Money Does Nor Grow On Trees

"As a young boy I remember asking my father for five dollars to buy a baseball glove. “Everyone has one but me,” I said, hoping to pull a heart string or two. He replied in Danish –– “penge faller ikke fra himlen!” Money does not fall from the sky or as others have said, “does not grow on trees.” Clearly that day I was out of luck."

During the past two decades I have had the privilege of being involved with a Canadian charity that provides access to education for orphaned youth living in Kenya. There is a notion in many developing countries including Kenya, that people from the west have unlimited access to money; and, that those funds should be freely shared. Few really understand or appreciate the sacrifices people have made over the years to create as in the case of CES in Kenya, scholarships and access to education. The helping hand is too often taken for granted.

There is no expectation that our outreach be rewarded with gratitude. When faced with the enormous inequities of human rights and justice for all, we simply respond to do what we can. That said, there is still a small part of the human psyche that begs a certain respect and understanding of how that help comes about. Good things do not come about as a matter of course or ‘fall from the sky’. It takes personal sacrifice with great love.

As I consider our work in western Kenya, some examples come to mind. But before I speak of people and their willingness to raise funds for a good cause, there is a principle that connects them all –– ‘Volunteerism’. It’s the practice of giving one’s time, talent, energy, and skills to a cause without being paid for it. People see a need, identify with it and do something about it. 

Volunteerism is marked by a desire to build human relationships, to participate in other people’s lives and fundamentally to give life meaning. Singly sometimes, but mostly in groups, volunteers are motivated by values of justice and equality. Volunteers with Community Education Services (CES) Canada believe they can help to reduce poverty and improve basic health and education for needy young people.

Since 2005 –– volunteers have made possible 3500 secondary and post-secondary education scholarships in 45 schools and 12 universities, created numerous school infrastructure projects, and promoted a variety of community health outreach programs. They have given their time, their funds and have sacrificed personal pursuits. The following people are examples of what a volunteer does best –– ‘give from the heart’.

Scenario A - Lynn Zolinski - Volunteer Canada

*3500 apple and strawberry pies baked in her kitchen and sold over a period of three years. Ingredients paid for by volunteer. Time to produce and sell to public freely given. Total profit $20,000 - 4 classrooms built for Musaga SS. Officially dedicated the school in 2013.

Scenario B - Yu Nakajima - Volunteer Japan

*young person mid 20’s with interest in developing countries, particularly Kenya. Googles to find CES Canada and asks to become a volunteer. Invited to Canada for cultural training and travels in 2012 to Kenya to visit schools. Returns home to establish a CES Kenya chapter raising funds for education scholarships. Still actively involved.

Scenario C - Sandy Guthrie - Volunteer Canada

*travelled to Tanzania spending time with orphaned children. Discovered CES Canada and first visited Kenya in 2011 to establish the Canada Day Run. Result - 3000 athletic shoes awarded to CES students. Friendship with St Mary Goretti Girls HS Shikoti and part of a team to plan for and help build St Agnes Dorm. Still actively involved.

Scenario D - Tom Conant - Volunteer Canada

*Twice to Kenya spending nearly one year to establish friendships and community outreach. This included the Bishop Sulumeti Girls SS Library, CES Worms Project (50,000 children) and the CES Canada-Kenya 140 Km Run and Rally for Peace. Still actively involved.

Scenario E - Carl Friesen - Volunteer Canada

*Travelling to Kenya on two occasions to do research and interview 50 people, his contribution to the CES publication, ’Under the Acacia Tree’. In addition, Carl funds university scholarships and a number of farming initiatives. Still actively involved.

Scenario F - Malik Khaemba - Volunteer Kenya

*Retiring in 2005 as a Diplomat from his final posting in Canada, ‘Patron’ returns to Kenya to give back –– 16 years as CEO of CES Kenya. Without stipend or major fanfare, his work and legacy continue in the lives of countless Kenyan youth. Still actively involved.

Scenario G - Sharyn Poole - Volunteer Canada

First travelled to Kenya in 2009, helped create the groundwork to build our first well built at Eshitari SS in 2010. She returned to Kenya on five occasions, her first love and second home. Sharyn created special bonds of friendship with CES alumna and was known to many as “mum”. She died in Kakamega on June 26, 2013. Still actively involved “from a distance”.

Scenario H - Edwin Nyongesa Juma - Volunteer Kenya

Edwin volunteers significant time to coordinate the CES Kenya Alumni program. His leadership includes friendship outreach to the Divine Providence Orphanage, supervising events such as the Form 4 Leadership Conference, creating environment tree-planting projects, and assisting alumni to obtain support during Covid19. Together with other alumni, Edwin regularly travels to CES schools to mentor and educate students in areas of water management and hygiene.

Scenario H - Steven Hao - Volunteer USA

Steven has a huge interest in Kenya and has raised funds for education scholarships since he was 12 years of age. Now in High School he continues through his own business, ‘Red Cap Shop’, by selling specialized art, shirts and hats with African motifs and CES logos. He also grows a vegetable garden, with profits for the work of CES in Kenya. Still actively involved.

Scenario I - Winnifred Fisher - Volunteer Canada

Wynn is a pensioner, and at age 99 years our oldest ’fan’. A number of years ago she met with other seniors to create hand-knit cuddle dolls. These brought joy to hundreds of orphaned children in Kenya. She has sponsored many CES students and is a faithful participant in our annual Christmas fundraisers for backpacks, solar lamps, anti-malaria nets, health-kits and PAD resources. Still actively involved.

