Africa’s ‘scarcity’ versus the reality of abundance

Try holding your breath long enough and your lungs will feel like will explode. The fact is, this is impossible to do for an unusual period of time, because we were not created that way. Even expert divers have their limits. We have just enough breath needed to sustain our lung capacity at any given time. There is never insufficient air in the atmosphere that we have to store up enough, just in case there is no more air available for our next breath. We were created from the womb of the earth with an abundance of atmospheric pressure enabling life to be sustained. The sky is never too small that two eagles collide while in orbit.

The fascinating story of the majestic species of the air is an amazing unfolding of this timeless phenomenon of abundance in creation. Birds travel in a V-shape with the leader at the front, and the rest of the flock in precise formation following the leader. This allows them to reserve seventy percent of their energy, as the velocity within their sphere propels them. This harmonious “sky-dance” provides each pack with adequate energy to navigate its course whilst utilizing only 30 percent of its energy. Talk about energy conservation in flight formation!

Africa is the most richly endowed continent on earth, with a land mass greater that of the US and parts of Europe combined. What have we forgotten? Why do we hoard what is not ours to begin with, our wealth of natural resources? Why is the scarcity mentality the only language we so often unanimously speak? Why do we appreciate only what is foreign to us, and hate what is a mirror image of ourselves? Why have we forgotten who we are?

The pyramids of Egypt engineered thousands of years ago were constructed with a precision that yet cannot be replicated with all the sophistication of today’s technology. We must begin to look within ourselves for answers. We must refrain from looking east, west, north or south but inside, for the solutions we so desperately seek! We must groom a new generation to dispel the scarcity mentality and embrace an abundance mentality. We must be our African brother’ and sister’s keeper, and destroy the divisive forces that have alienated us from ourselves. We must unconditionally and willingly give back to our African societies that have nurtured us from the foundations of our existence. We must harness our African resources like the birds of the heavens, so we preserve energy for things that are paramount to Africa’s unity, peace, prosperity and sustainability; unconditional love for our African brother and sister, protecting our natural resources, supporting our African institutions, communities, cultures, businesses and the like.

The true story of a young Liberian teenage girl, who lives in abject poverty, is not only heroic but the purest essence of abundance mentality that we can all learn from. Baelaeu, as she is called in her community, is about 17 years old, and has had very little if any formal schooling. She lived as a house-help of an extended household, and both parents were also a young couple of around 30 years. The youngest child in the family was aged four, and young Baelaeu was the eldest member with about six other very young children.

The father and mother at a point decided to leave the home with the father leaving a year earlier, in search of minerals in the forest to provide for his family. The mother was left to fend for herself with the children. About a year later, the mother told Baelaeu she would be going out of town for a day to purchase goods for her small community provision shop, leaving the young lady in charge of the home. The mother left, and a year to date has not contacted anyone, or the young lady to ask about her children. Rumors have it that she is in a village somewhere searching for money.

The story gets more heart-wrenching. As this was a period in Liberia when the Ebola pandemic surfaced, killing thousands of people across the country and in neighboring Sierra Leone and Guinea, young Balaeu dutifully stayed the course, diligently doing what she believed was her duty to cater for the children, with the help of a few community people.

Upon learning of this act of pure heroism from this young lady who has monumental challenges of her own, I called her and asked her to kindly share her story with me. She very humbly said with tears in her eyes, “Ayn know wha hapen to Aunty bo tan Gaw we manage”. I felt truly humbled in the presence of young Balaeu – my greatest hero today, who simply needs the gift of opportunity; as she is already abundantly gifted with ingenuity.

The abundance mentality young Balaeu displayed far transcends her young life, and she is someone Africa cannot thank God enough for. The little she has been given, she is already accomplishing great feats for humanity, and reminds me that our limitless treasures lie within us if we dare to look a bit closer.

If you choose to learn about Balaeu, and how you can give her support in the Keyhole Community in Monrovia, my email address is [email protected], and you will be placed in direct contact with her. Please know this is simply a community advocate giving a voice to the voiceless.

UBUNTU – I AM BECAUSE YOU ARE!

* Marjanne Baker , a Liberian, is an ICT Pedagogical Change Agent living in Abuja, Nigeria.

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