A story of Giving
Last summer, when packing for my trip to Africa, I added a few gifts for the many people who would host me. Some were designated gifts and others (a few deflated soccer balls and two bike lights) were for spur of the moment gifts. One evening in Malawi our meeting with the local host team went late. It was long past sunset when Matthews hopped on his bike to ride home. There are no street lights in Manyamula Village and the moon was new. Suddenly I remembered the bike lights. “Wait!” I called and ran to my room. I brought out the light and attached it to Matthews’ handlebars. Everyone stood back to admire the bright LED light. Matthews clapped and gave me a hug. As he rode off, the light cast a satisfying glow on the dusty road. It was the perfect gift and the perfect moment!
The Joy of Giving
“There are some things that science says make us feel good. … And, counterintuitively in our individualistic culture, giving to others is one of those things.” (I can’t find the source for this quote.)
Sharing the Gift in Uganda
Rehema gives a package of groundnuts (peanuts) to Tanya as a gift. Rehema, received a Small Business Fund grant and now sells second hand clothes along the main road. She adopted 4 orhpans, 1 boy and 3 girls, into her family. (Kasozi Village, Uganda)
The Gift of Music
A body-moving, soul-filling song from the bank Songhoy Blues, from Mali. For a time, music was banned in northern Mali. This group wrote this song, during the ban, from another part of Mali.
Giving the Gift of Giving
A blog post from 2011 describing our Sharing the Gift pay-it-forward program. “The Small Business Fund and Sharing the Gift enables people who have grown up with very little to have enough to share with others and to be respected for their gifts to neighbors.”
