we are people through other people. we are made for family.
Bishop Tutu
Ubuntu is a term meaning “humanity”. It is sometimes translated as “I am because we are” also “I am because you are” or “humanity towards others”.
In Xhosa, the latter term is used in a more philosophical sense to mean “the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity”.
Ubuntu is a concept that we have in our Bantu languages at home. Ubuntu is the essence of being a person. It means that we are people through other people. We cannot be fully human alone. We are made for interdependence, we are made for family. When you have ubuntu, you embrace others. You are generous, compassionate.
If the world had more ubuntu, we would not have war.
We would not have this huge gap between the rich and the poor.
You are rich so that you can make up what is lacking for others.
You are powerful so that you can help the weak, just as a mother or father helps their children…”
Desmond Tutu is a South African Anglican cleric and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist.
