LIFE LESSONS | GIVING BACK | RECIPROCITY

The Art of Reciprocity

Until you experience it, you don’t really understand it.

A beautiful bounty of beans! Photo Credit: Author

In June of 2021, we found out that the nearby village to us was quite literally starving. Uganda was in the throws of transportation restrictions and curfews brought on by Covid. Their tourism industry had been decimated, and a prolonged drought had killed all of their crops. We were truly witnessing the decline of an entire population of people that literally had no means to survive.

We jumped into action and were thankfully able to fundraise from our friends and family around the world, to help feed them for 10 weeks, which got them through that crisis.

One item that we were providing them with in their food bags was dried beans. Beans are a staple food here, and it is the cheapest form of good protein that they can get. Of course, we assumed that they would be eating them all, but over time, we would be shown differently.

It started out one day on the highway. It was probably three months after we had started bringing food to the villagers. We were walking back from the village to Elephant Home, the place that we were staying, and came across a lady and her child. We happened to have a wheelbarrow with us, as we had been doing work in the community garden.

As soon as she saw us she started talking rapidly in her local dialect and waving her arms around in the air. Her son was laughing and, as usual, we had no idea what was going on. Then all of a sudden she took the large tub from the top of her head and dumped about half of the contents into our wheelbarrow.

You may have guessed that the contents of the bin were freshly picked beans.

We didn’t really think much of it but we were so grateful that she had given us so much food. We assumed that it was a gesture of thanks, for what we had done, and didn’t think much more about it.

A couple of weeks later our friend Edmon told us that he wanted to take us up to his village in the hills so that we could see where he is from. He commuted back and forth between the nearby village, and back to his home village, a couple of times per week. It is a three-hour hike one way, so it’s not a short trip! Bear in mind that most Ugandans move by foot as vehicles are prohibitively expensive. At one point we had expressed interest in where he was from, so we assumed that he was just going to take us there for a quick look.

It is stunning back in the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains. Photo Credit: Author

However, when we got there, we realized that it was more of a celebration for us!

His family wanted to thank us for the bounty we had provided to Edmon because he had also taken some of the food that we had given to him, back to his village to share with the rest of his family. We had family photos taken and we spent a lot of time with them.

We toured around his village and met a few of his friends. They were very interested in us and we were surprised when Edmon told us that foreigners had never been to their village before.

I find it hard to believe that we travelers haven’t explored our way into every corner of the earth yet!

Our friend Edmon is in the plaid and his Mom and Dad are to his left. Photo Credit: Author

Before leaving, we were presented with a huge jackfruit and a hen. We later learned that the most esteemed gift of thanks that one can receive is a hen.

We were amazed that all along, they had wanted Edmon to bring us there so that they could thank us for what we did. Bit by bit, as the day wore on, we started to realize just how much of an impact that we had made on the people in the area, by what we had done in their great time of need.

Sweet children watching us as we passed by. Photo Credit: Author

On our way back down from the mountains, we stopped by another man's house. Unfortunately, we were in quite a hurry as we had spent too much time up top, and it was now going to get dark quickly. So we just nipped in and out, but in that time he also gave us a hen as a thank you gesture.

WOW! 2 hens and a huge jackfruit! We were ecstatic!

Our friends Edwin and Shafik insisted on carrying the goods for us. We had fun on the hike down with those guys! Photo Credit: Author

Of course, we did the best Ugandan thing and planned dinner the following night with the staff at Elephant Home, where we were staying, so they could also share in our bounty!

The next act of reciprocity came when we were told that there was a family living a two-hour walk away, that also wanted to thank us. Apparently, their son also lived in Kikorongo, and when he received his food ration, he would take 10% of his beans back to his parent's home. There they planted them, and over time they had a huge crop growing.

Well, their crop had now produced, so they also wanted to share their bounty with us.

We had a wonderful day with this family back in their rural home. The dad actually used to work for a mine that was owned by Canadians, and he spoke really good English. He thanked us for what we had provided his family, and was grateful that we cared enough to make the journey back to meet them.

The whole family was there for the event! Photo Credit: Author

We had been told that they wanted to give us food before we went there, and I assumed that it would be a plastic shopping bag of beans or something like that. But when they brought out the massive bushel of beans, plus tomatoes, eggplants, and onions, we were amazed! They told us that they figured that what they were giving back to us was equivalent to what we had provided them with.

We had to pack beans into every bag we had! Look at the bounty they gave us! Onions, eggplants, tomatoes, and beans! Photo Credit: Author

To say that we were dumbfounded by their generosity, and want to reciprocate what we had given them, would be an understatement.

Our whole world of how we thought that things worked, got flipped upside down that day. We were enamored with their grace and humility, and despite still not having much, they were happy to share in their abundance.

We also were given a chicken that day, this time it was a rooster.

Our new rooster friend was also shared with others. Photo Credit: Author

Over the next few weeks, we were given more beans from friends and villagers in Kikorongo as they were ready to pick. Each time we were so thankful for the kindness and generosity that was reciprocated towards us.

The Africans that we have met have taught us so much about how humanity can gracefully coexist in this world. Their resilience and the way that they work together to make sure that no one is left behind is awe-inspiring, to say the least. I do believe that in this way, they are miles ahead of ‘western societies’ as they better understand that we are truly in this together.

The Art of Sharing

The meaning of the African way of life — Ubuntu.

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We hadn’t planned on coming to Uganda or anywhere near the heart of Africa when we left Canada many years ago. But somehow there were other plans for us, and we couldn’t be more grateful for the lessons that we have learned here.

As usual, it is impossible to explain the things that travel teaches us.

We head into it as one person, but ALWAYS come out as another.

Thank you so much for reading my story about reciprocity in Africa. I could never have known how it felt until we truly experienced it in the most authentic way possible.

xo Jill

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Hi there, we are 2 Canadians, Jill and Chris from Artistic Voyages. We have been nomadic since 2017 living in numerous different countries, and experiencing the life and diversity of our planet on the ground and firsthand. We have now been on the African continent for over 2 years!

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