UBUNTU

Today, many families are preparing to celebrate Easter, a holiday that is rich with symbols that celebrate life and the thing that makes life truly good — love.

We have often considered it our mission at HOPE International Development Agency to get people who have been given a lot to understand how full life can be when they give generously — when they give more than they thought they would be comfortable giving. But it is difficult to convey the joy of sharing in a culture where lonely self-protection rules the day.

As you mark Easter this year, and you think about how to be on the side of life, on the side of love and generosity, perhaps think about this story:

An anthropologist proposed a game to a group of African tribal children. He put a basket full of fruit near a tree and told them that whoever got there first would win the sweet fruits. When he told them to run they all took each other’s hands and ran together, then sat together enjoying their treats. When he asked them why they had run like that, as one could have had all the fruits for himself, they said: “UBUNTU, how can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?”

UBUNTU in the Xhosa culture means: "I am because we are."

Happy Easter and remember — you are because we are.