Relevance of Western Missionaries to Africa

For many years, the West has continued to send young missionaries to Africa.   Between 2008 and 2010, I was privileged to host 2 different groups in Uganda.  The third group however were diverted to some other country after their agenda did not exactly fit within our context.  The first two groups were comprised of very young missionaries eager to come and spread the Gospel of Christ to the needy in Africa.  They came along with beautiful little books to share with the people.  Their visit often ends with a trip to the wild, to visit Africa’s amazing animals.  Both times, I enjoyed the company of these youngsters, who said they had learnt a lot more from their visit to Africa than they had ever expected.

The purpose of writing this is to share my experience with hosting missionary teams, and sharing my ideas of how these visits could be tailored to benefit the visiting, hosting and beneficiary teams, all with focus on doing what Jesus would want done.

Missionaries remain relevant, irrespective of which part of the world they come from.   What is important is for the missionaries to understand beneficiary needs.  It is often said, a child will often be dressed according to how the mother feels.  If she is cold the child will be dressed warmer, and if she is cold, vice versa.  Missionaries should be careful not to dress targeted beneficiaries according to how they feel.

Many times, missionaries come (in good faith) with pre conceived agenda, but  these are sometimes very irrelevant.  The locals though will still act polite and praise the work of the missionaries however little the impact may be.

Examples of relevant projects missionaries can engage in within East Africa include work on the farm, in schools, water and sanitation in villages, Raising money for building materials and building houses for the homeless, e.t.c

1.  Help during planting seasons, August – September and March – May is very much needed. Agriculture is the life blood of most of East Africa.  With crop in the field, good weather, and political stability, there are chances life will be sustained.   I joined the workers in the field today to plant corn.  Over 9 days, we have only been able to plant about 2.5 acres. By the time we are done with the 10acres, we’ll probably be late for the season.  We are still strong and able to do significant amount of work. Across us, is an elderly lady, too weak to engage in farm work. She lost 2 of her grown sons, and is left with a daughter who does everything to keep mummy alive and the home running.  There are many more of this kind.  Missionary intervention here would be very relevant.
2. Build houses for those in need of shelter.  A few years ago,  a group of missionaries from the US was diverted from Uganda because their agenda did not fit.  Their aim was to come and help build houses for the most vulnerable people.  They required that the people put the building materials in place, and the team would come with experts to put up the houses.  This was exciting to hear, but later proved irrelevant, especially that most of the people who could afford the building materials could afford the labor as well, while the people who badly needed housing could not afford the building materials. Most of these live in mud houses, sometimes at the verge of collapse. I communicated the findings to the prospective missionary team and suggested to them that if they really wanted to be relevant they’d need to put together some little money enough to buy bricks that are locally made and cost less than a dollar each, some cement, gravel and other building materials needed for a basic shelter.   This they said was not possible for them to do, hence the diversion.
3. Help with school projects, especially for rural schools (These are so many, ranging from the establishment of school gardens to uniforms, to needed equipment, etc.

Often times, its not what we want to do that makes impact, but what needs to be done.  With diversity in cultures, it is important to explore what the genuine need may be. May the Good love remain the light that guides our feet.