mandela: #1

Tue, 1 Jun 2010 14:42:03 -0400

There are many people that I would like to meet and have a cup of coffee with, but there are five people at the top of my list. These five people have made, or are making, a huge difference in the world. These five people are game changers...change agents.

Top of the list....

1. Nelson Mandela:

I currently live in South Africa and have learned a lot about Nelson Mandela and the influence that he has had on his country and its people. When Mandela was elected president of South Africa in 1994 he had just been freed after serving 27 years, of a life sentence, for his role as an anti-apartheid activist. When he was freed he made a conscious decision to forgive those who had jailed him. He went on to serve his country as the first post-apartheid president and united the people of South Africa.

If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy.
Then he becomes your partner. ~ Nelson Mandela

I cannot comprehend what Mandela has been through. He was jailed for 27 years for what he believed in and made peace with his enemies. There have been very few people in history that have displayed such character, selflessness and determination to do the right thing. South Africa still has many political, racial and economic issues but the country continues to benefit from Mandela’s example of leadership.

What would I ask Nelson Mandela?
• You were imprisoned for what you believed in and spent 27 years in jail, some of which was hard labor, how were you able to then lead a country, that was so racially divided, without any bitterness?
• How hard was it to overcome the white population’s resistance to a black president and a black government?
• What are the main challenge(s) that South Africa faces in the next 10-20 years?

wS

respect of resources

Wed, 19 May 2010 16:30:45 -0400

I have reached my limit...

The picture above represents many things:
1. greed
2. waste
3. corruption
4. a broken system
5. a complete lack of respect for resources.

Easy come, easily replaced.

Enough said.

wS

hand-out

Wed, 12 May 2010 15:24:00 -0400

Warning: Rant

Today was warm, so after work I stopped at the BP garage (gas station) to grab a can of cold Coke. Same as yesterday. Only today, as I walked out with my Coke in one hand and my change in the other, I was approached. ‘My brother, my brother I need petrol. Can you get me one liter?‘ At this point I am used to begging. There is a street kid, in tattered clothing, at every robot (stoplight) that a bends a knee and makes a plea for food (or money). I absolutely without hesitation give. I am not trying to be funny or rude but this guy was dressed well and was being opportunistic. He stood there leaning against the building spotting his prey. I watched him, 25 or 30 people walked by and he didn’t ask a single one for money. Why did he ask me? I suspect because I’m white. Again, not trying to be funny or rude but, there were plenty of other people passing by that were better dressed, driving nicer cars and frankly probably better off financially than I am. Although, in the ten minutes I watched him, I was the only one he asked for money. Draw your own conclusion.

When he approached me I was irritated at best. It was easier to hand him the R3.7 ($.50) that I had leftover from my purchase, than to argue with him or ignore him. I was even more irritated with myself after handing the money over to him. It wasn’t the money, that’s obviously not the issue (after all we are talking about $.50). I was perpetuating this by giving him a hand-out. It is my fault. I am part of the problem.

Maybe I am becoming cynical. Maybe there is truth in what I am saying.

What can we do to change this? What can we do to be part of the solution. First, we can stop giving. By giving I am referring to handing-out free stuff: money, shoes, clothes or whatever else we give that is free. There is no value in FREE. Many will resent this, but there is plenty of truth in it. We can’t just give to feel good. It doesn’t really help in the long-run, it actually hurts. It creates dependancy and in some cases a sense of entitlement. What can we do? We can teach. We can train. We can empower. Think about this: If someone gave you everything you needed could you fend for yourself? No. If you learned skills would you be empowered to provide for yourself and your family. Absolutely. Same goes for Africa. Don’t just give stuff. Find a way to lift someone out of poverty, forever. They will be grateful. So will their kids and their kid’s kids and...

"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."
~Benjamin Franklin

wS

bottom up

Mon, 3 May 2010 13:08:15 -0400

I have spent the last year living in South Africa and I finally feel like I am getting comfortable. Comfortable with the various cultures, comfortable with the language barrier (and the fact the everyone seems to think that I’m British), and comfortable with what South Africa actually needs. What I know now and what I knew a year ago is a divide as wide as the ocean that separates me from the culture that I know and and grew up with.

Top-Down Aid = Inefficient Aid that is Externally Funded and Managed.

