Some of us have a simple home!
I‘ve observed many well-meaning people try to help Samoa and almost just as many fall by the wayside, often getting hurt in the process. In some ways you could call Samoa a philanthropists graveyard.
In this Sermon from Samoa I draw attention to the challenges of giving meaningfully, and encourage us to question the real purpose behind our giving. I also caution against lop-sided patronising giving and explain how most giving is actually non-scriptural.
Engaging with Samoa is a deep challenge for a Palagi and it can be a brutal experience. When you start engaging, and I mean really engaging, it gets tough, and that requires that we (Palagi) toughen up too.
Here are some of the ways that philanthropists are challenged in Paradise.
CRIME
Personal accountability is largely a foreign concept here. Family, Extended Family and “Village Thinking” rules. Unless it is a major offence, crime in the rural villages is not dealt with in the normal Palagi manner with Police involvement and the courts. Fa’a Samoa requires forgiveness and the fear of shame (rather than justice to the Palagi mindset) rules the day. A families honour is often more important than values that are important to the Western business/capitalistic mindset. Averting shame and saving face by a family is a cultural requirement and truth, justice and personal responsibility come secondary to the primary focus when dealing with crime. It is the cultural norm that in some situations it is accepted that people will lie to protect a families honour – even if we all know that something is a lie – it is left as such, to avoid shame!
A Palagi who suffers at the hand of a criminal action must understand how things work here, or they will continue to get stung, get hurt and lose. It is hard to understand when people you are trying to help will steal from you, and then you are or become the bad one if you hold them to account. It becomes even harder when you are required to “forgive and move on” without proper restorative justice, or any restitution, even little real repentance otherwise YOU will become the one who shows yourself to be un-godly, and therefore become the enemy.
What would you do when you find out that the people who you were previously giving to suddenly appear to change their attitude towards you and lie to you for personal gain?
It can be a real challenge to deal with cross-cultural issues related to justice and crime.
RELATIVE POVERTY
The first time we wealthy Western ”first-world” Palagi are challenged with up-front poverty, our cameras are usually out pronto and the shock is visible. We’ll say things like “They are still cooking on a fire!” or “Wow! Look, they don’t even have beds – they sleep on the floor!” or “They don’t even have power, let alone a fridge or freezer!”
If, simultaneously with this experience of poverty there is a big Samoan smile and a bit of loving service thrown in, such as a meal or food, it can be overwhelming. That people with so little should give so much, can be a touching and life-changing experience.
I’ll never forget the first time that I experienced rural village life and their hospitality. It really makes you want to give, and give, and give, whatever youcan, just to help – if you have a heart, that is.
But giving from a position of compassion is almost always patronising and opens us all up to something dangerous – a form social co-dependency. Financial giving in particular can be a real trap. I will share more about intelligent, second-phase and biblical giving shortly.
It can be a real challenge to deal with people who by comparison have little.
THE TROPICS
The tropical heat and humidity increases the stress levels. Some can handle it – others can’t. Most adjust to it in time, but the climate in the tropics is an aggravating factor that niggles away and puts additional pressure on everyone. Even the locals on hot or humid days can complain about the heat. Interpersonal flare-ups are perfectly understandable in this climate.
The best answer to the challenge of the tropics is not a complex one – such as installing “fancy” mechanical devices like air-conditioning. That is an expensive Western mindset solution that actually causes more problems, such as expensive power bills and causing everyone to catch a cold as they go from hot-to-cold moving in and out of the aircon.
No, while it is a lot harder for the Palagi, the best answers are to build houses that have no walls, to let the lovely cooling gentle breeze waft through the house, then to get up very early before the sun is up so that you can do what you need to in the cool of the day and then sleep in the afternoon when it’s too hot or humid to do much. Then we deliberately stand and walk in the shade, not the middle of the street, managing the heat, being careful about our exposure and consciously managing it. So simple, but oh no . . . the Palagi almost always wants to sleep in and work in the afternoon when the locals are having their siestas, and does business things in town in the heat of the day!
It can be a real challenge to deal with the tropics.
POWER & MONEY
Most people in power here have the thinking that “This is my time. God put me here. I have the power.” They mean it! I constantly meet people – in government, through to the Matais who say and genuinely believe that God has put them in charge and that it is their divine right to rule. Their thinking is usually all about themselves and their power and how they will use it.
Sure their power is always presented as right, good, for the benefit of the people, in their best interest, a tradition and so on, but it can be a real challenge to work in a country where people in power “Lord it over” others. Seeing the rich get richer; seeing enormous extremes of wealth sitting alongside of abject poverty is a big issue to deal with when you just want to see things “right” by your way of thinking.
If a Pastor demands a meeting of his parishioners (who are mostly subsistence farmers with no real income) and puts it to the vote that he gets to spend $140,000.00 for a new car PLUS expenses etc etc etc knowing full well that nobody would DARE be seen to put their hands up against the vote . . . is this abuse of power, or is it a man exercising his God-given right? (example is based on an actual event, BTW).
It can be a real challenge for a philanthropist to come up against people and systems that run totally counter to every inch of fairness and justice that any sensitive caring person will have.
THE SPIRITUAL
The mesmerising lure of the South Pacific islands and their culture, especially that lovely big smile that the Samoans are well known for, is a deep trap for the spiritual. It runs like this:
“God called me to come here!”
or
“God told me to help!”
Don’t I know it all too well, personally. I’ve watched as many others have fallen into the same trap, and few survive the experience without getting wounds. Many fail all together.
The real danger here is that we confuse our feelings, with fact. It is so easy to say “God said!” and just because it seems like a good idea to give, do, come or whatever, does not necessarily mean that this is the case.
