“The turtle has compassion, but no milk.”
Good intentions alone are not enough; sometimes the will to help exists without the means to actually help.
— Traditional Namibia Wisdom, Namibia
Source: Otjiherero (Herero) proverb, Namibia, public-domain oral tradition
More Proverbs from Namibia
Each hand washes the other.
Mutual help benefits both sides; people who assist each other both come out ahead.
Respect, to be respected.
A person who wants to be honored by others must first show honor and respect to them.
What is yours is not yours.
Property that belongs to someone else must never be taken, no matter how much you want it; do not steal.
The earth is the queen of all beds.
In the end, everyone returns to the earth; no resting place is grander or more certain than the grave.
Old people's speech is not to be dishonored — after all, they saw the sun first.
The words of elders deserve respect, since their longer experience of life gives them wisdom the young have not yet earned.
A woman is a basket.
Women carry and hold a household together through resourcefulness, much as a basket carries and holds many things.