The lessons of the last year are plentiful and would take me a year to explain. One of my biggest realizations has been that, generally, Africa is tired of top-down aid: big organizations with large funding throwing their money around in Africa. This is not what Africa needs; money too often ends up in the pockets of a select few(the rich), in low impact projects with a questionable trickle down allocation of resources, or quite frankly it is wasted. However, this top-down aid does work extremely well in dire circumstances such as natural disasters where it works for a period of time and is not sustainable. More often than not it creates a level of dependency on outside help, and those in need never develop the ability to help themselves. Thus, creating a vacuum where the aid givers do not have a viable ‘exit strategy’.

Bottom-Up Aid = Sustainable Development that Empowers People and Communities

What Africa does need is bottom-up solutions to break the backbone of generational poverty. Solutions that empower the people of Africa to sustain themselves and improve their lives and the lives of their families. These solutions require a hands-on approach with an upfront ‘exit strategy’, basically working oneself out of a job. This requires building strong relationships and trust directly with the people and communities in need. Teaching and empowering people to sustain themselves long after the aid ends is the only way to build a solid foundation toward alleviating poverty from the ground up.

As we navigate through life we are afforded the luxury of redirecting ourselves. I, and my blog Social Compass, will be focusing on bottom-up solutions to alleviate poverty. I will continue to strengthen my focus on microfinance, social enterprise and empowering high-impact social change. In the coming months I will begin to forge deeper relationships with a few passionate individuals, in a very targeted community, to push for systematic transformation.

“Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Give a woman microcredit, she, her husband, her children and her extended family will eat for a lifetime.” -Bono

Stay tuned for the HopeTown Project.

wS

plot 45

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 07:18:09 -0400

Last week a received a random phone call from Sello Modiba, a member of the Stoffel Park Council. “Can we meet tomorrow?” I agreed even though I received absolutely no details surrounding the request. Not sure what to expect, probably a request of some kind, either for money or assistance, we showed up to meet Sello. He didn’t waste any time. He was concerned. He wanted our help, but not for himself. He wanted us to help another community, a squatter’s camp, which we later found out is called only by its postal address: Pienaarspoort, Plot 45. My first thought was, ‘but there is so much need right here in Stoffel Park’. Sello wanted to bring the medical care, food, and fresh water to the struggling people of this makeshift community. His concern was genuine so was agreed to meet him the following week to visit Plot 45.

This morning Sello hopped into our car and off we went. Again, no details. We just drove. We filled the silence with periodic questions regarding what he thought his community, Stoffel Park, needed most. Water, electricity, food, proper roads, jobs, a clinic and HIV testing and counseling. He decided that a clinic and HIV testing were the most pressing issues. He decided that he better sit down and make a plan. This man has a huge heart and wants to make a difference in his community. We drove on. The road got worse, much worse. From pavement to dirt. We bumped along, stopping here and there looking through the weeds to see if we were in the right place. Then we pulled to an opening and there it was. A squatter’s camp, Plot 45, right in the middle of the countryside, hidden by the vegetation. I would have driven right by without noticing. These people go unnoticed everyday. Their lives meaningless to most, but not to Sello, he was determined to help them.

Sello walked us through the camp, stopping to talk to everyone. Mud and shacks and more mud. The shacks in Plot 45 were rough, really, really rough. Allow me to digress for a moment. I have come to notice that there is a difference in the quality of a shack. A proper shack has maybe three pieces of metal on each side, usually of similar color or texture. The shacks in this camp were constructed of 10-15 pieces of random metal and wood on each side. Literally, cobbled together with anything that was big enough to put a nail through. Oh, and some were living in ragged tents. In the mud. This was worse than any settlement in Mamelodi.

After a walk through the muddy settlement, Sello showed us the place where women and children walk to fetch water. It was literally a swamp 2 km down a muddy path across a busy set of railroad tracks. No wonder Sello wanted to help these people, they live in isolation without food or clean water. No one is helping. No one seems to care. No one seems to even notice.

The ride back was mostly quiet. Sello was pondering how he was going to raise R10 000 ($1400 USD) to buy food parcels for 40 people that he identified as ‘needy’. I personally find it ironic that Sello identified 40 people as ‘needy’. The man lives in an informal settlement himself. He has his own problems and needs, his community has a long list of needs, but his only concern is how he is going to raise money to buy food for these otherwise unnoticed people. I am blown away. I sit in silence in total awe of the man sitting beside me.

Am I doing enough? Am I making a big enough impact?

I need to sit down and make a plan... wS