Stories about Africa aren’t always in our mainstream news. Yet, I still like to keep informed about where we are working, so today I share some of the great alternative news sources with stories from Africa.

1. Kenyan Elections

Important Kenyan elections are coming up on March 4th! Since the violent response to the last presidential elections, many organizations have been working to ensure a peaceful process this time.

You can read helpful updates about the coming election here: http://kenyanelections2013.org.

The website is an initiative of the African Great Lakes Initiative, which “promotes peace activities at the grassroots level in the Great Lakes region of Africa (Burundi, Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda).” Let’s keep praying for a peaceful election on March 4th.

Post-election violence and reconciliation workshop in Eldoret, 2010.

2. Food Shortage in Malawi

The United Nations Department of Public Information recently published an informative article about the current food crisis in Malawi.

I asked Canaan Gondwe, our partner in Malawi, for his view of the situation: “Yes, there is hunger in the southern regions of Malawi and the president is everyday on the roads distributing maize to thousands of people. Subsidy program seem to have flopped. Farmers can get coupons to buy fertilizer but you can sometimes hardly find the fertilizer on the market.

My visit to Kubadwa Tembo’s farm in Manyamula in July 2011.

“The past 3-4 years we had our food basket full but in the last year it has been empty. WHY? Lack of political will to agriculture programs and a “top down” approach to agriculture production. There is a need to involve and hear from people at grassroots level.

3. Africa Today

For people who like to listen to their news instead of read it, there is the short and eclectic Africa Today podcast from the BBC. (You can listen to the news stories on your computer, or transfer it to a iPod/iPad.)

Yesterday’s episode had a news update about the clashes in Mali, opposition in Egypt, and a beautiful story about Malian musicians singing for peace. It’s a good mix of culture, continental politics, and local stories from many countries across Africa – all with a African perspective.

**And after you’ve read the news, I invite you to experience a moment of prayer, with this, from Del, about how we can influence the world:

We can, in balance, rhythm, and alignment with God, and in working with others, open ourselves as instruments for God’s symphony, prayer-soaked members with hearts open wide to be used by God, instruments of love and caring.

Local leaders are part of our kindness advantage too!

When you compare non-profits supporting development in Africa Spirit in Action is not at the top of the list for total amount of money given. Our grants can’t match the “small grants” at some large NGOs that range from $10,000-30,000.

That said, I think we have a lot of other points going for us, and I think that these points add up to more than just the amount we give away in grants each year.

“It’s very heartening to read your very kind & touching letter,” read the very unexpected opening to an email from Utkarsh Ghate in India. I was shocked not because the words themselves were stunning but because this came in reply to my email letting them know that SIA wouldn’t be able to fund their proposal.

This exchange brings to life our competitive advantage: kindness, respect, honoring people as individuals. 

At Spirit in Action, we have the time and the passion to connect with people, to write thoughtful responses to all emails, give feedback on proposals we can’t fund, to affirm their service to their community, and listen to the challenges they face.

Justus Aluka and a colleague in Kenya.

“We appreciated and highly acknowledged the content of your letter. Thanks for your encouragement and prayers of hope sent.” Such warm greetings were expressed in a recent email from Justus Aluka at Shirly Centre in Eldoret, Kenya. Putting this gratitude into action, his community group generously sent a 2000Ksh (around $25) donation to SIA. This unsolicited involvement and “paying forward” is another expression of the ripples of SIA’s work to put spirit and love into action.

So while other organizations may give more thousands of dollars, we give thousand times more encouragement and respect, acknowledging that these individuals, like Justus and Utkarsh, are the ones doing the front line work and facing those in dire need.

And our partners reflect this encouragement back to us: “p.s.” Utkarsh wrote, “Your bottom line is very impressive, let God make it true!” I always end my emails with “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me” and I believe that honoring each person who reaches out to Spirit in Action is part of building that peace in the world.

Here are the top seven moments and photos from my recent trip to the Camps Farthest Out International (CFOI) Camp in Peru. For more about CFOI, please visit their website. Our founder, Del Anderson, was a past President of CFOI and many of our grantees have come through this connection.

Opening Ceremony

1. Meeting of Cultures

This 5-day camp held in Lima, Peru was an international meeting of over 200 CFOI campers! There were representatives from 20 different countries! As someone who is very interested in culture, I loved meeting people from all over the world; people from places I had visited before (Kenya, Malawi, Australia) and people from places I hope to visit some time in the future (Fiji, Kashmir, Papua New Guinea). We all came with our cultural expectations and cultural norms and together we had to navigate and celebrate our differences (personal space issues, how coffee is prepared) and marvel in our similarities (love of music, shared faith).

Camper from rural Peru

2. Opening our Eyes

About 1/3 of the campers were from all parts of Peru – many of them from the rural farming communities in the highlands and jungle areas of Peru. Some of my most memorable exchanges were sharing with them about life in the United States and then hearing about their potato farms. (Did you know that Peru has thousands of varieties of potatoes?!?) As in Africa, the folks from rural Panao use cell phones as their primary means of communication! They don’t have email addresses or even mailing addresses because they are so far out, but they do have cell phones. What an amazing world!

3. World Music

From the moment I signed up for the international camp I’d been looking forward to the music – and I was not disappointed! Pictured here is a woman from Peru who sang a beautiful ballad, accompanied by her accordion and the Afro-Peruvian drum.

We also sang meditative songs from Taize France, silly songs from the Philipines, loud Nigerian songs in their local language, praise songs in Spanish, and soaring hymns led by Nelly from Taiwan.

