world who would prefer that you just give them a fish every day. That way, they don’t have to work, they stay fed, and you provide everything for them.

Some people can be taught to fish, and yet have no inclination to actually go to the local lake or seaside and cast a line into the water. They would prefer you do it for them.

As for teaching them to fish, there are some things you just have to figure out for yourself.

If you need food and live by the ocean, it shouldn’t be that hard to figure out how to catch a fish.

If you can’t figure out such a simple process, the rest of your life is going to be rather difficult if you don’t surround yourself with smarter people.

The late comedian Sam Kinison, known for his trademark screaming during his show, once made an observation that, while twisted into a humorous story, made a lot of sense.

He had been watching television, and a commercial for a large international charity came on the air. It showed a group of people in the desert who were apparently starving.

It even showed the stereotypical close-up of the starving kid with the flies crawling around his eyes.

Kinison declared he knew how to solve the hunger problem. He said the solution was to show up in the village with a couple of trucks and some U-Haul trailers.

“Move!” Kinison screamed. “You’re living in a desert! It’s all sand! Nothing will grow here! You don’t have any food because you can’t grow anything in sand!”

While Kinison screamed the story out for laughs, there was a lot of truth in what he was saying.

Some people just seem to lack common sense.

The West has been pumping billions and billions of dollars into developing countries for years to help them get ahead. It mostly started after the Second World War.

After 80 years of trying to teach people how to fish, there are still charities that air commercials showing some kid who has to walk 12 miles every morning to get water from a well.

How much teaching, funding, and intellectual aid do you have to provide before people clue in and decide to lift themselves up.

Many of these developing countries have a huge amount of natural resources they could tap, but fail to do so for many reasons.  

A lot of people will no longer give to the big international charities because they simply don’t see any good coming from their contributions.

Along with local authorities skimming from the funds, they realized that with some of these charities, the president was drawing a seven-figure salary.

People want to help a starving village, not help some charity president pay for his new yacht.

I attend quite a few events where local non-profit organizations benefit from provincial money through Ontario Trillium Foundation Grants.

You can’t just apply for money and expect to receive it; there’s a whole process in the grant application. There has to be a real need and a benefit to both the organization and the community.

The money that is granted goes to local organizations that help the community and provide a valuable service.

The real benefit is seeing the tax dollars you, your family, and your friends have provided used to help the community where you live. Those funds provide a tangible benefit, not some imaginary cheap fix in a place you have never been to, and likely will never see.

The whole ‘teach a man to fish’ concept has some good qualities, but if after teaching him to fish, he refuses to cast his line, then it’s time to move on.  

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