With a global pandemic and racial and social injustice issues permeating our everyday lives, it's clear that the world must come together, in the spirit of Ubuntu.
On July 18, the world celebrated Mandela Day. The day, a recognition of Nelson Mandela’s birthday, celebrates the idea that each individual has the power to transform the world, and is usually marked with acts of service to others.
As we tackle a global pandemic and issues of racial and social injustice and inequities it’s clear we could use a lot more of the spirit that embodied Mandela, the spirit of Ubuntu.
In South Africa the concept of Ubuntu is translated as I am because we are. It reflects the sense that there is a oneness to humanity, that we are all connected, and that one can only grow and progress through the growth and progression of others.
Mandela explained it in a 2006 interview with South African journalist, Tim Modise:
“In the old days when we were young, a traveler through a country would stop at a village, and he didn’t have to ask for food or water; once he stops, the people give him food, entertain him. That is one aspect of Ubuntu, but it will have various aspects. Ubuntu does not mean that people should not address themselves. The question therefore is, are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you, and enable it to improve? These are important things in life. And, if you can do that, you have done something very important.”
Boyd Varty, a South African literacy and wildlife activist, summed it up well in a TED Talk several years ago. He said:
“If Africa has a gift to share, it’s a gift of a more collective society. And while it’s true that Ubuntu is an African idea, what I see is the essence of that value being invented here.”
Ubuntu is clearly not a new idea, but one worth building on, especially during this time.
It’s one I plan on building on in this blog as I share and curate positive and unexpected stories of the people who are working to evolve the current narrative of Africa.
As we embrace the challenges of our day, let’s let the spirit of Ubuntu be our guide. It’s what’s gotten us through difficult times in the past and it’s what will bring us through again in a new, stronger, and more empathetic way.
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