ubuntu
“Ubuntu … speaks to the very essence of being human, saying, my humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up in yours, we belong in a bundle of life….It says I am human because I belong, I participate, I share, and harmony, friendliness, community are great goods. Social harmony is for us … the greatest good, that you and I are made for interdependence. You and I are made for complementarity. You have gifts that I don’t have, I have gifts that you don’t have. You might almost see God rubbing God’s hands in glee, “Voila, that is exactly why I created you, that you should know your need for the other.” (Desmond Tutu)
Vision
A healthy, vibrant community in Malawi with personal connections to the people of The Road Church.
mission
Ubuntu Malawi’s mission is to build a reciprocal relationship with the communities in the Kamanzi region in Malawi, Africa. We want to support them in developing holistic and sustainable projects to help improve the quality of their lives. In return we believe we can learn a great deal about life from them.
In an ongoing effort to build this relationship The Road Church partners with World Renew and their partner in Malawi, Eagles Relief and Development. We support Eagles Relief in their work of leading the Church in Community process. “We (Eagles Malawi) train churches to help their local community identify their problems and come up with solutions.” This local-led approach to development work is aligned with our values.
Values that guide our actions and decisions:
Holistic – our approach should deal with problems in a way that incorporates the inter-related complexities of the issues at hand.
Grassroots/Locally Driven – the identification of needs and priorities should be determined by the people themselves, on the ground.
Sustainable/Long-term – realizing that there are no short term solutions, we value work with the long term view that the community will be able to solve their problems without outside assistance.
Inclusive – our support is not conditional upon religion, or tribe; we want to help whomever wants or needs our help in the community. Period.
More from Desmond Tutu on Ubuntu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg49mvZ2V5U