African friends and money matters
Pastor Felix came by our house today. His wife is apparently in the hospital with something wrong with her mouth. She’s in a hospital that is a 7 hour bus ride away from Lusaka and his purpose for stopping by was to ask for some money to pay for the bus ride there and to have some help with the hospital fees. He’s a very genuine and honest man and when he asked for 450,000 kwacha (around $85USD) Jeff and I split it in half and provided him the money.
This is a common happenning in Zambia. Money is viewed and used differently here and I won’t be able to fully explain the cultural intricacies of this matter, maybe I can sort through the issue a little bit. It’s not a Zambian stereotype, but rather an observed sociological behavior that I read a book about (the title of which I used for this blog’s title.
The truth is that many Zambians believe that just because a ‘muzungu’ is white, he/she must have an abundance of money. This wouldn’t be a problem except that most Africans share an understanding that resources are to be shared, not hoarded. I think that this is a fantastic way to live, but the problem comes when there is an inordinate amount of expectation places on one person, especially when there is no relationship between the two people.
I am constantly bombarded in marketplaces by eager Zambians because I’m white. I don’t share my money with them not because I don’t like them or I don’t trust them but because we don’t have a relationship and I the true goal of sharing resources has nothing to with finances and everything to do with community.
(With that said, I often do give money to strangers here that ask)
And so, pastor Felix and many f the guys that we work with have received help from us financially, but we are constantly striving to enable them to help themselves by paying us back when they are able (this gives them so much joy!) and encouraging them to come up with new side business ideas. I belive deep down that this is the way to breed economic and social development, by walking alongside those who are seeking help and allowing them to truly help themselves.
There is so much more to be said on this topic, but I just wanted to give a little insight into something I’ve been thinking about.
Christopher Sayler (March 20, 2009, 9:12 pm).
Matt! It’s great to hear what you’re up to. I can totally relate with the muzungu issues. I was in Burundi last summer, and I’ll be going back this year, and the whole money issue was one of our bigger issues we had to deal with. I appreciate your thoughts and take on it. It definitely gives me some food for thought.