8.14.2010
My dad once told
me that the only thing that would change Africa is Jesus. Nothing else is
strong enough, powerful enough, or patient enough. At that time, I nodded in
agreement, but thought, Well, yes, of
course, Jesus, but we can help the matter out by building schools, hospitals
and churches, and encouraging microfinance, and women’s empowerment, and all
the other things I’ve learned about in school.
Well, after
three months here, I really do believe the only thing that can change Africa is
Jesus. The others are good, but they are like putting a band-aid on a gaping,
gushing wound. Schools are built, but the social attitude towards educating
girls leaves something to be desired. Money is a huge issue, as these are
public schools with school fees. We have met many smart, promising students who
ran out of money and so were not allowed to take exams to progress to the next
level. We have also met students who didn’t quite pass their exams and were
discouraged when there was no money to try again.
Hospitals are
built under funds from international sources, like UNICEF or a national
government’s aid. We toured one health center this week that was pretty nice,
but had ran out of most medicine and so was not equipped to treat those who
came in. Many are constantly under construction, understaffed, and
underequipped. Yes, the building now exists in a remote area but many don’t
even have doctors, just nurses. And not to undermine nurses, because I believe
they save tons of lives, especially in Africa, but it is still a problem.
Churches are in
abundance, but I always wonder how full they are on Sundays. We have been told
many people are choosing to stay home and work or go to the market instead of
go to church.
I have seen many
signs for microfinance, but I have not met many beneficiaries. The movement is
here, but it has not seemed to take complete hold yet. I know it is working
elsewhere around the world (the book Half
the Sky has many great cases studies about the benefits of microfinance, as
well as the other solutions I have mentioned). Here in rural Uganda, however, day to day life consists of planting the
cash crop, coffee, and working in the shambas (gardens) to provide food for
families.
empowerment is a nice idea, but in a
culture where women are expected to drop to their knees before visitors and all men, serve
men first, and are vulnerable to being taken as a wife, even in their teens, it
is hard to put much stock in this. They are often not able to complete their
education, no matter how smart they are, because of lack of support and money. Many
come late to school because of long walks and morning chores. We met some
children in Kenya who had to walk seven kilometers each way to get to school.
It is not justpoverty, but systemic, generational poverty that haunts these countries. It’s
not just going out on Fridays for a good time, but heaps of men and some women
spending all day, most every day, in the bars, drinking the local booze and not
leading a productive lifestyle. We have met some men who, by the grace of God,
have managed to pull themselves out of this lifestyle, but in general, people
are content to drink, to eat, and to work hard.
Some see their
need for Jesus, but many put off accepting him, preferring to live for
themselves. Many also benefit from making and selling the local booze as a
source of income, and know God would want them to stop doing that, and so don’t
want to accept Jesus until they are more financially stable.
What we so often fail to understand as humans
is that God does not wish to stop our enjoyment of life, but rather would have
us live a life of abundance out of his resources, not of our own volition.
There is fruit
amidst the difficulties. Nearly every day at least one person has come to
accept the Lord. The fields are much riper here than in America, but it will
still take a few generations to really see change.
So in this, all
the challenges, in my very jaded attitude regarding all the pie in the sky
programs I studied in school, I am choosing to put my money on Jesus.
Yes, more money
would bring stability and comfort, but maybe that is part of the problem in the
American church. We are very stable and very comfortable, and can be very
generous, but this makes it harder to rely on the Lord. It is so easy to rely
on oneself. That is something I have learned this year, especially in Africa,
is the need to rely and depend on the Lord.
I don’t know
what will change Africa. I know Jesus is the only thing that can. Social
programs, economic development and better health care are all great, but they
do not hold the power that Jesus does. So I say, Come Holy Spirit. Dwell in
these countries, shower your truth and grace and mercy upon them, that they
might turn to you.
