Human and Community Development

Surely a name does not define who we are. Names are just labels. If we change your name to John, does it change you. Our physical bodies do not define who we are. If I wake up tomorrow without limbs do I become another person. There has to be something more profound that defines who we are as a people. Something more powerful than names or physical appearances that define us, you. Something that transcend times. Perhaps its not just me who sometimes struggles in redefining myself or us as a people. Perhaps others in their simplicity find it easy going to do so. For some giving themselves a moment to reflect on these profound questions is a waste of time. But is it not true that we become neither hot nor cold and be poured away because we don’t know whether to be hot or cold. We don’t know our identity. Is it not so that then we can be hostile when others are hostile and be welcoming when other are welcoming because we don’t have that which defines how we should pursue life. Recently s...

To be human is to be selfless. To think not of yourself but others. To find value in the collectiveness of our existence. When we discover the treasure of communion and embrace it in our daily existence, we experience that which makes us human. At the core of collectiveness there is sharing. We journey together sharing our experiences of love, pain, of being in need and of giving. Christ in his efforts to help us understand this concept he gathered them (disciples) and he said, “do this to remember me”. There are theological explanations to this happening but perhaps in simpler terms he meant to remind them to share as a community. To discover that which is beyond the cup they share but rather the greater purpose of being human. Of loving one another, trusting each other to a point of sharing a drink together. That’s being human.  Often we are hindered by our self-driven egocentric ambitions forgetting that we were never meant to exist alone. Please find someone to share something...

I know that sounds weird. One should not ask, but hei there are complex perspectives to age. Its easy for people to say we are 35 because we are looking at the chronological age . It is the age we get when we simply count accumulating years. .. but do we not miss the other perspectives to age. The Psychological age for instance. Where we look at how a person is mature intellectually, enveloping the feelings and emotions. I’m sure there are some people who are 35 but you would wonder from how they reason whether psychologically there are 3yrs or 10yrs old. Reflecting at violence in SA, it would remind me of 3 year olds fighting about the colours of the similar toys they have. Then there is the Sociological Age . How someone has matured in how he or she relates with others. This is critical because we are relational beings. Some people no matter how many years they have accumulated, remain underdeveloped on the Sociological Age. Physiological Age , we are looking at the physical growt...

Bonny Woodman a remarkable lady who transformed many through her work with people with intellectual disabilities commented on my previous post. She reminds me of the openness of the heart which people with intellectual disabilities have. The yawning to welcome everyone in their space and genuinely share their gifts. Through Bonny's efforts, Zimbabwe has shared her gifts of sports talented people with mental retardation with the world. Special Olympics Zimbabwe sent representatives to almost all International Special Olympics Events even when times were hard in Zimbabwe. But the greatest lesson we learn particularly in relation to the recent developments in South Africa, is the need to borrow a page from people with intellectual disabilities. Jean Vanier recognizes that they are not disabled but have a special gift to mankind which we can all tap into and learn to be human. Perhaps what we call disability is in a profound way, a disposition towards openness of the heart which the wo...

It is disheartening to reflect on what is happening in South Africa. What kind of a man can do such a thing to a fellow human being? Its so sad that, as we embrace our generation as the generation of enlightenment, we still find huge pockets of primitive aggravation among us. Our civilization as a people has missed on one key area. The civilization of the heart. We have become sophisticated in all spheres of our lives yet remaining primitive in our inner being. Although our faces are iphones, ipads, lcd TVs, our hearts are still holding spears, bows and arrows. Until we learn to appreciate the transformation of the heart, the knowledge that we can only become when we acknowledge that we are relational beings. Our fulfillment in life is the embracing or our core existence as a process towards becoming fuller beings. South Africa please think with your Heart.