Religion

I know that updates on living arrangements and environment and food and weather and all that jazz are things I should be updating you on, but I feel the need to blog about something that struck me today. I typically avoid topics such as this, but here goes.

We are in the midst of orientation, and various people from the area have come to talk to us. Today, two men from the Kings Foundation came to talk to us about a program they have going on in southern Africa. I was told that through this group I would be able to work with orphans on a volunteer basis. This is clearly right up my alley, and I was super excited to hear the details of it. Well y'all -- my resident director failed to mention this was a Christian based group. In a nutshell this is how the program works: They travel to local villages that are struggling with drugs, alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy etc. There, they organize sports games to play with the kids -- rugby, soccer, cricket, you name it. They provide these children with constructive activities and a place to feel safe as a community. So why am I in an uproar about this? After they play with the kids and get them all excited and genuinely happy about life in the midst of hardship, they sit them down and tell them about Jesus. Reel them in with fun games, and then preach to them about a man who died on a cross to save their sins. I couldn't help thinking this was a slight form of manipulation. Maybe I am over-reacting.

So yeah, I am lost in my faith right now you could say. I was baptized in the Episcopal Church and grew up in Catholic school, but once college hit I no longer saw a point in organized religion. I have felt a strong pull to practice Hinduism, but that's an another story in itself. I have a lot of feelings about organized religion that I am not going to get into, but one thing I truly struggle with are those that feel they need to force their beliefs upon you. Maybe, it's the strong independent woman in me that doesn't like people telling me how I am supposed to do things, but even so I think we should be able to form our own opinions on the way the world works. Let them know about Jesus, sure. Preach to them, no. And yes, there is a fine line.

Programs like this I am truly fascinated by from an International Development stand point (PS my major). Culture plays such a huge role in people's lives, and I cannot help but feel this is easily forgotten in development programs. Is this Foundation going to help communities across southern Africa by forcing "what they think is right" on people who have strong ties to culture? And on the flip side, can there be a move to a more stable environment with some sort of force opposing current culture?

I debated on posting this. I am by no means an expert on these things, but food for thought. In other news, it is POURING here. In the middle of the desert. POURING. Strange concept for me grasp. I move out of the motel we've been staying at during orientation and on to the dorms at the University of Botswana (UB) tomorrow. I am super excited. I promise updates on all things previously mentioned soon.