Ubuntu

Ubuntu is an age old idea in Southern Africa that describes a credo that all humanity is connected through a bond of sharing. It is a Zulu word but is shared by all South African tribes like the Xhosa here in Coffee Bay. There is a folk saying that defines Ubuntu.

Motho Ke Motho Ke Batho Ba Bang (a person is a person because of other people)

We have been all over this small village and talked with all types of people. There are some very specific needs that people have that could be fixed quickly and there are giant problems that will take decades to overcome. We have been overwhelmed by much on this trip, but the feeling that we cannot help everyone is a heavy weight on our emotions. It would be an easy trap for us to fall into by trying to help everyone in everyway, but that will only end in us helping nobody.

In the spirit of Ubuntu, we have kept a list of the needs of every project we have seen. When we return with our own project underway, we want to be able to pass along the needs of the others to other organizations that may be more equipped to help. We want to call Doctors Without Borders to show them a clinic with no doctor, put the Woman's Project in front of micro-finaciers, try and get a sports organization to donate soccer uniforms for the Youth Project, collect simple but much needed farm equippment for the many small farmers, set-up a children-helping-children clothing drive to name a very few of the ideas that have come from this trip.

There is much we can do in Coffee Bay, for everything else we hope we can point a global spotlight.