i am because we are

Ubuntu is a southern African worldview centered around interconnectedness, community, and our shared humanity. The word translates as “i am, because we are” in recognition of how all that we do as individuals is connected to those around us in our community. Ubuntu has always and will always guide SEPO in all that we do. It informs our approach to our programs, our advocacy, and our interactions with our communities.

In American society, folks often value and privilege the idea of ‘independence’, priding themselves on reaching their goals on their own, through their own hard work. While acknowledging individual contributions, ubuntu pushes us to recognize and honor the community of folks that made such achievements possible (often times quietly). Ubuntu is about fully embracing and grappling with the reality that:

the well being of ONE is linked to the well-being of ALL

In western Zambia, SEPO’s work amplifies ubuntu which is already deeply rooted in day-to-day life. The Mabumbu community that SEPO works in is fueled by a recognition of their interdependence, reciprocity, and shared futures – however, they are limited by their lack of access to resources, an inefficient/unconcerned government, and long-standing patterns of global inequity.

In Oshkosh, SEPO has seen the ubuntu spirit at work, even if folks don’t have that name for it. In our work, we work collectively. Sometimes that collective energy is directed toward facing difficult institutional challenges in our community (housing/transportation insecurity; discrimination; un/underemployment, educational roadblocks); at other times, our collective energy calls us to mourn together when the community experiences a loss; at at the best times, our collective energy brings us together in celebration (of a wedding, the birth of a child, a graduation). In all of those times, SEPO understands that our challenges, sorrows, and joys are best experienced together as one.