Scenario J - Wetende Musli - Volunteer Kenya

CES Kenya Alumnus Busuku Musli has been a strong supporter of our work in Community Health. Through his medical practice he has volunteered hundreds of hours to enable CES in Vision and Jiggers outreach programs. He continues to serve through the Uziwa Clinic at Bushiri. 

Money does not fall from the sky…it is a limited resource and not easily obtained. As one wise mother said to her child, “if money grew on trees, someone else would own the orchard."

GRATITUDE - More than a Feeling

 GRATITUDE

Gratitude like faith, is that intangible human quality that views life from a different perspective. Faith believes in a reality not currently seen, while gratitude counts for good all that has happened both past and present. Gratitude flies in the face of English philosopher Thomas Hobbes, who characterized human life as “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.” It finds solace in seeing the world as a place of beauty, full of new opportunities to thrive.

To deny that life is tough, often disappointing and full of setbacks is unrealistic. The entire world is suffering. Peoples and nations are under attack.  A global pandemic is affecting 8 billion people, and it is clear that the physical and mental health of many are affected. No amount of positive or wishful thinking will turn this around. 

Grateful is the feeling a person gets when something good has happened, or conversely, when something bad has not happened. The usual response to being grateful is “thank you.” On the other hand, gratitude is not dependent on any outcome or desired result. Gratitude says, “I am alive –– that’s all that matters.” 

Gratitude is a state of being, and being grateful or thankful is an up-beat response to what life offers us. Gratitude can change our lives in a positive way. It can be an antidote to depression and loneliness. It can change our way of thinking and often will serve to promote good health. Gratitude looks at the glass as being half full; it does not depend on feelings that change with time and circumstance. 

As we continue to search for meaning in life, we sometimes discover good emerging from tragedy. We also find within ourselves a greater appreciation of our relationship with others, and an increased compassion for those who have struggled in similar ways. Some would define this as spiritual development, while others see it as becoming more human. Both views express a process of inner healing, a heightened awareness of us being grateful.

It is easy to be grateful when good things happen. It is much more difficult to experience gratitude when life brings us ‘lemons’. It all comes down to attitude. Are we willing to make lemonade out of the sour juice of life? When we wake up in the morning are we content to say, “thank God, I am alive today?” By doing so, we affirm that being grateful is a choice that overrides our current circumstance.

Gratefulness responds to life’s darkest moments. Corrie ten Boom and her family helped 800 Jewish people in Netherlands to escape from the Nazis in WWII by hiding them in her home. In 1944, she and her family were betrayed and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp. Even in her worst moments she believed there was a reason for it all. “This is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see.” (The Hiding Place).

How it is that people under extreme duress can come to a point where they appreciate life even more. Living through conflict and war, or battling a debilitating disease brings about a resilience that puts life in a different perspective. When each new day is a gift to be treasured, it is being grateful that brings us joy –– not the other way around.

My mother has cultivated gratitude her whole life. As a young woman, Marianne left Europe after WWII to begin a new life in Canada. Within five years she was struck down with polio, and she has suffered now for the past 65 years. I have seen her in pain, and at the same time singing a hymn. I have watched her raise six children with two limbs paralyzed. She cooked, cleaned, drove her kids here and there, and found ways to love and care for us all. To create a home for her family has been one of the greatest feats of inner courage and strength that I have ever witnessed in my lifetime. When asked, “how are you doing Mor?” the answer is always in Danish, “strålende”. And that means … like sunshine, brilliant! 

Mor’s overall life has been one of gratefulness. It was her way to approach life through challenging circumstances. She showed us how to be grateful even in times of suffering. She had inner resources, like her faith in God that she constantly drew upon. She was grateful for her family, and she put all her energies into those of us who at the time could not even appreciate what she was going through. I believe it was that gratitude and spiritual energy that guarded her against depression and anxiety. Giving for her was a way of life –– and she gave all she had. It was her way of showing gratitude. She is a ‘light on top of the hill’, an inspiration to us all.

In a recent article in The Atlantic, Scott Barry Kaufman writes about the positive power of gratitude. He cites an ‘Existential Gratitude List’ created by psychologist Paul Wong, that  measures the tendency people have to feel grateful. He states that our attitude towards pain and challenge in life determines our mental and emotional state of being. This list includes such statements as:

• I am grateful for my life even in times of suffering;
• I am grateful for the people in my life, even for those who have caused me much pain;
• I am grateful that I have something to live for, even though life has been hard for me;
• I am grateful that every crisis represents an opportunity for personal growth. 

How do we deal with residual feelings of regret? Will that process include things that have happened to us through no fault of our own? Or is it a rebuke to our conscience for things we could have changed, but chose not to at the time? Indeed, our lives could be described as a litany of regrets. The reality is we cannot erase the past or our feelings about these events. However by living gratefully in the present, we can find a way to diminish the impact of those regrets. 

Living gratefully means being grateful for the gift of life. To treasure what we have now, does not mean we accept all that is hurtful or negative in our lives. It just gives us an opportunity to create change in light of the challenges we face. Gratefulness not only changes our lives, it also promotes within us the qualities of compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and empathy. It leads us to care about the well-being of others and to impact our world in ways we never thought possible. 

The environmentalist can do something to care for the environment. The business person can strive to create opportunities for others to create wealth. Civil servants involved in politics can lead, inspire, and create rules for living that will better the society. Aid workers can reach out in personal ways through the humanitarian organizations they support. Teachers, doctors, nurses, and front-line workers who sacrifice their own well-being during the current Covid19 pandemic –– their extraordinary example of courage and commitment is demonstrated daily. We can all do something to care for our world. Each in our own way using the skills, interests and talents we possess, can contribute towards the greater good. It all begins and ends with being grateful. 

M Frederiksen

30/08/2021