Filed under: Giving Back/Community Impact
Sometimes, I find myself writing a bloggy email. This one was to my friend Katie. She’s a fashion, furniture, and paper designer (I’m too old to know what exactly Is a paper designer, but I’m sure that when my daughter tells me, I’ll be awed).
I’m trying to move this Kenya thing along. I already know it involves reframing my NPO efforts (spare time required–what’s that?). It seems like “the thing” hinges on first discovering the big idea, then on finding an acceptable risk-reward trade.
I’m trying to get my mind to form the big idea. One, big, hairy, honking, obvious goal, simply stated, easily and readily rallied around. “Throw a rope to drowning people” comes first to mind, from a story I used when I taught ethics.
A man is accused of negligent homicide. He stood by on the beach, holding one of those long, red banana-shaped life preservers while a person was sucked out to sea by the undertow a few yards in front of him. All he had to do was wade into the surf a little bit and throw the banana. He didn’t. Do you vote to convict or acquit?
You’d be surprised how much people will argue over that little scenario.
People are dying of AIDS and I cannot stop it. Scientists can, but I’m not a scientist.
On the other hand, children are dying of ignorance, poverty, AIDS, disease, bad water, no water, malnutrition, and infection and we won’t throw the dang banana. I think Jesus wants us to throw it. I think there’s a whole tribe of people wanting to throw it, but don’t know where or how–they need someone (like me, or you) to help them practice throwing. They’re incipient members of the banana-throwing tribe. Aspen Heights is loaded with them. K&N is right behind, nearly ready to join. American college students?–the ones that buy Tom’s shoes?–they’re WAY into this tribe.
On what does the new tribe focus? Is it rescuing kids from the ravages of HIV/AIDS? Or is it to rescue their mommas from poverty? Poverty and HIV walk hand-in-hand; two perverse lovers procreating stolen souls.
At which of the devil’s schemes–HIV or poverty–does one chip away? I’m leaning toward poverty as it seems to be the root cause, but HIV gets more press (Bono chose the latter).
How’s Mbirikani school play in? Is it the command post or a peripheral place to which one may retreat? Are the girls at that little school part of the generation of leaders that will change Maasai/Kenyan/African culture?
How to maximize the investment? It’s true that we can do more there with a lot less cash, even including the cost of sending people like me over there. But how do we make it a Kenyan project–how do they own and sustain it?
If seamstress, cook, and mechanical jobs solve as many problems as doctors, lawyers, and accountants, how does one know when to scale up or down? Is it not likely that warlords and dictators will confiscate or nationalize anything making more than a few shillings (like a factory that exports clothing)? If so, and it seems likely, I’m thinking the safety of Maasai property three hours from Nairobi offers a lion fence worth the inconvenient drive.
But what do I know?
I’m from the same planet as the people in Kenya, but one can hardly tell. We are worlds apart. I’m from the world holding their bananas. They’re in the drowning pool.
Is this boring?
1 Comment
Not boring! Imagine the revival that would break out if just the overflow of Christian wealth was focused on a place where people have concluded that God must think they are boring, or not worth it. We can throw the banana, or slip and fall on the peel.
Greg Finch
Comment by Origins August 3, 2011 @ 3:29 pm