The Pleasure of Giving

Editor's Note: The Phifer-Houseman family consists of three adopted kids who recently went to visit their Ethiopian birthplace after many years of being in America.  They agreed to blog about their experience.

From Ephrem:

Yesterday, my brother Meheretab (Muhr) and I went to the nearest store to get some groceries. Walking is a way of life in Addis Ababa, and the roads are very dusty because there is so much road construction going on. On our way back from the store we realized that our shoes were dirty and needed to be cleaned. We saw two fourteen year-old boys with their shoeshine boxes by the side of the road; so, I asked them, “Do you guys clean shoes?” They said yes, and got to work cleaning our shoes. While they were working, Muhr and I began asking them questions about about their lives: how long had they been doing this work, how much they make a day, etc.

When they had finished we asked, “How much?” They said, “Hamsa centime” (fifty Ethiopian cents, approximately 5 US cents). Muhr and I looked at each other and decided to give them five birr each (50 US cents). On a good day these boys make one US dollar a day cleaning shoes, so essentially Muhr and I gave them half their wages for that day. They were really happy and began dancing around with joy.  It was fun to see such a big smile on their faces and to receive such an enormous thank you. We were almost as excited as those boys were to share our experience with our family once we got back to the house.  Somehow, with 50 cents we were able to make everyone’s day:  ours and the boys.

Reflecting on the pleasure of being able to be generous like this, I realize that what I really enjoyed was the face-to-face nature of it.  We could see the boy’s poverty and how hard they were working to just survive.  While seeing that reality could be depressing, it felt empowering to actually be there in person and be able to make a difference.  At home it is easy to see myself as a “poor” college student.  I can give a little here or there, to this organization or that cause, but I seldom see the impact of my giving and what I can give feels like it barely affects anything at all.  It was amazing to see that, in reality, 50 cents (an amount I could easily lose at the back of my sock drawer) could be the difference between a good day or a bad day for someone else.   It makes me think twice about the ways I so easily waste money and other resources here in the US.  One Starbucks is worth a week’s wages for these boys!  I need to see that the next time I feel like I just “have to have” that next Starbuck’s hit.  It also made me very glad for the opportunity to physically be in a place where there is great need.  There is a lot of joy in being able to be truly useful in situations of need.  I would not have experienced that joy if I had stayed home and “enjoyed myself” over Christmas break. It was a small thing that Muhr and I did but, at the same time it was very inspiring.  It motivated me to think about other ways support those that are working hard to make it through life.

Thank you so much for supporting my family and I on this trip. Without your support my brother and I would not have had this great experience In Ethiopia. Every dime that you have contributed to our trip has made a tremendous amount of influence in our lives and in the lives of others.  I got a lot of pleasure out of giving to and serving the poor in Ethiopia through your generosity.  I hope you’ve enjoyed giving to this project as much as I enjoyed giving to those boys.