Let’s say you go on a mission trip somewhere and build a house for a family in need. You have a great time, and the construction goes smoothly. The family thanks you and your team, and you return home to Starkvegas. All is well, right? Of course it is. I think that’s great. You are selflessly giving your time and resources to someone who needs help. Of course that’s a good thing. But I think it could be better.
Now I don’t mean you need to go and build more houses, or that you need to spend more time doing it. I just think sometimes when we go and do things like this, we lose sight of people’s real need: empowerment.
People need to be invested, so they can invest in themselves and their communities. So while being given a house is good, learning how to build a house is better.
Consider this example. My brother financially supports a ministry that teaches prostitutes in India how to make purses out of trash bags. Thanks to this skill, the women can sell the purses, instead of themselves, in order to live. That is change. That is effective community service. It has a much more lasting impact on the well-being of those being served and leaves them with a sense of meaning and worth.
When we deny this sense of empowerment, we risk another, more subtle danger too. I can remember a professor once telling me how when we simply go somewhere and fix something, we tread not far from, dare I say it, imperialism. We, the rich Americans, arrive with Superman complexes and think that we can save the day with just a hammer and a wallet. Which, mind you, may be true in some instances, but it is a principle that limits growth and fosters arrogance.
I have been speaking on a global scale, so far, on examples where it is easy to see, but I think we can all practice good service here in Starkville, too. For instance, you could volunteer to tutor at a local school. Education is a big deal, I’m told. Just think of the good you could do for a kid by empowering him with good grades. Or you could show kids the value of teamwork and discipline by helping out with a local sports team. Put simply, seek to offer the best kind of help you can with what you have.
Now, I am not naïve enough to think this principle is absolute. I know there are some needs that can only be met by money or skill, in a very straightforward way. So when a house burns down in the community, the best response is indeed to help clean up and buy new provisions for the victims. Or if you are asked to help cook food for a local pantry, it would be absurd to refuse the opportunity just because it doesn’t really empower anyone.
I am merely trying to say that empowerment should form the basis of our community service. It should be the goal, the prize. When it is, we are able to serve people in the best way possible, and we avoid robbing them of their dignity. Of course, I realize I may have jumped too far ahead. All of this depends on the assumption that you are, in fact, doing community service already.
One battle at a time I suppose…
Ben Hester is a sophomore majoring in political science. He can be contacted at [email protected].