“Money has no value.

” The musings of a wise old sage looking back on a lifetime

of experience? Perhaps a teaching from the holy book of one of the world’s great
religions? Or the dramatic revelation of a once mighty, now fallen, finance ind
ustry chief? No, it was the simple statement of a 14-year old African boy, one o
f our immediate neighbours, in response to Rob’s and my encouragement to get a S
aturday job and earn some money. We were encouraging him in this way because he
had asked us to give him the money to buy some football boots. As we explained t
he work ethic, the virtue of saving and the satisfaction of self-achievement, he
responded, “But I only want to buy some football boots, play football, come to
my home and eat and rest.” Now, so far, that may sound like many a teenage boy i
n the Developed World! But then he added his comment that set him apart from all
his peers in the Developed World, “Money has no value.”
The Bible says that, “The love of money is the root of all evil,” and there can
be absolutely no doubt that, down the centuries, the desire for money and wealth
has caused troubles and grief beyond measure. But not to recognise at all the v
alue of money is to set aside all hope of betterment in life. It is to accept th
at one’s current standard of living is the way things will always be – with only
the unwarranted gift from some kind benefactor offering any hope of advancement
in life.
We may be tempted to think that there is a certain attraction to such a simple,
unmaterialistic outlook in life – but this is not the case when “one’s current s
tandard of living” includes no food security, no housing security, no financial
security and no adequate medical care on a continent where medical care has to b
e paid for. In these circumstances, the mindset of “Money has no value” consigns
a person to poverty.
A columnist in a British newspaper wrote recently that, “The African problem is
passivity.” And Rob and I are encountering that on a daily basis. Where we live
it is a teenage boy who cannot see the value of work, and the financial rewards
that it would bring – including control over one’s own life and building for a b
etter future. But at Buyonjo Primary School we have encountered this same passiv
e approach to life. Crops have been planted in the vague hope that rains will co
me and facilitate germination of the seeds. If it rains we will have a crop. If
it does not rain the seeds will not germinate, there will be no crop and hunger
will remain the order of the day until the next growing season. Being proactive
does not seem to feature highly in the mindset of the rural, poor African – or e
ven in those who are qualified teachers.. When Rob and I explained that it was p
ossible to increase the chances of germination by taking control of the situatio
n and hand-watering the newly planted seeds, this was clearly an idea that had n
ever occurred to the staff before. When the concept was grasped, one response wa
s, “Oh, that will be very tiresome!” Effort, getting on, taking control, initiat
ive, innovation – all words that we would take for granted in the Developed Worl
d, are not a part of the mindset of vocabulary in rural Africa.
And how much are we, the countries who colonised Africa, responsible for that? O
ne cannot rewrite history, and I am not one of those who believe we should conti
nually apologise and beat ourselves up for the actions of past generations – whe
n the world was an entirely different place. However, it is useful to look at so
me of those actions in order to understand how the current mindset has developed
. It is a fact that when Africa was colonised it was done by nations who had the
ir own interests at heart, and not the interests of the indigenous people. So pe
ople were not taught self-reliance, because that would have been counter-product
ive for the colonisers. The indigenous people were kept dependent upon a (someti
mes) kindly, colonising benefactor. And that approach continues to this very day
through international agencies such as the United Nations, the World Bank, the
World Food Programme and so on. It appears an act of kindness to provide free fo
od; in fact, it is an act that perpetuates dependency, and lack of control over
their own lives and the destiny of their respective African nations. And when th
e colonisers were in Africa there was only ever a token nod towards educating th
e indigenous peoples. Knowledge, after all, is power – a well-known saying in th
e West. No sensible colonisers wanted to empower the people they were colonising
. So even at independence, the majority of people in the countries gaining indep
endence were uneducated. So the colonisers, generally, left Africa dependent and
uneducated – and that is how it remains.
Little surprise then that words like proactive, innovative, entrepreneurial and
the like do not feature highly in the thinking of the average – and certainly, r
ural – African.
I do not put myself forward as an expert on Africa, and of course the story of A
frica’s poverty, and dependence upon aid, is far more complicated than I have ou
tlined here. But it is true that Rob and I both believed, even before we arrived
in Uganda, that the real battle here would be the battle to change mindsets. Th
e battle to make creative, innovative thinking the norm for the people with whom
we work - a people who live in a land of extensive natural resources, yet a lan
d of deep poverty and deprivation. But also, if our plans work out and OpFOL cre
ates, together with the local people, a sustainably, self-sufficient community a
t and around Buyonjo Primary School, there is also a need to challenge the appro
ach of those international agencies who talk about “teaching a man to fish” whil
st, in reality, all they are doing – for the most part – is “giving a man a fish
.” That is, meeting his immediate needs, but not empowering him to provide for h
is own long-term needs.
Targeted aid, to enable local people to develop local resources - that is the wa
y forward, and the way out of poverty for Africa. Aid to develop new ways of agr
iculture, not expensive ways - but ways based upon the successful agricultural p
ractices of the West. Aid to develop domestic rainwater harvesting, so that ever
y household, and every farm, becomes independent of the vagaries of the weather
and the resultant droughts. Aid to harness the endless power of the sun for sola
r energy that will, amongst other things, take the pressure off the rapidly dwin
dling wood supplies that are currently used for cooking – with all the benefits
for the global warming problem. Aid to develop knowledge of basic health care, d
iet and personal hygiene. Programmes such as these would cost a fraction of the
billions that are currently poured into the bottomless pit of aid that is Africa
. They would enable local people to harness existing, local resources and so ach
ieve true independence from those upon whom they are currently so dependent.
The Battle for Africa is a battle to empower millions of ordinary African people
to take control of their lives, to enable them to have security in the basic es
sentials of life, to free them from the slavery of dependence upon Western hando
uts and to restore to them the human dignity and hope of which poverty has, for
decades beyond number, so effectively deprived them. The Battle for Africa will
be won in the minds of the African people, and in the mindsets of those who curr
ently, perhaps with the best of intentions, keep Africa a dependent continent li
ving with widespread, and unnecessary, poverty. But, the question has to be aske
d: With the West so dependent upon Africa’s natural resources, is it really in t
he best interests of the West to facilitate an independent, self-sufficient, fre
e-thinking continent of Africa? And is that the real reason that the Battle for
Africa is, even in the 21st century and living in what is called “a global villa
ge,” a battle that is far from being won?