African Philanthropy As Social Change Philanthropy: An Overview -By Ugochukwu Anadị

Introduction

The prevalent Western media depiction of Africa is that of a hopeless continent, ravaged by wars and hunger and diseases and in constant dire need of aids. Africa in this very popular and dangerously erroneous depiction is a continent that can only provide landing spaces for ‘foreign aids’ flown from Europe and other Western ‘big brothers’; it is a continent that only receives and thinks not of giving. But we know this to be a lie for “the very nature of Africans and Africanity is solidarity giving” [1]. This paper aims to show that not only is Africa a continent of ‘deep-rooted philanthropy’ – African philanthropy – but also practices, amongst many other types, a type of philanthropy that can be used to address social changes – social change philanthropy.

Conceptual Issues

2.1. Philanthropy

   Philanthropy can be simply defined as “the market for love” [6]. It recognizes that things often go wrong in the human condition and that things could always be better and therefore does something about this inevitable suffering[8]. It can also be defined as a collective of charitable giving to change and improve the quality of life or voluntary action for public good [3].
    It takes on many faces of which include the African face.

2.2. African Philanthropy

African philanthropy is a type of philanthropic giving done in Africa, by Africans, governed by African philosophy and guided by the African spirit towards solving Africa’s and Africans’ problems. It is in the words of Bhenkinkosi Moyo, a foremost scholar of African philanthropy “resources – human, financial, social, intellectual – that can be trapped to address African’s problems” [5]. This it does by conceptualizing a need and mobilizing resources to be used in solving the need [1].

Unlike “Philanthropy for Community” which is an “externally induced” form of philanthropy, “Philanthropy of Community” has its foundations in the African philosophies [5] thus making the African Philanthropy a “Philantropy of Community”. This is evident in the fact that there is a deep-rooted tradition of giving and mutual helping in Africa. It is because of this tradition that The Williams Uchemba Foundation, a “nonprofit organization focused on improving the quality of life for vulnerable people living in extreme poverty in underserved communities  across Nigeria” operate on the belief “that the solution to extreme poverty is not a one-off charity activity, it is about giving together as a people”  (italics author’s). It is because of this tradition that philosophies such as the South African Ubuntu (“one is because of the other” [5]), the Rwandan Umuganda (“coming together in a common purpose” [5]), the Nguni-speaking people’s Ilima (“coming together to help people without” [5]), and the Igbo people’s Onye Aghana Nwanne Ya (let no one be left behind) are prevalent all over Africa.

Unlike some will like us to believe, African philanthropy cannot be relegated to the informal realm as doing so is to ignore that at the centre of the African’s identity is “solidarity, reciprocity, giving or helping for social good” [4].

2.3. Social Change and Social Change Philanthropy

According to Wikipedia “social change involves the alteration of the social order of a society. It may include changes in social institutions, social behaviours or social relations [7].

In a philanthropic context, it is the “action taken by nonprofit organizations to improve the social situation of individuals within the wider community” [3].

Social change philanthropy is a type of philanthropy that “may take the form of a social movement, or an attempt to organize the interest of a group for social change” [3]. It is a type of philanthropy that is not just based on tackling short term measurable and quantifiable problems like the supply of computers to institutions without of the distribution of food to poor and hungry people but one that, by influencing government policies and the market structure, makes it impossible for there to exist any group of people who cannot afford to feed themselves. It is a term used to “describe grant-making that aims to address the root causes of social and economic inequalities” [2]. Its nature of giving relevance not only to the money given but also to the process by which it is given is aptly captured in this explanation given by the Peace Development Fund Executive Director, John Vaughn – “it is more than teaching people to fish; it’s supporting their efforts to get a company to stop polluting the lake they are trying to fish from” [2].

It is a type if philanthropy that concerns itself not only with feeding the poor and clothing the naked but also in making sure that the climate is not harmed while producing these foods and that wildlife is not sacrificed on the altar of the textile industry. It concerns itself with policy formulation, advocacy etc and funds social movements which are movements that concern themselves with the underrepresented, the unorganized, the marginalized and the politically excluded groups.

