For 10 years I have been going to East Africa, taking solar equipment to electrify homes and schools, orphanages, offices, hospitals, clinics, and whole villages in the rural hinterlands of Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. I have 10 years of experience leading teams of American young people and African youth into the bush to install the equipment and to witness what a transformation electricity makes in the lives of people and the development of their communities.
On our first mission trip, we went to the verge of the impenetrable forest to install small solar units in two cinderblock houses the government had built for some resettled pygmies. These strange little people sang, “You came all the way from America to bring us the light. ”˜Tukutendereza Jesu’.”
Over those years we have seen and done a lot….
There is a huge chauvinistic basis in this article, that Africa need outreach. Since they are planting not churches but dioceses, I do not think it is them who need outreach. It is the US who need what they have and any technical assistance we have to offer pales in relation to a living faith they can offer us — pity once it was us who had that gift to give with such fervor.
Both the Muslim influence and the Chinese influence are indeed growing, as Bishop Hathaway states. Each in its own way poses a difficult problem for the West and Christianity. Islam is undeniably attractive to African men in offering a more robust male spirituality. This, however, comes at the cost of the subjugation of women, who are already disadvantaged in Africa. The challenge offered by the Chinese is that they are prepared to trade with and assist obnoxiously unjust and oppressive regimes – they have been investing heavily in Zimbabwe, for instance. Appallingly corrupt and dictatorial governments offer no problem to the Chinese.
This article made me, alternately, proud and sad for Bp. Hathaway: Proud…because he has striven to help people with the love of Christ applied to the practical needs of Africans…Sad…because he misses the larger point in the disputes between the Global South and the Western culture- the Gospel is more important than technology! So long as we Americans suffer the delusion that Jesus came and died so that scientific and technological benefits could be spread throughout the whole world [!], we will need to keep learning from African Anglicans: “God is good, all time” (His goodness expressed through the blessings of both God and Man), “All the time, God is good”(His goodness not diminished when poverty, war, and world confusion seems to reign!)
Recently, we had a visitor to our church from Africa. He was trying to raise money so that they could build their own plant in which to manufacture solar panels, and thus be free of the need to rely on ANY foreign supply of panels. they needed about $1.5 million dollars, a pittance compared to start up costs in any American industry.
Of course, this is all laid on the wonderful foundations Bp. Hathaway laid out, but self-reliance is also needed in these countries. Is it the Gospel message that Americans must continue to provide instead of teaching to stand on one’s own? I think self-reliance is the next needed step, then we won’t have to worry about other nations stepping in.
Leander Harding wrote an powerful essay looking at the failure of “deeds not creeds:
[blockquote]For most of my ministry the word “mission†has been constantly on the lips of the leaders of the Episcopal Church. Mission has been taken to mean solidarity in serving the poor. Deeds not creeds has been the implicit motto. This understanding of mis sion has been shown to be completely inadequate and has led not to unity in service but to a weakening of the capacity of the church to serve. We are called to be a servant church but as a dimension of our witness to the reality of Jesus Christ as the only-begotten Son of the one Father of us all. Only complete dedication to the mission of proclaiming Jesus Christ as the way, the truth and life for all humanity provides a mission that really can be a source of the unity of the church both within the Anglican way and among all the fractured pieces of the one body of Christ. This in no way implies a dismissive or contemptuous attitude toward other religions, but it does require a belief that the Gospel is true not only for me but for all. [/blockquote]
For the entire essay, see [url=”http://www.tesm.edu/sh/2007-1/comingapart”]here[/url].
#3 Stuart, do you not think that the Gospel message was not being delivered by Bp. Hathaway along with the technology? Of course, it was. I grew up in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, and as a child I was taught that the SDA medical missionaries (doctors, nurses, dentists, etc.) that were being sent into all parts of the world were a part of God’s plan to take the Gospel to those lands. They have long known that the Gospel was as important (if not more so) than the medical help they were delivering. And I know Bp. Hathaway knows that, too. What a blessing to leave behind the technology or the medical and sanitation information that is so sorely needed, along with the life-saving message of God’s love.
Maybe my personal fondness for Bishop Hathaway has blinded me to the flaws in his article. And he doesn’t need me to speak up for him. As the rector of a parish that has supported the Bishop’s Solar Light for Africa practically since SLA began, I’m surprised at the dismissiveness of so many of the comments above.
KAR #1, perhaps you’re right in the sense that African Christians don’t need to be evangelized by Episcopalians from the US. One of Bishop Hathaways’ joys is to see how American youth get evangelized under the influence of the African youth they team up with on these missions. On the other hand, you might not think Africa needs to be evangelized for Jesus at all, in which case you must have no problem with the efforts of the Muslims to make converts and to discredit Christianity.
