Because We Are

Faster? Extremely. Cheaper? No question. Greener? You bet. In this case, it is a newspaper that a recent college graduate is intrigued by but couldn’t afford everyday unless the guy before him left it on his seat on the train. Instead, I turn to the online version. In today’s New York Times there is a fascinating article written by a well-known “Guest Columnist.” Whenever I see an article with something as vague as “Africa” in the title I am naturally skeptical. Having served on the continent more than once, I scoff at the idea of talking about all of the problems of Africa in one fell swoop. It’s like writing about fishing on the entire East Coast in three pages. Rhode Island fish are different than those in Florida. Aside from commentaries on current political visits, music, and the need for more aid, there is an interesting idea for moving forward. Bono writes: “Amid poverty and disease are opportunities for investment and growth – investment and growth that won’t eliminate overnight need for assistance, much as we and Africans yearn for it to end, but that in time can build roads, schools, and power grids and propel commerce to the point where aid is replaced by trade pacts, business deals, and home-grown income.” This gave me pause for reflection and reminiscing on this July afternoon. This seemed like a great broad stroke to me (as much as I hate those). It is a view from the sky of the moving parts and the goals of the future. We zoom in to two small cities in the western horn of Africa to serve in the best way we can, wholly. The article closes by using a word used by Desmond Tutu: “ubuntu” : I am because we are. As a ministry and as a parish we are indeed investing in the members of these communities. As we continue to grow, our relationship with the people of Abuja and Jos grows exponentially. We are investing in them with time, money, goods, services, and most importantly: hearts.

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