THE SELFLESS GENEROSITY OF THE POOR

Over the past few weeks, I have had two important incidences that have demonstrated to me the indomitable self-less generosity of the poor.

In the first incidence, I have been leading a small fundraising effort for a church project amongst a relatively well to do community. But it felt at some point I was squeezing water out of stone — getting anyone to contribute USD$10 was a huge struggle and in the end, only 20% of the potential benefactors contributed and even then — I had to do a lot of explaining.

At some point — one lady benefactor asked me; “Why are you fundraising for that small initiative yet the same church requires big funds for a much larger initiative?” she asked.

I explained, “this smaller initiative has a more immediate time limit; and since it is small as you rightly point out, the sooner we can all contribute a small part, the sooner we can dispose of it and embark on the bigger matter” She wasn’t convinced. We were only able to raise 15% of the required resources.

We then started fundraising for the larger church initiative and her response this time round was “I contributed a lot already at the beginning of this year — I am not contributing anymore”

Les Brown’s words can’t be any more true; “In life you will get two things; results or excuses — excuses don’t count”. She together with 80% of the potential benefactors of this urban community have chosen the excuse road not to be generous.

Contrast that experience with this second incident;

A few days later, my wife and I go visit our relatives in rural Eastern Uganda for a few days. We have not visited them since the year begun and they were really excited to see us. Each home we visited, after a few pleasantries, a glass of water. Seats were brought and we sat and talked a few things.

because we had to visit many people we usually only spent 10 minutes in each home and some of them we were visiting together for the first time; but for every home we visited, we were given presents. Nearly each home we visited gave us a chicken! Otherwise gave us maize, ground nuts, and batches of matooke — whatever they had to offer.

At some point, I felt a heavy sting of guilt — looking at their homes and how poor they were; I wanted to refuse the chicken. I could buy this from a market back home, but it seemed that chicken was all they had and yet they wanted me to take it! But I knew deep in my heart that if I refused their present it would be a horrible disrespect of their self-less generosity.

I couldn’t help but be humbled at the selfless generosity of the poor. They understand something some of us in relatively better circumstances don’t; there is more joy in giving than in receiving. The generous poor are operating from a mindset of abundance while the stingy rich are operating from a mindset of scarcity. Kahlil Gibran in his famous poem “On Giving” sums it all so well…

There are those who give little of the much which they have —

And they give it for recognition

And their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.

And there are those who have little and give it all.

These are the believers in life and the bounty of life,

And their coffer is never empty.

There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.

And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.

And there are those who give and know not pain in giving,

nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;

Through the hands of such as these God speaks,

And from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.

Yes, those the selfless generosity of the poor taught me to always embrace an abundance mindset, the kind described by Stephen Grellet a Quaker Missionary (1773–1855), “I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness or generosity I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again”. Let’s all be poor in spirit, but generous at heart! We shall be blessed.