The Diaspora ๐
(People scattered outside their geographic homeland.)
One of my favorite sidelines in this, my second job, is listening to stories from the African diaspora.
Last night I enjoyed a few moments with Simon. Iโm overnight in Toronto, catching a flight to Europe and on to Rwanda. Over the last six months Iโve connected with five diaspora families, all of them active in their homeland for good. I hope you enjoy hearing their stories as much as I did.
๐ทSimon
Born in Ghana. His parents moved the family to Canada when he was young. Heโs married to Brigette, also from Ghana โ someone Iโve known for years from our shared church in California.
Like many in the diaspora, they make it work. One spouse in Canada, the other in California. Their son is just wrapping his first year of college. It may not be until retirement that Brigette and Simon live in the same house โ or the same country.
One of my stops this trip will be at a pig farm in Ghana that they started about four years ago. My friend Jason is coming along. The goal is to understand their challenges and, in some way, help.
๐ฉ๐ป Zahara
Only a few weeks ago, Deborah and I met with her. Her story is worth telling because of what it shows about Godโs timing.
An orphan in Uganda. Days from becoming a child bride. Then โ adopted, and brought to a new home in the United States. With the love and support of her adoptive parents, she finished high school and college, then went to work for a relief organization.
Against her own wishes, that work eventually took her back to the very village where she was born. Her heart softened. She now leads Children of Grace.
Weโll be there in a week to see what she and her adoptive parents are building.
๐จ Tuscani and Chico
I attend church with them. Both were born in Zimbabwe, educated in the West, and now work in management at tech companies in the SF Bay Area.
They are setting up a clinic in one of the poorest communities in their home country.
Days before my departure, Tuscani and I collected medical equipment that will ship to Africa in July. Their position has been clear from the start: the cost is to be covered by the diaspora.
โบ Baolerhu
Grew up on the steppes of Mongolia. His family home was a yurt.
Through another remarkable story, he was educated and worked in the West. After a dozen years in international finance, living across multiple countries, he felt the pull to reconnect with his homeland.
He shifted gears, followed his heart, and now lives in Northern California, where he founded and leads the Asia Leadership Development Network.
The group is focused on education, skills training, and character development in Mongolia.
Baolerhu leads with energy and confidence, and heโs making a real impact on the homeland he loves.
These are four examples of people whose journey to the West has only deepened their desire to give back.
So what is a non-diaspora to do with this?
Encourage and support them. These groups can help in ways that traditional missions and NGOs canโt โ with heart, with cultural fluency, with the credibility that comes from belonging. They are not outsiders the way we are. Iโve seen too many groups try hard to fit in and learn the hard way how difficult that is.
And take heart. So much of todayโs conversation criticizes the West for its excesses, waste, and accumulation. Maybe the diaspora shows us a different posture โ how the developing world might benefit from hearts turned toward home.
Donโt miss the chance to connect with the diaspora. Their stories, and the paths that brought them here, are part of the gift.
If youโre a Christian, this rings even truer. At the core of our faith is the conviction that there is a better place โ Godโs kingdom, of which we are citizens. Donโt forget where we came from. Look for ways to do good there. Just like the diaspora.
โ Phil
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