Do you ever discourage someone from
doing something wrong? Or what about helping a stranger who’s in need? Let’s
listen to the former South African President, Nelson Mandela from the video
above.
“Traveler through a country would
stop at a village and he didn't have to ask for food or for water. Once he
stops, the people give him food, entertain him. That is one aspect of UBUNTU,
but it will have various aspects. UBUNTU
means that people should not enrich themselves. The question therefore is: Are you
going to do so in order to enable the community around you to be able to
improve (Mandela 2006)"?
UBUNTU, a traditional African
philosophy, defined as communicating, caring, and sharing with humans in
harmony with all of creation. Whenever you believe you can be better at
something by grouping with others, you act interdependently. UBUNTU is a way
people connect to each other regardless of race, skin color, social status;
beliefs etc. sharing is an important Human value. We have different qualities,
talents and resources and these should be shared in a spirit of cooperativeness
for positive living. Everyone will cooperate as sharing human beings and will
be mutually fulfilled. UBUNTU brings people together; it is a way people react
to each other in diverse situation such as social, political, economic
situation. UBUNTU is the opposite of wrong, selfish, greediness etc. Take care
of your family, love your girl, and/ or your direct relative is not UBUNTU, It
is your responsibility to take care of your family. Applying UBUNTU is helping
unknown people who are in need. Another example of UBUNTU is when someone acts
upon deeply a sense of being connected to each others by common humanity; when
we feel interdependence, not ignorance; when we feel ourselves as others, love
each other as we love ourselves.
UBUNTU is clearly visible in religions for
example, there is a verse in the Bible; you shall love your neighbor as
yourself. Again the spirits of dignity are demonstrated by the religious. There
is no dominant and subordinate group, no one dominates the other. UBUNTU
embraces the hospitality, caring about others, being willing to go extra mile for
the sake of another (Dorothy R.Jolely 2011). A person is a person through other
person. I also see UBUNTU when we act interdependently; we know that we can
achieve things easier, better, when we connect to others by working together
through our commitment.
UBUNTU is very
important for productivity, when we respect each other regardless, race,
gender, color, when we cherish human dignity, all of our relationships and the
level our behaviors and actions are raised to a higher standard of our product.
I work in lemon grove care as a nurse assistant, sometimes I get 15 people to
take care. It is very hard to take care of 15 dependent patients, sometime it
seems impossible, but when we work together, we help each other. It is possible
to get things done on time and correctly." a task is easier if you work
together" or "many hands make light work. Another example of UBUNTU, TELA, The exponential learning
academic, the scholars connected to each other by working together, something
we get a lot of home for only one person it should be very difficult, but by
working together from the beginning to end, we all were able to pass the classes
successfully. By standing together, enjoying and celebrating together, a spirit
of cohesiveness is established.
WE all need to apply UBUNTU because
it will help us realize that we are equal in every sense. That sense will
increase productivity at work, school, home, and also creates better relationships
among colleague. I believe that we should apply UBUNTU in our daily life in
diverse situation.
