Ubuntu: Life is Not a Zero-Sum Game
Using Medium Engagement as a Metaphor to Explain a Core South African Value
I went to Capetown for the first time fifteen years ago through a volunteer program called World Teach. I fell in love with the country from my first day on the ground, and the next two months were some of the most important and memorable of my life.
South Africa taught me that the world is open. That if you show up with curiosity and a smile, most people in most corners of the world will smile right back. It also helped that playing soccer and African hand drums were two things I excelled at. I immediately fit in. I earned my stripes on the hard dirt soccer pitches of the schools where I was volunteering.
The mzungu can play!
South Africa also taught me the meaning of the word Ubuntu—a word I now have tattooed across my chest. The word was first explained to me by a beautiful woman, and fellow teacher at the school where I was working, Jay.
She asked me at the end of our first week working together if I had heard the word Ubuntu, if I knew the meaning behind it.
I did not.
Instead of defining the word, she told me a story.
