The society supported us to be where we are. The fruits of our labour should go to acknowledge the support we experienced from childhood to where we are.
Solidarity and a change in mentality are necessary!
When we grow up, we are assisted in various ways by our family members, friends, neighbours relatives, religious institution, social systems, groups, the village or town in which we live and as a whole the country in which we live. At times this assistance comes also from abroad. It is the result of our personal effort embedded in this support system that we become who we are today.
If we lean on this big network (system) to grow, it is expected of us, that we also become part of this support system, so that others after us can grow and develop themselves to take responsibility in society. It is only through this solidarity system that communities and the society at large can grow.
Giving back as we grow
Giving back is not only possible, when we think we have grown. As we grow, we are expected to play our role to foster wellbeing and social cohesion. If a student decides to assist his classmate who is not good at a particular subject, he is already giving back. Volunteering to clean the black board in class, even if you must not do so, is already giving back. Visiting the sick at their homes and spending time with them is already giving back. There are various ways of giving back as we grow. Through this activities, we make valuable experiences and learn many things that together build our personality to be the unique individuals we are. When grown, these deeds will markedly determine who we are and how we are respected in society for who we are.
Giving back when we are grown up
Human nature determines that we always strive to grow and fulfill our wishes. Today, I may be struggling to have food to eat. When food is no challenge any more, I will be struggling to pay my rents, have water and electricity and send my children to school. Someone who owns a house and can easily send his children to school, pay his electricity and water bills may have the wish to own a car, when the car is no challenge any more, they may wish to buy a house and put on rent etc. Going by this pace, there will seldom come a time, when a human being has saturated their wishes. As long as this is the case, they may always say they do not have a means to give back.
If we make it a responsibility and if we acknowledge what we experienced in our own growth history, there is always a means to give back, no matter how difficult our situation is. We may choose to reserve 5 % of our income for giving back projects. This means that someone earning 30,000 Frs. CFA monthly could reserve 1,500 Frs. CFA for giving back. Even if they reserve half of this (750 Frs. CFA), they can be able to save 18,000 Frs. CFA or 9000 Frs. CFA for giving back projects.
Knowing that there are many expectations in society, it is advisable to choose a personal way of giving back. If for example my priority is education, I could assist my Alma mater with chalk worth 18,000 Frs. CFA for the academic year. I could also decide to assist two children of poorer backgrounds with school fees in primary school. Focusing on one or a few means of giving back and doing it consistently, brings more impact that not giving back or trying to give back everywhere and not doing so effectively.