3.0. African Philanthropy as a Social Change Philanthropy: Ways We Can Address Social Changes in Africa by Philanthropic Giving.

The recent #EndSARS movement in Nigeria is a glaring example of how solidarity giving can be used to change the status quo of the social and even political situation of a country. SARS which stand for Special Anti-Robbery and Kidnapping Squad is a unit of the Nigeria Police which as its name implies was established to curb robbery and kidnapping in the country. Unfortunately, the great intention of establishing this Police Unit was gradually and systemically thwarted as the unit not only left its constitutional assignment to venture into areas like financial crime meant for the country’s Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), but also turned its stations into abattoirs where Nigerian men and women, especially the young ones were butchered for failure to raise enough money as may be required of them. Individuals and organizations over the period the unit lasted raised their voices to decry the atrocities committed by this unit and sought for their disbandment but their voices weren’t listened to, not until philanthropy came into the picture to seek social change.

In the wake of the protest that later turned into a movement and throughout the duration it lasted, individuals and organizations donated money, foods, buses etc. to convey protesters from their areas of residences to the protest grounds where they were well fed. Arrangements were even made for mobile toilets for the protesters for convenience purposes while artistes volunteered their skills to keep the protesters entertained. In play there was the Igbo’s philosophy of nnukwu azu kpata nnukwu nku, obere azu kpata obere nku (solidarity giving according to individual’s capacity and capability for a common good) and as typical of social change philanthropy, the unit was finally disbanded.

Following this backdrop, we can now evaluate ways through which African philanthropy can be used for social change.

• Funding of Social movements: Social movements which historically have been validated as a potent tool for effecting positive changes – evident for example in the Anti-Apartheid movement of South Africa, the Martin Luther King’s Equality movement and the recent and still active Black Lives Matter movement – can gain a lot from philanthropy. Philanthropy can be channeled towards providing funds that support social changes through advocacy and organizing – the fundamental aspects of social movement [3].

• Shaping of Public Dialogue: Through innovations, bold activities and demonstration projects, the philanthropic sector is uniquely positioned to shape and direct public dialogues [3]. It is in this capacity acting as a society’s conscience and continues to remind citizens of a country about social problems of the society thus raising solutions.

• Focus on Politically Excluded and Marginalized Groups: Groups like the Labour Unions, women’s groups and the LGBTQIA+ groups are normally ignored by the government or even marginalized or oppressed. Social change philanthropy organizes the interest of these groups and fight to influence policies and legislatures that will systemically place these groups up the social ladder.

• Investment in Education and Research: There is no better way of fighting social problems than by educating the masses. To borrow the words of the late Nelson Mandela, in the face of education, prison walls crumble. Research in turn aids education to bring positive social change.

• Leading philanthropists as role models: Leading philanthropists can use their influence to also engage the general public towards social change [6].

• Upholding of Human Rights: Philanthropy can be used and has been used as an agent of fighting for human rights. Lawyers can voluntarily give freely their legal skills in defending those whose rights are trampled upon.

4. Conclusion

African philanthropy is a social change philanthropy which while it is already addressing social problems, can also be amplified to act more in that direction. African philanthropy continues to “build social cohesion through its emphasis on creating bonds and bridging differences” and contribute to the “growth and protection of civil society in addition to strengthening social cohesion” [5].

REFERENCES

1. eNCA. (2014). African Philanthropy [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/xNi3kN5GjLk
2. Goldberg, A.D. (2002). Social change philanthropy and how it’s done. Foundation News and Commentary, 43(3), 17-20.
3. Mohseni, A., & Albritton, B. (n.d). Philanthropy as a force of social change. Learning to Give. https://www.learningtogive.org/resources/philanthropy-force-social-change
4. Moyo B. (2011). Transformative Innovations in African Philanthropy.
5. Moyo, B. (2016). How To Make Societies Thrive: The role of African Philanthropy. Claiming Agency, 17
6. Mwangi, J., GPF Org, (2015). Framework for Philanthropy [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/Ja1lIAU30Ao
7. Social Change. Retrieved from Wikipedia (2021,Aug., 11). https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_change