When I was in Uganda a few years ago my hosts and I visited churches and schools in the rural countryside a couple of hours outside Kampala. Some of these places weren't easy to reach. There were times where we were on rutted paths with vegetation raking both sides of the vehicle as we drove through. Moses, the Pastor whose church was planting all these churches and schools, told me that when they first started they could only drive so far and then they had to walk for miles to reach the villages. Then they would begin building relationships. Eventually they would build simple mud huts for the schools and churches. Over time and as the people came to know Christ they would build better facilities. It was a long process filled with many challenges.
Built into the culture of Africa (at least the African nations where I've worked) there is a great capacity to move at a slow and deliberate pace. My friends talk of plans that might take decades to accomplish. They are committed to building relationships, taking the necessary time and overcoming any obstacle. In some cases those obstacles might delay a project for years.
When Americans show up in situations like this more often than not our first inclination is to accelerate the process by throwing money at it. In so doing we think we're being charitable and helping them accomplish their goals more quickly. Yes, money can accelerate a project. And if we have money why not use it to move things along? And that's just the way we in the West think. Bigger, faster, and newer are always better.
NO!
If we are to reverse benevolent oppression the first step is to resist the temptation to take what appears to be the easy road. Let's look again at Uganda. When you start by walking into a village and building relationships you're laying a foundation that will last. Over the course of years people capture the vision and engage in the process. Trust is built so that when the time comes to cut a road for better access they understand why. When you start in simple mud huts that look like the rest of the village you create a welcoming environment. When you spend years and years in the midst of people you are accepted and loved by them.
By the way, the work being done in Uganda was being done by Ugandan Christians. People who know and love God and have for generations. I was simply a visitor come to witness the wonderful ministry they were doing.
In contrast let's look at the typical American way. Identify the village where you want to 'bless' the people with a church and school. Hire a construction crew to bulldoze a road to the village to make it more accessible for workers. Bring in outside 'experts' to design a big, impressive facility (at least big and impressive by the standards of the village). Build that facility in a year or less with mostly foreign 'missionaries'.
Easy, right? By taking the easy road you have missed the opportunity to build relationships, engage the community, honor the skills and abilities of the people and taught them that Jesus is a thunderous lout who imposes himself on people. You have also started them on a path of serving money and waiting around for the next batch of it to show up.
The African way is hard for me. It's hard for most of us. The thought that the plans and visions God has given me might take thirty or forty or one hundred and fifty years to accomplish is just overwhelming. I won't be around that long. Certainly there's nothing wrong with accelerating that process by throwing money at it, is there?
Yes, there is something wrong with that. Something terribly wrong.
2 comments:
I had the opportunity to hear Richard Twiss speak at The Justice Conference last year and he said a lot of the same thing, only regarding the First Nations People. So often, we white Christians would come in and paint their churches rather than take the time to build relationships. He said the biggest way we can start to rebuild relationship between our two cultures is to just slow down and notice each other as fellow human beings, not just a project.
Amen! Thanks for sharing that insight. I have worked with First Nations People in Canada and many Native American Tribes here in the U.S. and the same applies as to my experiences in Africa and South America.
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