Out of Place: Humility in Africa

from Jena Lee, Executive Director

Greetings from Java House in Nairobi! I just returned from a handful of days in Rwanda visiting with some of the communities we are supporting through Geneva Global. It was a good and challenging visit. It was the first time in a long time when I felt somewhat out of place, a bit off in my African-connecting, and way more jet-lagged than I’ve ever experienced.

I requested that my visit to Buyumba town be not announced as a donor to their community. I came into these communities as a friend of AEE (AEE is our GWAKO-type of partner in Rwanda) and not as the one who is connected to the resources for their water projects. There was no fanfare. There was no over-adoration. There was certainly the curiosity and interest in what a mzungu ["white person"] is doing in their community, but it was different because the attention wasn’t on me. And that was such a good thing.

I stand with self-help groups in Rwanda who are serving one another with love and devotion – and our contribution from Blood:Water gets put into better perspective. Yes, absolutely, our financial support is allowing communities to flourish and have opportunities they would have never afforded if it weren’t for Blood:Water. But we’re one small part of a big initiative and gradual movement toward development. I just want to be honest with myself and with you about our role. It shouldn’t disappoint us, it should encourage us. We talk about not being heroes, but as I stand in the villages, I realize that I have a tendency to try to feel like one anyway. And I think we have the tendency to try to communicate that to our Blood:Water community even when we say we’re not about that. And there’s this fine line of wanting to encourage, inspire and grab people into this, and at the same time, simply share the story of the amazing things people are doing in spite of or despite us.

I just celebrate what God is doing in these communities. I spent the day ceremonially throwing mud onto bricks as a self-help group was doing the actual building of a home for an 18-year-old girl named Jacqueline and her baby brother – who were orphaned a few years ago by their parents’ death to AIDS. They carried water from below a valley that took an hour and a half to walk down the mountain, fill the jerry can, and then walk all the way back up the mountain. They did the same with the stones for the house. There are aspects about the human spirit that cannot be fabricated or bought. Strength, love, compassion, service, and selflessness motivate these groups to serve one another, to put their resources together to rise together. There are some days when it is good to know who is behind a good gift like the support of a water project – knowing the faces of the people who love them an ocean away. And there are other days when it is nice to keep the donor anonymous, because the focus remains on the community. The celebration stays there. And sometimes pride and self-worth have a little bit more room to grow.

For those of us who come back in October, we will probably experience both. We will be in communities in Kenya to celebrate the connection of Americans and Africans and see water as the physical manifestation of that compassion. And when we go to Rwanda, perhaps we may experience something similar to what I did this week. A deep humility that God is good and bigger than we could make Him out to be. And that He is forever kind in giving us an opportunity to be a small part of this beautiful change that is happening on the other side of the world.

I am flying to Kisumu today to be with Benjamin and Joel for the night. Joel and I will then be in Lwala for a few days before coming home on Friday.

Peace to you,

Jena