The Second Set of Eyes: Learning is Seeing

Few things compare to exposure to knowledge in transforming lives of people with the possibility of making them great and successful.

I want to propose that to know more and have high density of information in one's system is to be equipped to deal more successfully with the complexities of life today. At the very heart of the maturing of a human society is how it expands opportunities for its young people to access knowledge they need to take charge of their lives and their environment. 

Their ability to govern their environs for the benefit of all is what distinguishes human beings from others. African notions of humanness privilege the ability to share one's human values with others. The dictum, you are because we are, commonly called ubuntu, defines the African idea of humanity as being inclusive and communal in essence. 

This is distinct from the pervasive modern concept of "I think therefore I am", which generates the egocentrism from which comes greed, selfishness, excessive individualism, high mindedness and aloofness. 

In this sense, learning to share, to coexist, to cooperate and to co-create is the essence of knowledge in African settings in spite of the impact of modernity. So, acquisition of knowledge is not for the purpose of lording over others, but to become socially useful, to work with others to build a better world, to become better with and through others. 

To the extent that the Christian idea of creation emphasizes that human beings exist to work and govern the garden for the good of all, it reinforces African notions of honour and responsibility where individual human beings earn their place in the community of beings by virtue of their respect of others and their inputs. 

Secondly I also want to propose that exposure to both information and insights from experiences of the world out there has an enduringly positive impact because it gives more than ordinary ways of seeing the world and ourselves in it.  

Acquisition of knowledge is not supposed to be an excessively technical process focused on the transfer of technical skills, but it is supposed to be part of the socialization of society, humanisation of beings. Knowledge is social awareness; it is one condition found in every component of humanity and in all human history from the islands isolated in the Pacific to te Inca of Latin American mountains, the peoples of Europe as well as the peoples of Africa. It is condition that crimes against humanity like racism, apartheid and colonialism sought to destroy.

Gathering information is an important condition for acquiring knowledge. There is no knowledge without collecting data and information about ourselves and  the world around us. It is for this reason that the schooling system exposes young people to loads of information on a whole range of areas of life in the hope that they  imbibe something about each in order to be rounded people. 

Thirdly, by acquiring knowledge as an extra set of eyes I mean that knowledge should enable those who acquire it to see a little more or lot deep into life and the world. It must give them ability to see things from various angles. It must teach them to put on the glasses of many others when they look at issues in front of them. 

The extra set of eyes enables humankind to transcend myopia, prejudice, narrow-mindedness, short-sightedness, amnesia and mediocrity. It helps them see the whole person in their encounters with others, the whole issue in discussion, the whole problem in their communities and the whole world in the manner that they live on earth. 

There is no end to the process of acquiring and training the extra eyes to see clearer, farther and deeper into issues of life. So, there should be no end to hearing and perceiving, training the eyes to see. We should make personal commitments to know better daily and all the time. 

In our next piece, we reflect on hearing in order to see better. 

Nelson Mandela Day: Eish?

Few days cause a display of love for the country and care for each other than theInternational Mandela Day. Since the day was declared an official international day by the United Nations General Assembly for doing good to others for at least 67 minutes, it has been used to galvanize society to take a moment to think about the plight of people on the sidelines of society and to take interest in important structures of society that the most vulnerable need. 

The day is used to emulate the example of Mandela. But given the fact that there is no one meaning of Mandela and Mandela as symbol of subject to abuse, what are implications of the popularization of the day today? 

The answers to this question lie in our understanding of the symbolism of the day and the iconography of the man after whom it is named. The international day was actually inspired by Mandela's 90th birthday celebrations held throughout the world in 2008 that marked out the fact that he had dedicated 67 years of his life to selfless service to humanity. This was a culmination of several celebrations of the previous years, that got the world mood generally united in the recognition of the humanist phenomenon that Mandela was for the world facing huge challenges relating to the erosion of the values and ethics of humanness.

When this widespread feeling was taken up for discussion by states at the United Nations General Assembly the following year, there would be a universal acceptance of the idea of declaring an international day in honour of Mandela for  humanistic values and "his dedication to the service of humanity". World leaders agreed to honour also Mandela's exemplary dedication "to the struggle for democracy internationally and the promotion of a culture of peace throughout the world". Therefore, the day was invented as a call to action. In particular, it was an invitation for peoples of the world to display their humanity by dedicating 67 minutes of their time oft he 18th July every year to some public good. This was seen as "a small gesture of solidarity with humanity and a step towards a global movement for good." 

To make it easy for people, 67 suggestions of what could be done was provided jointly by the UN and the Nelson Mandela Foundation. These included reading for someone who can't; cleaning filthy facilities; offering donations; helping out at a shelter and other charity-type activities as well as more profound forms of actions like offering chats for terminally ill patients; making a new friends across cultures; getting medically checked and offering someone a job. The list has grown as we record the creativity displayed by humanists throughout the world. 

There has been an explosion of charitable work in South Africa on this day and a mighty outpouring of goodwill and love. There has been a particular prominence given to humane actions done for the most vulnerable of our society: the disabled, orphaned, the very sick, the abused and the infants. People have turned up to pain and fix shelters, to sing and dance with the unfortunate of our society, to bring essential supplies and share a laugh with them in ways no other Day has caused them to. 

The pilgrimage from suburbia and towns to townships, informal settlements and rural areas for the 67 minutes interventions (which are usually up to full day) have become a common sight. This has made the country look capable of caring enough to enable the defeat of poverty, marginalization and brutalization of others. It has assured one that we as a people can take care of others.

These activities can be dismissed as vain glory for bourgeoisie haunted by the shame of their material fetish in the sea of lack and poverty. It can be dismissed as inconsequential short lived display of humanity. It can be reduced into mere charity rather than causing real change in lives of people. It can be said that the day will loose meaning because of its commercialisation as corporations see opportunities offer the crumbs from their fat dinner table. 

But a new ground has been broken and  possibilities have been expanded all the same. It remains to be seen if these actions will change the actors and the targeted people as they should. It is to been if it would cause them to stand up and be counted on a continuous basis.

Even if the work done of the day is of such as nature that it is small consolidation for affluence, the important thing is the symbolism of the day. At the launch of the day at the UN General Assembly in 2008, the Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, said, "Nelson Mandela’s extraordinary compassion after 27 years in prison showed that human rights and equality are stronger than discrimination and hate." 

The reminder about the values and principles Mandela and his generation lived by is an important element of the day. Its effect is to humanize the heart and mind of citizens so that their charity moves from being just about material assistance, but rehumanising society brutalised materialism, callousness and greed. 

The challenge going forward is to offer opportunities for people to reflect on what they do on this day, so that there is a reconciliation between the moral ethic of giver and the giver's personality. It is also to ensure that the Mandela phenomenon is understand as a complex, diverse and educative representational power. 

It should be used to speak out against actions of states and other powerful actors that are inconsistent with the values of humanness. It is thus a symbol by which we redefine our society and ourselves in from the margins to centres. 

more: http://www.southafrica.info/mandela/67minutes.htm#.U9AVwYkazCQ#ixzz38KBmuBlz