A few years back we began making a change in how we approach gift giving to the teachers that impact the lives of our children. These (primarily) women share their passion, concern, strength and insight with our kids 183 days a year. They help to smooth out rough edges and allow us to see our kids in a new light. Knowing how much they give our family, it seemed odd to write a dollar amount next to a name and seek out a gift that would fulfill that line item obligation.
The elementary school the boys attend has a sister school in Tanzania that they were introduced to in first grade. Since then, we have decided to make a donation for both Christmas and the end of the year to the organization (Friends of Africa Education) that partners with the school. It’s not as glitzy as a cute homemade ornament or practical as a Caribou gift card, but I hope that it honors and celebrates the incredible work that these women do.
During our drop off drive this morning we discussed what a donation like this can do in a school in a developing nation and the gap between the “haves” and “have-nots” was cut by a titch. When I explained some of the costs of running a school and how donated money can help meet those needs, Kyle said, “Whoa. They must have like five ducky fundraisers every year.”
Trying to find a way to describe the disparity between disposable income that can be used to generate extra funds for schools or organizations in our community and living on a meager wage in a developing country I went back to the, “if there were only 100 people in the world” speech to describe our unimaginable wealth by world standards. “By the simple fact that our family owns two vehicles, we are among the world’s richest people. If there were only 100 people in the world, we would be the richest person in the world.” A moment of silence filled the van that always feels like a victory, because the information is sinking is being absorbed in a new way.
My poet son, the old soul spoke up. “I wish there were only 100 people in the world. That way we could help them all. We could go to the same school. We could all take care of each other.” Now it was my turn for silence.
Isn’t this the rub of living with wealth but being surrounded by those that seemingly have more? The math would be just the same if we recognized our wealth and how we could use it to help others, but there is still that relational gap that allows us to create categories of “us” and “them.” Kids don’t have this. Kids are amazingly open to “us” and “we.”
Our sons will drop off cards today with a little message inside thanking their teachers and sharing of the donation made in their honor. Even without knowing, they have once again blessed our family with a new insight and helped shape our children into givers and people who are able to look beyond themselves.
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