4. Praying Together

After we sang together we also prayed together. My prayer group was a wonderfully multilingual group! I felt blessed to be able to use my Spanish skills to interpret for the 4 Peruvians in the group; and I was so grateful for Christina from Germany who shared her German-English skills to interpret for the other German member.

We prayed in many different ways, each praying in our own language. And sometimes we just took time to talk and share with each other about where we came from and what brought us there.

Even members in Prayer Groups that did not have a Spanish-English interpreter, and who had to communicate with few words and many gestures, shared that with such a busy camp schedule this time in a small group was precious time for connecting on a deeper level.

Tanya and Adelina Meza (Peru)

5. Re-Connecting with Friends

This camp was full of friends – new and old! I met Grace Paljor from Kashmir for the first time. We’ve written emails and been Facebook friends for over a year and in Peru we got to greet each other with a hug. I also got to sing and share with our Small Business Fund Coordinator from Nigeria, Ofonime Nkoko. I met new friends from Australia and Peru who are also working on projects of community development.

And many times people I didn’t know came up to tell me how Del had influenced their lives and sent them letters and copies of Seed Thoughts. One of those people was Adelina Meza from Peru who met Del at the CFOI International camp in the 1990s and whose story I’ll write up and share soon.

Is foosball and Olympic sport yet?

6. Games & Laughter

One of the best way to connect with people is to play games, especially games that don’t require an interpreter! There was so much laughter as people from all over took one of the foosball handles and learned the game together. Even when people pushed the ball toward the wrong goal there was encouragement and friendly cheers. Plus, it was during the Olympic games and we had a good time all singing the Olympic theme song together.

“Peace” – Tile floor, Cathedral of Lima

7. Peace

“And I prophesy that not until Catholics, Christian Scientists, Methodists and Unitarians, Fundamentalists and Modernists, can forget the differences underlying the science of their creeds and unite in common cause of living their religion [...] – may we hope to see the [...] victory achieved that will bring peace on earth and good will to men.” — Glenn Clark, The Soul’s Sincere Desire, pg. 48

The experience of a CFOI camp is the practice of living our faith of serving others, forgiving others, and getting to know and love more of God’s creation. I pray that all us will return home acting like and believing that we are on our way to bringing peace on earth.

Building peace means sometimes being uncomfortable. It requires listening to the other side with respect and being civil when telling others about your beliefs. Peace often means compromise, allowing differences to exist side by side. This can be uncomfortable and it can also be freeing and expansive.

Agree with Me

Many proverbs tell us that this diversity worth perusing: “united we stand, divided we fall” (Aesop); “alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” (Helen Keller); and “diversity our strength,” the motto of the City of Toronto (soon to be my home).

I was recently shaken by a discussion with someone about interdenominational Christian nonprofits. He works for a non-denominational organization but was concerned about working with Spirit in Action because I didn’t agree with his interpretation of a particular bible verse. That he wanted to limit his interactions based on beliefs, albeit sharing the foundation of our mutual Christian faith, shocked me.

I understood that for him, to “agree to disagree” on a point of faith would necessarily mean compromise and, therefore, loss; that this compromise of beliefs would make a group weaker. However, I have found that requiring everyone to agree on specific, narrow rules does not bring strength. Welcoming multiple views breeds flexibility and trust, rather than shutting conversation down with only one way to view things.

Diversity our Strength

SIA local coordinators from all over Africa sing together in Kenya

The strength of Spirit in Action is bringing people together from many different traditions for a higher good overall rather than separating people along dogmatic lines.

In fact, our missions of compassion and social justice require us to see God in all people and to serve our neighbor as we serve God. This also frees us all to do our work of fostering prosperity, rather than spend energy forcing people to believe a specific doctrine. This openness then actively encourages personal exploration of each person’s relationship and path with God.

When I visited SIA partners in Malawi last summer, I asked about the variety of denominations represented in the group. “SIA is the one place where Catholics and Protestants come together,” was the answer I got from Canaan Gondwe, the local Small Business Fund Coordinator. This response brought a sense of pride. Inter-denominational collaboration allows each person to respond to the call to seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with their God, rather than the call to shun those who are different.

Similarly, Benoit Malenge, the Small Business Fund Coordinator in Rwanda, reported that people of many beliefs came together, “sharing a meal, without discrimination since they are all members of Spirit in Action, who came to share the gifts.” This place of openness brought a community together, beginning to build peace after years of war in the area.

In the end, let’s stay focused on our mission, remembering the words of John Comenius, a 17^th century philosopher, “Let us have but one end in view, the welfare of humanity; and let us put aside all selfishness in consideration of language, nationality, or religion.” Can we be comfortable with this, and proceed as the peacemakers we were called to be?

105 years ago this Sunday, on July 17th 1906, Del Anderson was born in San Francisco amidst the rubble and destruction from the 1906 earthquake and fire.

“It seems that he was an incredible man who lived a very purposeful life to the end,” remarked Chingwell Mutombu of First Step Initiative, who recently learned about Del’s life and service through Spirit in Action. Indeed, Del was active in his prayer life and letter writing, with a goal to send several letters each day, until he left this earth in 2008.

Just before his 100th birthday, Del and his wife, Lucile, wrote, “both of us have discovered in our own ways that our desires today are to be more open to who we truly are, and knowing that, to be more loving, more caring, more understanding, less critical, and more accepting of ourselves and others. This is OUR way of growing peace in the world.”

Del and his first wife, Bebe, who died of cancer in 1972.

This week, to honor Del’s birthday I repeat his 100th birthday request:

• We request that people join us, wherever they are located, in focusing our prayers that day [July 17th] for peace, justice, and compassion for all people, including themselves and those closest to them.
•  We invite each person to join us in being open to his/her unique way of serving others.