Pied Pipers

 

From what little I know about the pied piper of Hamlyn, he was an adult who became very popular, only to lead children astray.  Some of those who happily followed him even went missing...

The academy award for best actor this week went to Forrest Whitaker, for his performance as Idi Amin. At the movie premiere in Kampala, Uganda, president Museveni recalled: “He was always laughing and making jokes, shaking hands and hugging people. He looked like a happy man, some one who should be your friend, but that's how he was able to hide all the terrible things he did.”

Amin ruled for eight years, and during that period, 300,000 Ugandans were murdered.  That is five people every hour for the whole eight years!

Let me quote an article in today's Sunday Times in South Africa, by Duma Gqubule: “Lest we forget, we live in a country where 50 people are murdered and 1000 people die of HIV/AIDS-related diseases every day.  By comparison, deaths in the Iraq war last year were 56 people a day.  Every two days, more people die in South Africa of HIV/AIDS-related diseases than were killed during the recent war on Lebanon.”

“The mismanagement of the epidemic is also mismanagement of the economy, because it has resulted in a massive destruction of human capital.  More than two million people have died of HIV/AIDS-related diseases.  Most of these deaths could have been avoided.  The life expectancy of the average South African has dropped to 50.  HIV/AIDS is not a global disease: South Africa, with just 0.7% of the world's population, accounts for 14% of the global number of people living with HIV/AIDS and 12% of global annual AIDS deaths.”

The article points the finger at leadership: “After 13 years, South Africa still does not have a comprehensive economic development plan.  It has no industrial or employment strategies.  There is no leadership, vision or ambition.  The economy is on autopilot.  There are no new ideas.  The smug ruling elite is satisfied with its mediocrity.  We deserve better.  We cannot continue on the same path.”

Leadership is the problem with South Africa's “slash-and-burn macroeconomic policy” (the title of the article by Gqubule).  One day leaders will have to answer for the lives lost unnecessarily to HIV/AIDS on their watch.  (Another 1 million people will die before another regime can be voted in... of what the Economist magazine calls “state indifference” - it is a case of sins of omission.)  This will bring the total to around the 3 million mark – ten times more than the loss of life in Uganda under Amin, in roughly the same period of time.

Few would argue that Lenin and Stalin after him were strong leaders.  But history has judged them not just for the blood on their hands, but because their very policies killed people.  30 million peasants died as a result of collectivization.  Yet people like George Bernard Shaw visited the Soviet Union and raved about the miracle of socialism in the media.

C4L is concerned about leadership because it is concerned about orphans and vulnerable children (OVC).  They have become the living legacy of the pandemic as it enters the death phase.  As C4L is not a medical mission, it found a way to engage with those who are “affected” as opposed to “infected” - although some 20% of those who have died from AIDS are children.  C4L now has an innovative programme that advocates “kinship care” as opposed to “foster care”.  In recent years, this has come to be recognized as the state of the art in the new millennium.

As C4L explored the roots of the problem of OVC , it concluded that leadership has to be strengthened, starting with child heads of household – Africa's youngest leaders.  Then community volunteers, teachers and pastors – not to mention the OVC themselves.

C4L has also realized that service provision is not enough – Christian groups have a responsibility in terms of advocacy as well.  So it is becoming more vocal about what is not being done, as well as more engaged in doing what needs to be done.

A recent study by Macleans magazine in Canada established what is called an “admiration index”.  For what it's worth, it rates leaders in what is essentially an opinion poll.  An Angus Reid statement said: “Politicians fare less well than activists in the rankings because they are in the business of trying to be all things to all people.  Humanitarians, on the other hand, can stand up for one noble cause, and can compromise less.  It found Nelson Mandela and Bill Gates to be the most esteemed leaders among the 5,800 people polled in 20 countries.  Bono and the Dalai Lama scored high on the list as well – philanthropists, artists and religious leaders.

It is critical to keep a “third sector” (i.e. neither government nor private sector) growing in Africa, and C4L is one of the few institutions that exists for that purpose alone.  Some call it the “social sector” and others call it “civil society”.  Whatever the label, it contains the community service groups, the faith constituencies, the sports clubs, the humanitarian organizations, the arts institutions, and so on.

Leadership development at this level is critical.  Not only for there to be effective and efficient service provision, but for there to be a prophetic voice to engage the powers with the same courage and wisdom with which Nathan confronted King David.  Ironically, to do this well, one should not be watching an admiration index!  

Another irony is that the resources to do such work often flow down from patrons in government or commerce.  Suffice it to say that - contrary to popular belief - the squeaky wheels do not always get greased!

This will be the one and only appeal that C4L makes during this season of Lent.  You are asked to sacrifice in any way that will affect your own values and lifestyle.  This season begins with ashes, and ends with the ultimate victory.

Victory, according to John F Kennedy, has a thousand fathers... but defeat is an orphan. 

I'm not sure what you call a country with a burgeoning population of orphans?

He gave me beauty for ashes

The oil of joy for mourning

And the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

What can you give in return?