The Beauty and the Cause

Today I’m joining with Mocha Club and hundreds of bloggers to explain why ‘I need Africa more than Africa needs me.’ Mocha Club [www.mochaclub.org] is a social media venture that allows people to build teams of their friends and family to support projects in Africa–each team member gives up the cost of two mochas a month, or $7, and makes a huge impact on individuals and communities.

Here’s what that sentence means to me:

I think that we westerners have had a mistaken perception of ourselves in relation to Africa. We know of the problems on the continent, but they seem very far away. We’ve been asked to help on TV ads and at concerts. We tend to see images of starvation, of militant ravaging, of desolation, and of poverty, and we define the land by the pictures. And we either give something and think of ourselves as heroes or we carry on as if that place does not exist. But there is so much more.

Africa is 54 different countries, each with its own beauty and its own problems. We all have our beauties and our problems. The stories I’ve heard through MC of the strength of individuals and communities, the renewal of hope after horror, has affected me more deeply than my $7 a month could’ve possibly affected them. See, my gift contributes but theirs profoundly affects. My heart has been widened, my love has been stretched as I’ve seen the faces of the boys and girls in the orphanage in Darfur that my money has helped build. And strangely, giving does not build pride in me and what I’ve done. It only makes me realize that life is more than its exchange rate among cultures; sharing is God-woven into our beings.

I get more excited the deeper I trek into this cause: to see Africa portrayed for the beautiful land it is, and to see its people live well. The cause is to inspire partnership over pity, and MC has some things up its sleeve. Share your thoughts in my comments section and check back Dec 1^st to see what Mocha Club is doing about reforming the image of Africa in this country.