I Need Africa More Than Africa Needs Me.

A few months ago, I discovered a great cause called the Mocha Club. Some of my favorite musicians (Dave Barnes, Matt Wertz) have aligned themselves with this organization, which seeks to raise money to feed, educate and provide healthcare for poor citizens of African nations. Raising these funds is accomplished by reminding donors that the cost of just two coffee drinks will provide so many resources for the African people. Simultaneously, the organization seeks to educate society regarding the joy they've seen in the African people they've served, the joy they've observed that is unrelated to many of those people's dire circumstances. 

The following is an excerpt from the Mocha Club's Web site. It is also imprinted on the inside of the T-shirts they sell, emblazoned with the powerful saying, "I Need Africa More Than Africa Needs Me."

:: When I think of Africa, the following images immediately come to mind: Starvation. AIDS. Child soldiers. Genocide. Sex slaves. Orphans. From there, my thoughts naturally turn to how I can help, how I can make a difference. "I am needed here," I think. "They have so little, and I have so much." It's true, there are great tragedies playing out in Africa every day. There is often a level of suffering here that is unimaginable until you have seen it, and even then it is difficult to believe. But what is even harder is reconciling the challenges that many Africans face with the joy I see in those same people. It's a joy that comes from somewhere I cannot fathom, not within the framework that has been my life to this day.

The images spilling out of my television showed circumstances that could seemingly only equal misery, and I was fooled. I bought into the lie that circumstance defines happiness. The truth is, in Africa I find hearts full of victory, indomitable spirits. In places where despair should thrive, instead I find adults dancing and singing, children playing soccer with a ball crafted of tied up trash. Instead of payback, I find grace. Here, weekend getaways are not options to provide relief from the pains of daily life. Relationships and faith provide joy. Love is sovereign.

My new reality...I know now that my joy should have no regard for my circumstances. I'm ashamed by my lack of faith, but at the very same moment I am excited by my new pursuit. I'm forced to redefine the meaning of having much or having little. I'm uneasy with the prospect of change and of letting go, but just the thought of freedom is liberating. I want what I have learned to trickle down from my head into my heart--I no longer want to need the "next thing" to have joy.

I'm not saying that Africa does not need our efforts. It absolutely does need our partnership. But for me, I've come to understand that I need Africa more than Africa needs me. Why? Because it is Africa that has taught me that possessions in my hands will never be as valuable as peace in my heart. I've learned that I don't need what I have and that I have what I need. These are just a few of this continent's many lessons. I came here to serve and yet I've found that I have so much to learn, and Africa, with all its need, has much to teach me. ::

For me, and for Touch A Life:

I need Ghana more than Ghana needs me.

I need Vietnam more than Vietnam needs me.

I need Cambodia more than Cambodia needs me.

Rachel