The sharing of alms on Sundays was a common practice in many western countries communities for many centuries ago. During the service, a collection was organized, where the rich donated according to their means. This money was used to maintain the church, support parish initiatives, and help the needy.
In some parishes, part of the donations was redistributed immediately after mass. The priests, churchwardens, or volunteers identified those in need and gave them alms in the form of money, food, or clothing.
It was common for the most destitute to gather near the church after mass, hoping to receive a coin or some food from wealthier parishioners.
The Sunday sharing of alms was done in a spirit of Christian charity.
Those who gave the most could thus hope to buy a place in heaven. “The die is cast”as they used to say, because after the mass, the rich could continue to do their “dirty tricks” because a place in heaven was already paid for.
It is the same spirit of “charity” that has therefore allowed the creation and implementation of what is commonly called official development assistance. However, the objective of 0.7% of the GDP from each donor country as development aid has rarely been reached. Only the Scandinavian countries, Germany and Luxembourg have achieved it.
Unfortunately, over time, this noble tool has been diverted from its primary mission to become a political instrument at the service of certain developed nations to advance their hidden agenda. The image of the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Prévot, fits perfectly into this scenario.
Is Africa condemned to remain like the eternal beggar at the end of mass, hand outstretched to receive alms? Absolutely not. Even the poor man deep down aspires to a better life. What is missing in Africa for this trigger of the emancipation of the poor to be activated? Are the arrogance and insolence of some Western leaders not enough to wake up those who are still sleeping instead of working?
The dissolution of USAID and its consequences on development aid as well as the financial sanctions imposed on Rwanda by the EU, UK and Canada should be seen as a new beginning not only for Rwanda but also for Africa.
Western countries have the right to stop the aid whenever they want it. But they have no right at all to bully Africa with their aid. It’s unacceptable. They should pay for it if they really believe in aid and see the results like in Rwanda. Or leave it.
We understand today that they also need money to protect themselves against Russia.
There are many other ways and means for Africa to sustain its own development without the help of those who have spat in the face of Africans while forgetting that we also have a dignity to preserve. We will come back to these alternative ways in detail in our next articles.
The die is cast for those who think they have bought places in paradise. But not for Rwanda nor Africa because we have existential problems to solve and we cannot exchange them for a few wads of notes, however thick they may be.
RADIOTV10