Stuart #3 and robroy #5, the Bishop is not one of those “deeds not creeds” types. He is not ignorant of the “deeper issues” between ECUSA and the Global South. He’s just calling attention to some of the collateral damage of the theological and ideological battles.
It does seem strange that some Ugandan diocese, for example, whose bishops welcome the Solar Light Teams, have also taken under their jurisdiction former Episcopal congregations that, if they supported SLA’s mission financially in the past, have ceased to do so. The same bishops claim to be too principled to accept funds or other aid from ECUSA. But if it weren’t for ECUSA churches, they would not be benefiting at all from these missions– which they seem glad to accept.
libraryjim #4 SLA’s work of making solar electrical energy available has indirectly resulted in cottage industries (‘standing on one’s own’). If someone has a plan for producing the solar power kits in Africa, Solar Light might just commend it.
I wish I could remember the good reverend’s name who came to St. Peter’s (Tallahassee) a few months ago. But he was a very articulate speaker, brought the sermon to us, and then between services presented the vision they had for their plant. If I remember I will certainly post it, or if someone reading from St. Peter’s knows they could post it as well.
By the way, the cottage industries are a very good step forward! Solar light also gives the opportunity for studying later into the evening. But total self-sufficiency in terms of providing jobs for locals would be an even greater step!
Here are two news stories on the proposed plant:
first:
[blockquote]
Solar Energy Uganda (SEU) is a successful supplier of solar energy systems throughout Uganda, having installed more than 9,000 systems since the company’s inception in 1997. SEU has a large percentage of the market share of solar opportunities in Uganda, and has targeted an ambitious program to reach 300,000 homes by 2010, through its Village Power Program. The program, based on careful market research and the company’s past experience, has in its first year installed 1,000 systems in some of the poorest households in Uganda.
To make the cost of the solar installations more affordable, the company has created a Solar Bank that extends its manufacturers’ credit lines to its customers, providing loans for up to 18 months at a lower interest rate than provided by local commercial lenders.
[b] company is now planning to develop a solar panel assembly plant in Kampala that should further reduce the cost of the solar installations, thereby expanding the company’s potential market.
Now, under contract to and in partnership with Solar Light for Africa, a US-based non-profit organization dedicated to spreading solar electrification to the rural poor of sub-Saharan Africa, SEU has embarked on an expansive rural hospital electrification program. In Uganda, SLA and SEU are targeting all 70 rural hospitals by request of First Lady Janet Museveni. The organizations are also partnering to provide electrification to Rwanda’s rural hospitals.[/b]
Investment is required for the expansion of the Solar Bank, for the development of the solar assembly plant, and directly for the hospital and Village Power projects.[/blockquote]
(bold added for emphasis)
and
[blockquote]
First solar system assembly plant to be built in Uganda
[b]Solar Energy for Africa, a US-based organization, will build a solar system assembly plant in Entebbe, Uganda, the first of its kind in east Africa, local press reported on Saturday. [/b]
Solar power is cheaper and cleaner than diesel generators because it is from the dependable sunlight.
Managing director of Solar Energy for Africa Richard Kanyika said the plant would assemble solar panels, charge controllers, inverters, solar lights and lanterns and heater kits.
“We want to fight poverty by providing villages with affordable power. It will cost 3.4 million dollars to run the assembly lines in about two years,” he said.
“We expected to grow by 10 percent annually for the first 10 years, serving Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya,” Kanyika added. [/blockquote]
bold added for emphasis
Hey, I lost some words there! lol
Thanks, libraryjim. I don’t have any “standing” with Solar Light, but since I asked, I’m forwarding the information to them in case it’s something they can use.
LibraryJim, the “reverend” in question, or actually “bishop,” is Bishop William Rukirende from Kabale, Uganda who is the primary partner for Bishop Alden Hathaway ‘s Solar Light work in Africa. Traditionally, both youth and adults from our church participate in the solar light mission trip every July. He visited St. Peters in mid-April to talk about his Solar Light work.
I knew someone (and I suspected it would be you!) would fill in the gap! Thanks, FLAANGLICAN! (I couldn’t even remember the month!)
Sadly the fine bishop does not live in Tallahassee, FL any longer (as reported by TLC in this article). He is now in Beaufort, SC (on staff at St. Helena’s) and summers in Maine. For any of you who may doubt his major interest is evangelism — then you have never met him. We miss him in Tallahassee!