Growing up in cities has its own downsides. People tend to lose their identity. They tend to get lost in crowds. They even start thinking that they are alone. That’s not who we are. That’s not our culture. To leave in a place for over 5 years and fail to know your neighbors, to be imprissioned by the four walls around your home. Going to work in the morning, coming back late in the night. Looking for strangers from far lands to come attend to your children as nannies.
That does not sound like the African culture most of us have read about, watched in movies or heard our parents speak of. Parents had help around them from extended family members. Our parents knew who they were. They had a sense of belonging to a bigger community other than the nuclear families they were attached to. Today, many parents are overwhelmed as they try to raise children on their own while juggling work and other responsibilities without help from anywhere.
I went to my paternal village some time in April. The sense of belonging I felt, I haven’t had it in a long time. Most of our neighbors were relatives. You should have seen how proudly I walked the streets with one of my uncles. You should have been there as I dined with my grandma for lunch, had dinner with the household of Uncle Sunday and breakfast at Uncle Sam’s. The warmth from the family that surrounded me was too much. You should visit your villages sometime especially if you take long like I previously did. Distinct though each household is, all of us are united by blood. United by the same ancestors. It warmed my heart to know that I am part of a bigger family compared to the nuclear one I have grown up in( which has also become quite extended, with in-laws, nieces and nephews).
Yes times have changed. Yes we are busy. Yes we are far from our brothers and sisters, but let’s endeavor to keep the family bonds strong. Let’s send our children to their uncles and aunties. Let’s visit our parents. Our children should know that they are part of a bigger family. They should see the bigger picture of who they are. Instead of seeing their relatives on WhatsApp statuses, we awe it them to let them know their extended family. You see, this world is too big a place but with relatives scattered all over, there’s a warmth we get from such knowledge. I can never be stranded in some places for I have family there.
Over the years, my two elder brothers now have families of their own, but they make time to carry everyone in their household and bring them home. Home where they grew up from. Home where they can bond with their extended family. During Easter, we were about 17 family members under one roof for three days. That’s the African Culture I know. Where family sits together and shares stories, dreams for the future and transfers values, traditions and faith to the next generation. I will not be surprised when my nieces and nephews carry their entire households to the homes where they grew up from. For our future offstring have to clearly see the bigger picture that they are part of a huge community related by blood.
It’s great to know our families, but much more greater it is to know our God. God has made a way for us to relate with Him through Jesus Christ. You see, we are all born sinners deserving of death but Jesus paid the price for our sins for dying on the cross. The only thing we need to do is to accept Him as our Lord and savior, have our sins forgiven and become children of God. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. Accept Jesus today my friend then go to a church near you where you will be discipled. Be blessed.
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: The Bigger Picture https://anchor.fm/winnie-naigaga3/episodes/The-Bigger-Picture-e25on13
#WinterABC2023, Day 11, Week 3 #TheWarmth #Culture
Fruitful Vine 
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