The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, on behalf of the government of Ghana has presented 3 million U.S dollars and other relief items to support the victims and survivors of the Haiti earthquake.
Though some might look at Ghana's contribution as being "too small to make a difference" (others might invoke the one starfish story), a regional Ghanaian politician offers an important observation:
Hon. Ken Agyapng who also presented 10,000 dollars as his token to support government’s effort, noted that at least the gesture will go a long way to prove the point that the African continent will not always be begging.-------------
I've been thinking quite a lot about something I posted yesterday. In a Ted Talk Barry Schwartz shared his ideas about wealth, choice, and happiness. He concluded that too many choices - made possible by the accumulation of wealth - raises society's expectations to an unachievable level causing disappointment and ultimately unhappiness. Conversely, too few choices - caused by a lack of wealth, or poverty - prevents society from satisfying even basic needs causing misery and unhappiness.
On the heels of hearing Schwartz's talk, I saw this in the NY Times:
Kevin Salwen, a writer and entrepreneur in Atlanta, was driving his 14-year-old daughter, Hannah, back from a sleepover in 2006. While waiting at a traffic light, they saw a black Mercedes coupe on one side and a homeless man begging for food on the other.
“Dad, if that man had a less nice car, that man there could have a meal,” Hannah protested. The light changed and they drove on, but Hannah was too young to be reasonable. She pestered her parents about inequity, insisting that she wanted to do something.
“What do you want to do?” her mom responded. “Sell our house?”
Warning! Never suggest a grand gesture to an idealistic teenager. Hannah seized upon the idea of selling the luxurious family home and donating half the proceeds to charity, while using the other half to buy a more modest replacement home.
Eventually, that’s what the family did.
The project — crazy, impetuous and utterly inspiring — is chronicled in a book by father and daughter scheduled to be published next month: “The Power of Half.” It’s a book that, frankly, I’d be nervous about leaving around where my own teenage kids might find it.
It seems that if Ghana, a country with an annual per-capita income below $1000 can give $3M to Haiti, and the Salwen family can sell their house, each of us might consider relaxing our grip on the material wealth that surrounds us.
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