500 shillings. This small, bronze coin can seem so worthless to a Westerner, and yet can buy a lot in Uganda. This 500 shillings can mean two chapatti, or a cold water bottle, or five samosas, etc. While on the taxi yesterday on the way to Kampala, this coin of 500 shillings landed on my lap as the lady next to me accidently began spilling the contents of her purse out while searching for something at the bottom of her bag. After I returned it to her, it was this same coin that she gave to the young street boy of about six years old, who was sobbing and whimpering outside of my window as our taxi was stopped in traffic. It was then this coin that the boy took to his young mother – no older than 25 years – who then also came to my window, holding a baby of about one year in age. 500 shillings. Another one of these little, bronze coins was taken out of the purse of the lady seated next to me to give to this young woman, who has resorted to begging for survival. However excited the receivers of these 500-shilling coins might be, it is improbable that this money went a long way. How much does it really help to give money to those begging on the streets? Yes, Jesus calls us to reach out to those in poverty, but does dishing out money to these people really solve any problems? After much reading and conversations on the topic, I have come to the conclusion that although giving money may seem like an answer to the immediate problem of hunger, it eventually worsens the poverty situation individually and throughout the entire community.
On the night of February 18, while in conversation with an Honours College student outside of the dorm, Winifred Brown, I got up the courage to ask him about Uganda’s poverty situation. While I may have bombarded him with questions – that he was eager to answer – throughout the night, one of the things I asked him was about money, and the effect a donation would have on one in poverty. He was saying that as far as small donations go: people have been giving these street people money for years, and yet it has not helped their situation. They are still on the streets begging, because once people give them what they are asking for, then it creates dependency. When it comes to larger donations, even ones of medical aids, many times it makes the rich richer and the poor even poorer. Especially when it comes to medicine and other goods, the richer class of Uganda will be the ones to receive the donation, and then they will sell it off to the poorer classes for ridiculous and unaffordable prices. While this seems like such a depressing and hopeless conversation, my friend gave me a lot of good advice. He said to me, “Education is key.” Education and literacy are what bring people out of poverty. Once one gets educated and achieves a job, they can support their entire family, who can in turn assist the community.
I promise I am not just saying this, but the book Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ronald J. Sider has become one of my favorite books – one that I know I will keep on my bookshelf for the rest of my life. Although at times it has been difficult emotionally to read, it has changed my outlook on life, and ultimately my telos. One quote that hit hard says, “God’s Word teaches a very hard, disturbing truth. Those who neglect the poor and oppressed are really not God’s people at all – no matter how frequently they practice their religious rituals nor how orthodox are their creeds and confessions” (Sider 58). For a while I was quite confused. How am I supposed to offer myself to the poor and the oppressed, and live a simple lifestyle, when money does not solve the root problem? After all, I definitely do not want to make the situation even worse in the long run. Later in the same book, Sider gives some advice: “By all means avoid legalism and self-righteousness. But have the courage to commit yourself to some specific method for moving toward a just personal lifestyle” (Sider 202). I think that for a couple of weeks, I was bordering on legalism. I wanted a specific answer to how to spend my money, and where to spend it, etc. I tended to forget that each person has a different way, not every person’s sacrifice to the poor looks exactly the same. Now, after much prayer and meditation, I think I am finally coming close to an answer to what caring for the poor looks like in my own life.
My telos has changed since I have been in Uganda. Although I still do not have all of the answers, I think that it is definitely important to integrate caring for the poor, into my telos and praxis. I think that as part of my telos, I want to continuously remember Isaiah 58: “Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help” (vv.6-7). In order to do this, and keeping in mind the reading from Sider and my conversation with the Honours College student, I have figured out short-term and long-term praxis in order to fulfill this telos.
For one thing, I have realized that in order to start working towards this telos, I need to start now. If I tell myself that I will start being careful with my money and such when I get home, I know that I am fooling myself. If I am do not start now, then I now that bad habits will continue to form and will not transfer over when I get back home to America. For one thing, I have decided to be more careful with spending my money. I have stopped going out to Kampala as often to eat American food, when food is served here in the Dining Hall. I have also decided not to go on the rafting trip. This is a bigger sacrifice for me, but realistically I am not dying to go on the trip, and I do not want to spend a lot of money to do something just for the sake of being able to say that I did it. I understand that there are times that I will be wanting to spend money to do fun activities, and I should not get down on myself for those times, but there are things that I am should – and am willing to – sacrifice, in order to achieve my greater telos. I have also decided to be more careful and research where I am spending my money. I intend to research companies and organizations before I buy their product. Although it will be a pain at times, I know that ultimately it will be worth it.
In terms of long-term, I have been really convicted about education and literacy in Uganda in order to bring people out of poverty. I applied for – and got accepted! – to get an internship at the local library in Santa Barbara. I am heading up the children’s programs, along with several other things around the library. I plan on learning a lot about literacy and how I could bring some of these programs to Uganda to help their literacy rate. I am still praying about it, but I am thinking about getting my teaching credential after I graduate Westmont College, and if it is the Lord’s will, I would love to come teach in Uganda. These are some things that I am planning to do long-term in order to help out the poverty situation.
Throughout this semester, I have been really convicted about poverty. Although it is hard to swallow, I have really enjoyed the readings and discussions that I have been able to have in class, with my cohort leader, with other USPs, and Honours College students. I have really come to enjoy the fact that there is so much diversity and no cut and dry answer to what the solution is for every person to do in aiding the poor. I am blessed have gotten answers to some of my questions, and I think that this is one thing that I will carry with me not only back to America, but also for the rest of my life. It has been hard for me to see the kids in the street begging for money, knowing that Biblically I am charged to care for these orphaned and those in poverty. However, I have comfort knowing that there are other, more valuable things that I can do for them long-term, instead of simply giving them a small, bronze coin of 500 shillings.
