The beggar’s mentality, it is one thing I loathe. And it is very prevalent in Africa. We saw it as soon as we landed at the airport in Johannesburg. We were swarmed by several men who would grab our bags and offer to carry them. Once we got to our buses they demanded tips. Children will come up to the white people asking for food and money. People in the conveys will ask you for your water, candy, your iPod, your camera, your hand in marriage… We live with a woman who has mental disabilities and she asks us for something(s) every day.
Don’t get me wrong; I am just being transparent here. When I say loathe, I am just implying that I have major problems concerning this matter. In no way do I want to imply that these people are the problem. As in the words of my friend Jeremy, “These people have generally been conditioned to rely on white people, NGO’s, and missional groups.” I don’t blame them for asking. The problem lies within myself. Part of the issue is that I don’t think giving handouts is the ultimate solution to the poverty and other issues we face in third world countries. I think the proverb that applies here is, “give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.”
I am a big advocate of education, and providing the people with opportunities to become self-sufficient. Giving them a piece of candy or an iPod can be a good thing, but in these situations I don’t think it is going to aid in the true Mission of God. There is a balance however. The Proverbs talk about being generous to the poor and not turning a deaf ear towards them. So another aspect of this issue that I am struggling with is learning to do what I can in the moment. I can’t teach every man I meet to fish so to speak. But sometimes I can feed him just for a day, and both are good. It is not my responsibility to determine if my handout is going to be wasted or used effectively. It is my responsibility to act with generosity whatever the case.
I think there is a difference between a person who has been dealt a bad hand in life but wants to do something about it versus the beggar who chooses to keep the cards he has been dealt and rely on other people’s handouts for survival. I tend to have more compassion for the former but God asks that I love all. So this month I have wrestled with the question of how to love these people well. How do I love someone when they are asking me for something and I deny them? What to I give them? A major detail I learned about these people is that I generally have no idea what cards they hold in their hand. I have no idea their motives behind begging. Another important detail I learned is that I always have Something to give.
Most of the time I focused on giving them other things like a listening ear, someone to have a conversation with, and even motivation to dream bigger. And then sometimes I did give them candy or food. Oh the irony that the beggars mentality is a major theme for my month. God knows that this entire Race I have struggled with asking people for money. I think it stems from this concept of the beggars mentality. I don’t want to be a beggar asking people for handouts. I want to be self-reliant and self-sufficient. However God called me on the World Race, and the World Race was going to cost over sixteen thousand dollars, plus the cost of gear and medicine. I was able to cross this bridge and ask people to help me. After all, that money was going solely towards the necessities of my trip: airplane tickets, food, lodging, etc. And this trip is a “good cause,” a charity of sorts. But as for personal spending money, I would just use whatever I could work for. Well the funny thing is, I couldn’t save any extra money for cash in my pocket before leaving home.
The week before I left I went and visited my aunt, uncle, and cousins in Oklahoma. My aunt asked me how fundraising was going. I was still way behind at that point. She offered to give $50 monthly for however long I needed it. And then I was honest with her, I told her that I had zero dollars in my bank account for spending money and asked her if she would be willing to let me use that for my personal money. Obviously because my aunt is a saint, she agreed and thankfully I have had $50 a month to spend. I also have wonderful parents and grandparents that have helped me out whenever there was something specific I wanted to do on occasion. I know that my aunt was happy to be able to help me, even if her money ended up going towards one of the many ice creams I “needed” or a trip to the mall to buy jeans because I ripped my last pair in Malaysia.
The point worth focusing on is this: many people are happy to help if you just ask. Some people aren’t. And that is okay. I don’t want people to give me anything if they hand it over guiltily or regretfully. Thus, I begin the next portion of my blog with a plea for more financial help. The irony mentioned above lies in the fact that this issue I saw in this other culture and other people, was essentially thrown back in my face. I knew that God had called me to the Race, and in that felt a call for a lot of sacrifice including financial sacrifice. But then God told me to write this blog. He wanted me to be vulnerable and learn to trust Him. So that is what I am doing.
I finally reached my sixteen thousand dollar goal at the beginning of this year. I still cannot express how grateful I am to everyone who supported me. I still receive that $50 from my aunt every month which always ends up going towards food ($4 a day is sometimes impossible) and wifi so I can stay connected with home. But I will be honest when I say $50 is not enough to make it all the way through the end of the race and back home.
The breakdown goes like this:
- My flight back to the states was covered in the $16,000 I raised. However, that only gets me to D.C. My flight home to Springfield is $347. Hooray for living in a place that is expensive to fly into.
- My hotel I booked for the night in D.C. before I fly home cost $87.
- The first two things are necessity, but the third and fourth are completely out of desire and of consequence to my current and near-future situations in life. If you didn’t already know, I am in Africa. Next month, I will be in Botswana and as luck would have it I will be a short drive to the infamous Victoria Falls. If you don’t know what that is, Google it. My whole team is planning on going and I would hate to miss out on such an amazing opportunity. The travel, visa and fees for this trip would cost roughly $100.
- Lastly, as I am in Africa there are also plenty of opportunities for me to participate in a safari. As this has been on my bucket list since before I can remember, I would also hate to miss out on this when I am so close. I will be in Kruger National Park at the end of South Africa, which is apparently a really great place to go on a safari. These cost anywhere from $50-$200.
There have been several people who have offered and/or wanted to specifically give towards fun things and my personal money. So to you, here is the best way to do it. But I also wanted to open up the opportunity to those who might not know this was an option but would still love to help me out. I am specifically asking for $5 to help towards all of these expenses. A teammate of mine recently did this; she called it the $5 experiment. Five dollars, that is all I am asking from anyone who wants to help. I have also decided to give 10% away whether that be to a ministry I am working with or someone on the street. We shall see what happens! If you would like to donate towards my personal expenses please follow the steps below:
- If you have a Paypal account, log in and click “send money to friends and family” and enter my email: [email protected] to send to my paypal account.
- If you don’t have a paypal, you can still use it to send to my paypal account by clicking the “send” tab at Paypal’s home page and entering in my email address. This way is convenient, easy, and safe.
- If you have any questions just email me.
Thank you to everyone for reading and for everyone who has followed me on this journey. I am about to venture into month 10 on my race and I can’t really believe it. *I am now safely in Botswana and my team is gearing up for another month of Unsung Heroes. More blogs to come.
Cheers!
Alicia