Over the years Samoa has seen a steady stream of people wanting to help. A good proportion of those preface their words with “God said!” or something similar.
It is not my business to interfere with other peoples’ spiritual experiences. If they have been called and want to help the country – GREAT! I would love them to do what they can and should.
It is a challenge for people in this situation though to stop and VERY sure that they have heard correctly and that they do not spiritualise a feeling by letting their hearts overtake their brains!
HOW TO GIVE
One of my missions here in Samoa is to help people to be wise in their giving, and to measure the cost of their giving with some degree of accuracy before they do. While giving can make the giver feel good, it is sometimes unwise to give. Sure, if someone has cooked you a lovely meal and been your host, slip them $50.00 as a “Koha” or a little thank you gift, but giving beyond a simple business exchange is unbiblical and sets us up for tension or a fall.
It’s a real challenge to know HOW to give here. I’ve said this before, but over the years, Samoan’s have made an art-form over saying “Thank you!” They do it really, really well. Yes it is usually genuine, but it is also a very successful business – at both a macro (national), and micro (personal) level!
When we analyse Jesus’ giving, we see that He took the opportunity to preach as He gave. He gave health and hope, not coins and notes. He gave time and love and ultimately of course His life. He always gave to a specific need in a way that enabled people to rise up from their current position of pain or despair into a position of strength in their community. Gifts of food, health, spirituality, integrity, all led to a closer walk with the Father. They were never to relieve human suffering alone. Philanthropists, especially the ones claiming any “God-stuff” in their philanthropy, need to remember this as we give.
Sometimes He gave from His heart:
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
and then later ….
Jesus called in a loud voice, ”Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
But His giving was combined with preaching and for a clear purpose.
And of course the final time He gave all, for a clear well thought out purpose:
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
Matthew 27:50
The two remarkable things about all of Jesus’ giving are that 1. He never gave for His own benefit; and 2. the amazing pinpoint accuracy and extreme wisdom in His giving case-by-case. Every single person He gave to knew exactly whom they had engaged with, and that He was doing the Father’s business.
The answer for wisdom and balance in giving, as always, is to revert to biblical principles and follow the Master’s example. This means intelligent, second-phase giving where structures are in place for people who DO want to work, and to learn and to grow and to take responsibility for themselves, so that they can better their lives.
Lop-sided giving, where assets move from one person to another without a proper balance is unbiblical, and opens up a hornets’ nest of trouble. When a rich Palagi gives money to a poor Samoan person, this creates a dependency and an expectation that Palagi=money and an imbalance occurs. Quite often it is also associated with a patronising attitude on the part of the giver – usually sub-conscious – but very real none-the-less. They also – often times not being aware of this – become a real target as a result. I’ve watched many people come in here, like I did and they all have NO IDEA how much a target they are. No idea!
Another imbalance can occur here when untitled men run around getting money to give to their Matai, or High Chief’s smokes and beer, who may do little or nothing himself in return. Again, this is a common imbalance in Samoa that was highlighted by one of our staff who worked all day for the father-in-law for him to simply buy cigarettes, with his own child having to go without proper medical attention.
It’s not just Samoa that has imbalances BTW. When employers got greedy the unions were established to counter that greed – a Western world ungodly imbalance.
Samoa too is not unique in the danger of this imbalance, because all third world countries are led into debt through an imbalance of giving. Large powerful interests are involved.
It takes time and a real effort to gain wisdom in this regard. My advice to those who want to help, is don’t DO anything – certainly not for quite a while. Scout out the lie of the land and check your own motives first. Many times we can be motivated by feelings, but then switch off our brain.
For a whole host of reasons, Samoa is replete with failed organisations, projects, businesses and people who came here, who gave, and now aren’t either able to give or who aren’t here anymore.
I met with a guy recently who is totally motivated to stand up for a social injustice that he saw. A stinger of a letter to the newspaper stuff, and he’s fuming! He will sort those ****s out “Come hell or high water!” I tried to warn him, and tried to encourage him to work from the inside-out, rather than to tackle evil head-on, but sadly he couldn’t catch the wisdom in my words.
He’ll learn the hard way – I did! I very much fear that he will get the former (hell) and the latter (high water) will follow shortly after, as the system will find ways to ostracise him and white-ant him and defend the status quo. Rest assured that in Samoa, Samoans win – all the time. This is their land and no do-gooder Palagi will ever change this! Just chat with Albert Wendt if you don’t believe me!
A friend who has been working up here for over ten years in a philanthropic and business role recently shared his pain at a loyal employee who was doing things he shouldn’t be doing. “I’m SOOOO disappointed in him!” he said.
I thought to myself – you of all people? Surely you know that this is just the way things go here. One day of bad can easily happen here, even after 99 days of good.
Philanthropists desperately need to know how to accept this advice:
Just get over it, mate!
Then they need to get smarter.
Samoa is a leveler. It humbles you. It takes only the strongest and smartest to cope here. You must be determined, creative, diplomatic, committed, resilient and flexible to engage with it.
From what I have seen in the two years that I have been engaging with Samoa, most cannot do it, but a “graveyard” for most creates an opportunity for others. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Samoa trying to help others adjust to the unique situation that exists here. Some of this has been putting a fence at the top of the cliff. Some of it has been ambulance at the bottom stuff as well. In person, as well as online, I care enough about others to warn them, to offer to help them, and to moderate and guide their giving to achieve something meaningful and lasting – all to help reduce the pain.
I’m not the only one doing this. Even the Prime Minister does it within his capacity. He’s helped by teaching me and advising me on how to engage with his people and his country effectively. He also does it with others.
I’m fortunate that for whatever reasons, I have been able to pull through and ride with the experience.
Unfortunately though many others haven’t.
Feel free to share with me about this all, any time.
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