When we were in Uganda in 2009-2010, we had some friends recommend a book to us: African Friends and Money Matters. In the midst of teaching, preparing lessons, and visiting villages, we just never got around to reading it. Now that I actually had the opportunity to read it at my leisure, I wish that I had read it before.
Here at the farm, I borrowed the book from the farm manager and read it (Anthony read it too). It was filled with so many stories and thoughts that we had when we were in Uganda. For example, the book talked about how Africans tend to be spontaneously hospitable while Westerners tend to be more charitable through impersonal and planned giving. We noticed this when we once arrived in a village where we didn't know who was going to meet us. Random people brought out chairs for us to sit on and gave us water. It turned out that they were complete strangers who were simply willing to show us hospitality. That would have been a difficult thing for a Westerner to do.
Another example of a thought we had in Uganda is in the following quote: "Westerners see that it is unjust that they have so many material goods while many of their friends and fellow workers do not. Yet they do not know what the solution is to this problem." We knew that even though we were relatively poor by American standards, we had far more possessions than the Ugandans around us, but we struggled with knowing how to be generous and wise in our giving.
I hoped that by reading "African Friends and Money Matters", my questions and struggles would be answered. But of course, there are no easy answers. However, I did really appreciate the descriptions of general differences between Africans and Westerners. Many were differences I noticed while in Uganda and others were new to me. So here are some of the thoughts that I thought were especially pertinent.
The book explained that there is a social obligation in most African cultures to give to one's family or close friends who ask for help, but not to just anyone who asks. It was good to know that there are some unspoken guidelines about the appropriateness of asking others for things. So culturally, even for us, there would be times when people would really have no expectation that we would actually give to just any complete stranger.
I learned that most Africans readily share space and possessions, but are possessive of knowledge, while the opposite tends to be true for Westerners. This was very interesting because Anthony will be participating in Timothy Leadership Training, where the premise is that people will learn from the training and then go out and show it to others. And I will be working with farmers and encouraging them to share their knowledge and good ideas with others. I appreciated knowing that this could be very counter-cultural for the Africans we will be working with and meeting. And it is good to know that we will be challenged to become more free in sharing our possessions with others (I think this is something we are learning here at World Hunger Relief, too!)
Africans also usually desire to be mutually dependent upon one another, which can be frustrating for Westerners who are not perceived as being economic equals and therefore never in need of reciprocal assistance even though people frequently ask them for assistance. It was helpful to know that this is the way most African society works. However, it is confusing and a bit discouraging to think that we can't really ever be a part of that mutual dependence with our African friends.
In conclusion, the book didn't give clear answers to the question of how to be generous without being foolish in your giving, but it did give some good general suggestions at the end of how to live in Africa. For one thing, it is good to be generous, but also to learn socially acceptable ways to say no to requests. Secondly, the book encouraged Westerners to make African friends who they can trust to give them advice when they need it. Such friends can help you determine whether someone unknown to you is really in need or not.
So, then, if you are going to live in Africa for any period of time, I would highly recommend this book. Even though it may leave you with more questions than you had to begin with, it will make you start thinking through some important topics.